News Archive » Third Place for Mullen and Turner

September 23, 2007

Tim Mullen and Darren Turner took a well-deserved third place finish in the warm autumn sunshine at Brno today after starting the two-hour race from a superb second place on the grid.  They actually finished the race in fourth place but moved up to third soon after when the no.52 Ferrari was excluded from the results for a ride height infringement.  The end result was deserved though as Tim and Darren had to fight their way back to the front after Tim was knocked into a spin just a few laps into the race.  Chris Niarchos and Andrew Kirkaldy took an eighth place finish after a difficult start to the race but both enjoyed the event at the fantastic Brno track.

Tim Mullen:
“I got a good clean start and held my position between the two AF Corse Ferraris.  Unfortunately, a few laps in, Bruni lunged up my inside at the last corner and spun me around onto the grass. I rejoined way down the field and handed over to Darren who did a great job. I got new rubber for the final stint and was the fastest car on the track. I was catching Rui Aguas at a rate of one second per lap and managed to pass him up the inside of turn one with three laps to go.  He squeezed me as I went through and we touched but it was a good pass.  I ended up just three seconds behind third place so the end of the race was a good battle for us.  I was disappointed and surprised that Rui then felt the need to drive into me on the slowing down lap!”

Darren Turner:
“I’m disappointed that Bruni had Tim off, especially in light of the conversation that took place prior to the race where we all agreed to have no contact.  Tim’s pace was good but unfortunately we strayed away from our strategy and didn’t change tyres during the first stop. I went out behind Collard and really enjoyed my scrap with him. All in all a disappointing result from what could have been a very good weekend.”

Chris Niarchos:
“I’m happy with our race today.  I haven’t been in the car since the Spa 24 Hours so considering the time out the performance was okay. Generally-speaking the car felt good and was running well. Thanks to all the guys for all their work this weekend.”

Andrew Kirkaldy:
“I got boxed in at the start and then got stuck behind a Saleen so the race didn’t get off to a great start for me. The car and the tyres were okay but we weren’t in a position to get a good result.”

Stewart Roden, Team Principal:
“It was unfortunate that Tim had the coming together with Bruni as he and Darren were on for a certain podium finish.  All in all it was a good weekend for the team and I was pleased to see that we had made a step forward with the tyres which were much better.”

The Scuderia Ecosse team trucks are now on their way to France for the Nogaro round of the FIA GT Championship next weekend.

ENDS

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