Mechanical failure robs Sailesh a `possible’ victory

Rockingham (Northamptonshire, UK) 10 June 2011: What was shaping up to be a promising weekend despite early hiccups ended in disappointment for Indian driver Sailesh Bolisetti as a technical failure left him stranded while in a comfortable lead at round three of the 2012 British GT championship held here.

Earlier in the weekend, Sailesh and his teammate Briton Phil Glew had managed to qualify second despite several mechanical hiccups throughout.

“I can’t begin to describe the feeling. After all the hard work through the weekend we were finally in a strong position for the race but everything just fell apart, literally.”

A driveshaft failure, something which Sailesh’s Lotus Sport UK squad hadn’t experienced in their three-year existence, was zeroed-in as the culprit for the DNF.

It was the season’s first two-hour race and having taken to the wheel in the opening stint, Glew had done a sterling job to keep the chasing Ginettas at bay.

After stopping for fuel and tyres, where the crew once again did an exemplary job – meant that the squad had over a lap’s lead when Sailesh took the wheel for the final stint.

“We had a massive cushion – I just had to drive without getting into trouble and the win was ours.”

However, it wasn’t to be as the car spluttered to a halt, with a grinding noise and a small blaze in the engine compartment confirming that the race was over.

“A DNF at this stage, especially since not for our direct oversight, is extremely disappointing as it has really put us on the backfoot in the championship stakes.”

To make matters worse, Lotus Sport UK’s championship challengers, Team WFR, whom Sailesh was slated to outpace easily early-on, went on to win the race.

“It was a double whammy really, we scored zero points and they scored full points, so it is a large deficit now. But we can’t do much except put our heads down for the next round at Brands Hatch, and hope for some luck as well.”

The championship is slated to visit the iconic, former F1 circuit on 29 July-1 August.

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