In spite of extra weight still another podium finish for Max Koebolt and Simon Knap
FRANCORCHAMPS – For the third consecutive race weekend, Dutch drivers
Max Koebolt and Simon Knap scored a podium finish in the GT4 European
Series with their BMW M4 GT4 run by Dutch team, MDM Motorsport. The
second race of the weekend, held under the ‘SRO Speedweek’ moniker at the
Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Belgian Ardennes, saw the two Dutch drivers
end up third. After their podium finishes in the two previous rounds at the
circuits of Brands Hatch and Misano, Koebolt and Knap now had a
considerably more difficult time. This was mainly the result of an adjustment of
the balance of performance that turned out to be much to the disadvantage of
the BMWs. In the first race, the Dutch pairing finished sixth, but finishing on
the podium in the final race was a good way to end the weekend. “Having had
many handing issues in the first race, we knew that tyre management would be
the key to success in the second race. Fortunately, that worked out really
well”, the two drivers said.
Prior to the event, it was expected that the fast circuit of Spa-Francorchamps with its
long straights would suit the BMWs, but a change of the balance of performance by
the series’ organisers led to an increase of the minimum weight of the BMW M4 GT4
by no less than 90 kilograms. Later, this was reduced to 60 kilograms, but it was
clear that battling for top results would be very difficult in this way. That became
apparent in qualifying for the first race, in which Simon Knap posted the ninth-fastest
time in the field of 48 cars. “Our goal was to end up in the top ten, so that worked out,
but there wasn’t much more in store,” he said afterwards. Max Koebolt claimed
eighth place on the grid for the second race. “That was also the maximum we could
achieve given the situation,” he said.
Knap took the start of the first race and made good progress during his stint so that
he headed into the pits for the driver change from third place. “I was able to make up
positions quickly, it all went very well,” Knap said. “We even had some hope of a
podium finish, but unfortunately, that turned out in a different way. On my last two
laps, I already noticed that handling of the car degraded and that became even
worse for Max.” Koebolt confirms: “Grip got less and less and battling with the
opposition was really difficult. Initially, I was still able to keep three drivers at bay, but
eventually, I was a sitting duck with a car that was sliding into all directions. Once
they had overtaken me, they were gone immediately, which made it clear how tough
it was for me. That was something all BMW drivers had to deal with.” Knap and
Koebolt were classified sixth after the first race. “It is tough when you really give
everything you have, but realistically, you have no chance,” Koebolt said.
Tyre management was the main task for Koebolt who drove the opening stint of the
second race. “I had a good start and then tried to be as consistent as possible
without wearing out the tyres too much. That worked out well, so that the tyres were
still in a good condition when I handed the car to Simon. He then finished the job in
an excellent way,” Koebolt reported. Knap returned the compliment: “Many thanks to
Max who saved the tyres to the max, so to say, allowing me to make good progress
in the closing stages. However, I am glad that the race wasn’t one lap longer,
because otherwise we probably wouldn’t have been on the podium. The opposition
closed up quickly from behind. All in all, we still managed to keep the damage
limited.”
“Nevertheless, something is wrong when you see that our lap times during the race
were around one and a half seconds slower than the rest. Hopefully, the organisers
will have another good look into that prior to the next races,” Koebolt said. The next
races will be held at the Hungaroring near the Hungarian capital of Budapest, 1 and 2
September.
