|
Sam Bird’s 2008 Macau campaign was a masterful display of skill, patience
and, when it mattered, blistering pace. Sadly, the young Briton’s bid for
final victory ended on the approach to Mandarin Bend on the opening lap or the
Grand Prix race, as Roberto Streit inexplicably slammed him into the barriers.
The Brazilian driver was
subsequently fined for his recklessness, but that was scant consolation for
Bird who had been building up, since the first practice session on Thursday, to
claiming outright victory for himself and his team Manor Motorsport.
Indeed, the Noble Group sponsored
racer drove with a sense of controlled pace and tactical intelligence in both
practice sessions and the first qualifying session, choosing to concentrate on
accumulating valuable mileage and focusing on fine-tuning the set-up of his
car.
He knew
that the second qualifying session would be the one that counted and that was the
moment he chose to show his hand for the first time. With less than four
minutes of the session remaining, Bird put in a stunning lap to be the first
man to break into the 2min 11s (2min 11.988secs) when Kei Cozzolino brought out
the red flag by hitting the wall at Fisherman's.
After the debris was cleared and
as the entire field rejoined for one last shot at pole, Bird was already three
tenths up on his own time and looked set to put pole position well beyond
anyone’s reach. However, he was forced to abort his lap with a two car
crash ahead of him, blocking part of the track.
Carlo Van Dam, on the other hand,
took full advantage of the TOM's team's position at the 'front' of the
pit-lane, and enjoyed a completely clear track to improve on Bird’s time
by one tenth of a second and grab pole for Saturday’s qualifying race.
Having earned a front row start, Bird was subsequently slapped with a 3 grid
slot penalty for having missed a call to the weighbridge during the morning
practice session.
Starting fifth in the qualifying
race, Bird drove with controlled pace to cross the finish line in the same
position and earn himself the fifth place on the grid for the Grand Prix race.
The start of the race was
trademark Sam Bird as the CJ Motorsport managed driver was moving into third
ahead of Roberto Streit, from where he would surely have challenged for
victory. Sadly, that was when the Brazilian, in a moment of sheer madness,
brought the curtain down on Bird’s otherwise magnificent 2008 Macau Grand
Prix.
A frustrated Sam Bird commented after the race:
"I was quick enough for the front row in qualifying. I stayed out of
trouble yesterday (the qualifying race) when the car wasn't quite right. I made
a great start today and I honestly thought I had a good chance of winning and
to have it taken away by such a silly move by another driver is just so
frustrating."
“To say that I am bitterly disappointed right now is
an understatement”, he added. “But in a few days I will be able to
reflect about the good things that I have achieved here over the past few days
and I will bounce back as always! I do want to say a special thanks to the
Noble Group for sponsoring me to take part here, to Manor for preparing a great
car for me and to my managers at CJ Motorsport for making it all possible”.
|
