The McLaren is refuelled
The McLaren is refuelled

Lichfield driver Adam Christodoulou suffered disappointment in his latest run in the new McLaren GT3 car.

The McLaren is refuelled
The McLaren is refuelled

The former British Formula Renault and Star Mazda champion joined Pierre Kaffer and regular team-mate Klass Hummell to put the new McLaren GT3 MP4-12C through its paces at Magny Cours in France.

Christodoulou was first out in the qualifying session and managed to clock the fastest time on track with his second lap before putting himself on top of the leaderboard with the following run.

However, when Hummel took the wheel for second qualifying the session ended early, delivering a frustrating blow to the team as neither he or Kaffer had managed to file a qualifying lap. Regulations stipulate that all three drivers must qualify, and after the corresponding penalty was applied, the car was relegated, and the team had to start from the back row of the grid in 34th position.

But a fired up Hummel had the car up to 23rd in just three laps and a safety car also gave them a boost, allowing the team to move up to 18th spot. But the luck didn’t last with the car retiring from the race before Kaffer or Christodoulou got on track.

The Lichfield racer said:

“Everyone is gutted. Looking at our pace, a top five or even a podium finish looked to be a real possibility. The car had so much grip and the speed was fantastic, but it just didn’t work out for us.”

Christodoulou returns to the UK for his next race in the McLaren at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, on October 8 and 9. However, this weekend he will also be fitting in one additional race and heading to Austria to the Red Bull Ring to compete in his debut appearance in the Ferrari Challenge.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.