Marc Carol-Evgeniy Makushin, driving a Seat León of Team Baporo Motorsport, did not have a great weekend in the Circuit of Navarra during the fourth meeting of the Spanish Endurance Championship 2015.
Sixth place on the first race and seventh place on the second, after not being able to race the two last laps of the event. These results were very far from the goals set for the first competition after the summer holidays.

The weather was kind to the teams racing on the track of Los Arcos. Apart from the first free training sessions, the track was always dry for the drivers although at some points rain was a very real threat.

As previously mentioned, the first heat of the free training sessions was raced on wet asphalt. Most drivers decided not to take risks so early in the competition and all they did was get a feel for the track and test some of the materials they were going to use in the races.
The timed training sessions did not bring the expected results especially for Marc Carol: On the lap I was aiming for my best result, I encountered another driver on my path and I lost a few very important tenths of a second. Carol, with a time of 1’48”723, had to come to terms with his fourth place (third D1 vehicle) and as a consequence had to begin the race from the second line of the starting grid. As for Makushin he registered a time of 1’50”121 and was placed sixth on the second heat of the official training sessions.

The handicap (a difference of more than 35” with their most direct opponents) was to be the biggest difficulty to overcome on the 1st race, and this time the predictions came true. Carol had a great start and overtook the opponents of his category, who were in front of him.He managed to increase the time differences as the race evolved and entered the pit lane for Makushin to take the León to the finish line. When the Russian driver got back on the track, some rivals had already started and he found himself towards the end of the group of racers (11th position). On the three last laps, he managed to improve his place by three positions finishing sixth of the D1 category.
 
In the 2nd race, with a smaller handicap, the possibilities to climb the podium were far higher for the drivers of the Baporo Motorsport team. This time it was Makushin who started the race from the fifth position of the starting grid and the constant pace he managed to keep from the very beginning allowed him to maintain his position for as long as he was on the track.During Carol’s half of the race, the differences with the rivals in front of him kept decreasing until half way through his attack for third position (second in the D1 category) when the issues with the braking system of his car appeared once again and he was not able to continue the race. The Andorran driver was highly disappointed as he reached his team’s pit: I was able to avoid a collision but it was impossible to continue. It’s a real pity because I think we would have finished second in the D1 category, a good result to keep the options to win the title alive.

The fifth meeting of the Spanish Endurance Championship (CER) 2015 will take place in the Circuit of Estoril (Portugal) on 10th and 11th October

Press service.

Results CER 2015 (D1) - Circuit of Navarra.

1st Race:
1.--Fontes-Oriola (Seat León)  51’29”726, 2.-David Cebrian (Seat León), + 7”615, 3.-Ampolo-Navarrete (VW Siroco), + 8”860, 4.-Calvet-De Castro (VW.Sirocco) + 29”218, 5.-Lesoudier-Cousin (Seat León), + 42”250 ...
6.-Carol-E.Makushin (Seat León) + 52”543.

2nd Race:
1.-David Cebrian (Seat León) 50’07”379, 2.-Font-De Diego (Seat León) + 16”870, 3.-Dinitriev-Montserrat (Seat León) + 23”119 4.-Calvet-De Castro (VW.Sirocco) + 49”740, 5.-Fernandez-Näs (Seat León)  + 50”288 ...
7.-Carol-E.Makushin (Seat León) + 2 laps.