Paradine Competition ends the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup weekend in Magny-Cours on a high with a Bronze Cup victory in Race 2. Racing driver and team owner Darren Leung sees it as a reward for the team’s hard work, which is also emphasized by Augusto Farfus.
The Brazilian BMW driver did half of the work in qualifying on Sunday morning already, where he put the car in P5 in class and gave the team a good position to work with going into the race. Because of a penalty for another car, they started from P4 with Leung behind the wheel.
The first stint was slightly chaotic, with multiple incidents, Full Course Yellows, and eventually a red flag. “I mean, I don’t know if you wached the onboards…,” Leung laughs in conversation with GT REPORT after the race. “It was carnage, but it was important to keep your cool and keep going until the chequered flag comes out.” Which is exactly what they did.
Relief spread through the Paradine garage when the car crossed the line in first. It marks the first win in the Sprint cup, after a tough start. “It’s such a relief to be honest,” Leung confirms. “We’ve had quite a lot of bad luck, and today I felt like we’ve had a bit of good luck. It’s just a big relief. To come out with a win is super rewarding.”
Paradine receives new momentum
Leung is especially happy that his result will give the team a boost going into the GT World Challenge weekends after the summer. “I think the team is doing a really, really good job and we’ve deserved better results than we’ve had. This will for sure give us a good bit of momentum and just allows everybody to do their job with that.”
Farfus agrees with that and emphasizes how hard the worked to get the car in the right window during this weekend in Magny-Cours. “We knew we had the pace to do better since Misano, and here we executed everything very well. The team did a fantastic job, because we kept changing the set-up.
“We didn’t find the sweet-spot of the car, so we kept changing, working, moving, and eventually we also did a very good stint today. I got the car virtually in the lead, and then it was just a matter of taking it home. So, chapeau! I’m very pleased with my first sprint victory,” Farfus cheerfully tells.
What the victory means for Paradine
Both Leung and Farfus think the race was a little bit chaotic, but they didn’t let the incidents between other cars throw them off. “When I got the car, my mission was just to keep the car on track and keep the position. That was the target and I’m very pleased to achieve that,” Farfus continues.
“The win means a lot, because when we started, we didn’t test much. We didn’t test much here either, so it was my first time in Magny-Cours since a long time. Getting a victory puts is right there in the championship. We just have to keep the car on track as much as possible in Zandvoort next!”
