News

10

Jul 2017

Christodoulou nets P7 from British GT at Spa

Posted By Adam Christodoulou / Blancpain, Endurance / Blancpain, Career / No Comments

Adam Christodoulou came away with a seventh place finish from his second outing for Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing, as the British GT Championship headed to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

The world-famous 7.004 kilometre circuit welcomed British GT’s biggest GT3 grid of the season, with several additional entries from the Blancpain GT Series using the event as a warm-up for the Spa 24 Hours later this month.
Sharing the No. 88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Richard Neary, Christodoulou hoped to put the knowledge gained from participating in Tuesday’s official Spa 24 Test Day with AMG Team Black Falcon to good use and duly delivered, as he fought through the order from eleventh to seventh in race one.

Two lengthy safety cars limited Neary to just two racing laps in his opening stint, but taking over the reins at the beginning of the pit window, Christodoulou made good progress through the pack. Just three seconds covered second through to seventh positions at the flag, with the Englishman just a couple of car-lengths behind the TF Sport Aston Martin which won the two-hour race last year.

28-year-old Christodoulou felt there was more to be found in race two, this time starting from seventh, but didn’t get a chance to show it after becoming embroiled in a first lap incident. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 was hit from behind at Les Combes by a car outside the parameters of the track, then T-boned by an unsighted car behind. The contact broke the upright, leaving him unable to make it back to the pits without causing further damage.
With many of the frontrunners hitting trouble, Christodoulou was left to rue a missed opportunity to give Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing a first British GT podium.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow because I really thought that could have been a good result,” he said.

“Race one went okay, the car was handling nicely and I was able to do Eau Rouge flat-out consistently. We were in the fight for sixth at the end, but I think there was more there for us in race two.

“It was very hectic at the start with everybody jostling for position. I managed to get down the inside of the AMD car, but the next thing I knew I was tagged into a spin and the Lamborghini just had nowhere to go.

“It’s a shame for the guys after the hard work they put in to prepare the car and for Richard as well, because it meant he only was only able to get two racing laps in due to the safety cars in race one.”
Despite the disappointing end to the weekend, the 2016 Nürburgring 24 Hour winner welcomed the opportunity to race at Spa just three weeks before the jewel in the crown of the Blancpain Endurance Cup, where Christodoulou will again team up with AMG Team Black Falcon team-mates Yelmer Buurman and Luca Stolz.

“It’s always good to race at a track before you go there for a huge event, it just means that I’ve worked a little bit with the setup and even on one or two bits of the circuit, which should be fresh in my head when I come back,” he said.

“As with any 24 hour race, it will be about surviving, so any opportunity to get reacquainted with the circuit and do some laps can only be a good thing – hopefully it will give me a little advantage!”
The next round of the British GT Championship is back on UK soil at Brands Hatch 5th and 6th August . It will be Christodoulou’s first time racing on the historic Grand Prix circuit since his championship-winning Formula Renault UK 2.0 campaign in 2008, but he is optimistic that the recent form of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Blancpain Sprint Cup and co-driver Neary’s rate of improvement in their first time racing as a pair will present their best chance yet of securing a podium finish.

“We’ve definitely made progress, it’s been fun improving the car and the setup and working with Richard to try to get more out of him,” Christodoulou continued.
“In the end, Richard managed to go about two seconds faster than he did last year during his qualifying, that’s the quickest he’s ever actually made his way around there which obviously bodes well for the rest of the season, starting at Brands Hatch.

“I’m looking forward to being back racing in the UK, particularly on the Grand Prix circuit with so many challenging corners. I’ve never raced a GT3 around there before, but the AMG proved to be one of the top cars during the Blancpain Sprint race in May, so I’m hoping to have the same kind of performance when we’re there.”

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26

Jun 2017

Strong Performance Ends in Heartbreak for Christodoulou in Paul Ricard 1000km

Posted By Adam Christodoulou / AMG, Blancpain, Endurance / Blancpain, Career, news / No Comments

Adam Christodoulou missed out on his best-ever finish in the Blancpain GT Series when mechanical problems struck his No. 4 AMG Team Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG with 30 minutes remaining in the Paul Ricard 1000km.

Together with Luca Stolz and Yelmer Buurman, who qualified the car on pole,Christodoulou was running third in the six-hour prelude to the Spa 24 Hours when he lost drive and was forced to retire the car, costing him a first outright Blancpain GT podium.
“It’s just heart-breaking really to come so close to a result, only to see it slip through our fingers,” said the 28-year-old.

“I just feel sorry for the crew and everyone involved because it looked like we were going to be celebrating last night, but it wasn’t to be.”

Proving his pace in qualifying was no fluke, Buurman built a 1.5 second lead over the 58-strong field by the end of lap one and had increased his margin to 3.5 seconds before the race was neutralised by the safety car on lap eight.
After a brief return to green-flag running, a Full Course Yellow prompted the majority of the field to make an early pitstop, but AMG Team Black Falcon elected to stick with their original plan and stay out until the end of the 65-minute allotted driver time.

Buurman led a pack of four into the pits at the end of their window, with Stolz assuming the controls in 44th position. However another Safety Car meant his deficit to the leaders, due in for their second stops shortly afterwards, was drastically reduced and helped bring the team back into play.

By the end of his 29-lap stint, Stolz had cycled back through to second, beforeChristodoulou climbed aboard for his first stint in 21st position.

The Briton continued the car’s progress through the field as the sun set and executed a fine pass on the No. 2 Audi, which had been stubbornly defending its position for several laps, to get himself into some clear air and chip away the gap to the leading No. 99 BMW, running a similar divergent strategy.
From over 30 seconds, Christodoulou had reduced the margin to 10 seconds when the BMW was forced out of the race, allowing him to lead at half-distance.

“It was a confusing race to follow, which I think was due to us being offset against everyone else,” Christodoulou said.

“There was a lot of discussions trying to figure out whether it would be the right thing to do or not, but we made the decision and stuck with it. I think at one point we ended up on the third page of the timing screens, but as people started to pit we made our way back into the lead.

“It was tough out there in the traffic because we were really strong in the tight and twisty third sector, but it was a little tough to overtake. We weren’t sure where we were going to end up until the final stops were completed, so all we could do was push as hard as we could.”
After pitting on lap 89, Buurman returned to the car inside the top 10 and again cycled through to the lead before handing back to Stolz, now in full darkness, on lap 121.

Stolz resumed in fifth and kept the car in contention as track temperatures dropped before giving the reigns to Christodoulou for the final run to the flag.

Running third and closing on the second-placed No. 72 Ferrari, Christodoulou was feeling positive when the car suddenly lost power at turn 12 and coasted back to the pits into retirement.
“It’s a real shame because we were in third position and things were looking pretty good,”Christodoulou continued.

“It’s extremely unusual because the AMG is known for its durability and being bullet-proof, it’s the first time this has happened.

“We’ve been working extremely hard at Black Falcon and AMG to iron out any problems and optimise our package, but although we didn’t get the result in the end, it was nice to put on an extremely strong performance and it looked like we were going to be the top AMG as well.

“We had a mega qualifying, all of us were quick and at the start of the race we were definitely in control. Everyone knows we were one of the main cars to beat, so it’s definitely given us a good confidence boost heading to Spa and hopefully we can carry the momentum into the 24 Hours.”

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16

Jun 2017

Top five for birthday boy Christodoulou on British GT return

Posted By Adam Christodoulou / Race Update / Abba, Career, Silverstone / No Comments

Adam Christodoulou celebrated his 28th birthday with a top-five finish on his return to the British GT Championship in the blue-ribband Silverstone 500.

On his first British GT outing in the GT3 class and his first of any kind since Donington 2015, Christodoulou shone in the Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside Richard Neary and Martin Short and gave the teamits best finish of the year so far, laying down a positive marker for the rest of the British GT campaign.
The AMG driver and former Silverstone instructor put his knowledge of the Grand Prix circuit to good use in free practice one with a blistering lap seven tenths faster than anybody else.

Christodoulou then showed it was no fluke in qualifying, with the fastest time in the Pro class – the best of the entire weekend – With a combined time from both drivers qualifying 6th would be their starting position.

Neary, the 2016 Silverstone 24 Hour winner, took the start and immediately made up two positions around the outside at Copse corner, but lost ground with a spin at Abbey on lap four.

After dropping back to eighth, Christodoulou jumped in for the first of two stints and was soon embroiled in a frantic battle with Callum MacLeod’s Bentley. Battling oversteer in the hot afternoon conditions, Christodoulou defended stoutly and handed over to Short from second position as the pitstops cycled through.
Despite receiving a stop-go penalty for a fractionally too-fastpitstop during the final handover from Short, Christodoulou’s pace during his second stint was such that he was able to resume without losing fifth position, a strong result on Martin Short’s final outing in the championship as a driver.

While disappointed not to give the highly decorated Short one last podium finish,Christodoulou was greatly encouraged by Team ABBA with Rollcentre’s performance heading into the second half of the season, with a trip to the famous Spa-Francorchamps (7-8 July) in Belgium next on the calendar.

“It was a fun weekend, I really enjoyed being back in the British GT Championship,” reported Christodoulou after setting the second fastest time of the race with 12 laps to go.
“There’s obviously an element of mixed emotions, as I was really happy with how the testing and the qualifying went, but the track conditions in the race caught us out a little bit and just lost us a little bit of speed with the car.

“That being said, it was the team’s first top-five finish this year, so hopefully it has created a good foundation for us to work on going to Spa. It was great to work with the team and be a part of the British GT Championship in the GT3 class, so hopefully we can continue making progress and get that first podium that we’re searching for.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to Martin, Richard and the rest of the Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing team for welcoming me into their team and making me feel at home. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings!”

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07

Jun 2017

Christodoulou to make British GT3 debut with Team ABBA at Silverstone

Posted By Adam Christodoulou / Abba, Race Update, Silverstone / Abba, Career, Silverstone / No Comments

Official AMG Driver Adam Christodoulou will contest the remainder of the 2017 British GT Championship in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing.

Four years on from his successful British GT debut in his GT4 win at Silverstone in 2013, Christodoulou will make his first appearance in the GT3 class at this weekend’s Silverstone 500, alongside Martin Short and Richard Neary.
The 27-year-old will continue with the team for the rest of the season alongside Neary, the 2016 Silverstone 24 Hour winner, at prestigious circuits including Spa-Francorchamps, Brands Hatch and Donington Park.

It will be Christodoulou’s first time racing regularly on home soil since 2008, when he won the Formula Renault UK 2.0 title with CRS Scuderia.

Following a successful test at the Home of British Motorsport, Christodoulou is confident of making a strong impact on his first outing for Team ABBA, with the RAC Trophy awarded for a 500-mile race at Brooklands in 1932 up for grabs.
“I’m really excited to be racing a GT3 car in British GT for the first time,” commentedChristodoulou, who last raced in the series in 2015.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to do Snetterton because I was racing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, but Silverstone is a track that we all know well, so we just have to make sure that we make no mistakes and use everything to our advantage.

“Martin has decided to take a step back and be on the pitwall managing for the rest of the season with the GT3, so it’s good with Silverstone being a three hour race that it allows the three of us to race together. Hopefully we can send him off on a high!”
Having run strongly in the top 10 at the recent Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup round at Silverstone, Christodoulou has full confidence that the Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be well-suited to racing on the British circuits and that the car will allow Neary to extract his full potential.

“The British tracks are known for being tighter and more twisty than some of the bigger European tracks that I’ve been racing on these last few years, so we’ll have to see how Silverstone goes and then just continue to work hard,” said Christodoulou.
“We’ve done two tests so far and between the test he did at Snetterton and the race, he made a nice jump forward. We managed to work on the setup and get him to have a little bit more confidence, which was good to see. Hopefully that will only continue as we work together more over the remainder of the season.

“I’m really thankful for the opportunity and looking forward to getting started. Like any driver you want to race as much as possible, and I’m hoping that my experience and knowledge and contacts from AMG helps them with what they’re looking for.”

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