With the system showing all green, Team FXPrimus Aylezo is now ready to tackle the second obstacle in the challenge before heading out to the battlefield; the qualifyings. But before the session where every millisecond counts begin, the circuit opened up a final practice session for the bulls to get their legs warmed up for the nerve wrecking session.
The final practice session might play a small role in the championship, but all eyes were glued to the timing screen, anxiously monitoring their driver’s time around the circuit. It is in no doubt that the driver line up in the Super Trofeo Asia Series should not to be underestimated as the time gap between them are not that far off.
Zen went out first, tasting the morning tarmac across the Shanghai International Circuit…
…followed by Dilantha soon after.
This final practice session is actually very important as this is where the drivers coordinate their strategy and share their information in taming the 570-horsepower machine.
But not everyone managed to bring their car back to the pits safely as this purple Gallardo from Lamborghini Hong Kong suffered a brake failure at the back straights, sending it straight into the gravel trap and into the wall. Luckily the driver managed to control the beast and minimize the damage, and he walked out from the incident without a scratch.
As FXPrimus Aylezo’s car returned to the pits, it was prepped with fresh rubber and a splash of fuel for the qualifying sessions later in the day,…
…while the drivers went upstairs to the Hospitality Suite for the first driver’s briefing of the 2013 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Round 1.
Other than laying down the basic rules of racing, the drivers were also briefed on the new circuit layout used for the Super Trofeo race. Instead of racing through the full 5.451km circuit length…
…the Super Trofeo’s layout will take the cars straight from Turn 4 to a set of chicanes into Turn 8, bringing the overall circuit length to 4.602km.
Shortly after the briefing, the drivers were back in their game faces, ready to shave off any excess time that they could find in the qualifying. One could almost categorize this similar to a time attack session where the fastest time will get the pole position, but that does not guarantee a 100-percent chance in winning a race.
The first qualifying session went very well for Team FXPrimus Aylezo as they managed to clock a 1:52.548, securing the fourth position on the grid for Saturday’s race.
And on the second session, the team clocked a 1:56.398 on the same set of tires, earning them a seventh spot on the grid for the second race taking place on Sunday.
Although the day has been pretty intense for the team, the real thing starts tomorrow as the first race of the series commences. How will Team FXPrimus Aylezo fair out in the fastest one make race in the world? We will be back with the coverage from the Race 1 soon!
Team FXPrimus Aylezo would like to extend their greatest appreciation to everyone who had helped in making this journey possible, especially FXPrimus, JH Italia, Ecotint, Ninetology, Fuchs Titan, TACTIX and Motorsport Playground.
