VdeV Round 3 - Aragon
30th May 2011
Ryan and Derrick headed to Spain for round 3 of the European V de V series to race in the 6 hour event around the Motorland circuit. They were hoping for third time lucky to make it on to the podium as in the previous two rounds, situations out of their hands prevented this.
Friday's practice day started brilliantly with Ryan setting the fastest time and, with the sister car in second, session two saw Ryan 3rd quickest. Things were looking good for a strong weekend.
Sessiosn three and four then went in the other direction, with the car's front diffuser becoming weak and causing a vibration at speed, and then struggling to get the balance back in the car.
Qualifying on Saturday saw more problems for the number 45 Ligier. Derrick handed the car over to Ryan after a strong run, looking good for a top six grid slot, despite the balance problem with the car. Then bad luck struck when Ryan was on his second lap - the car shed its rear left wheel in a freak incident when a rogue stone became lodged inside the wheel, causing the rim to be sheared in two.
Race day starting 12th and with a good strategy in place, the pair were confident to come through the field by the time the flag fell. All was looking good until 90 minutes into the race and just after pitting for fuel, Ryan returned to the track to complete his 2hr 10 mins stint and the rear left hub came loose. Ryan managed to get back to the pits to have it repaired, but it sadly costing them 4 laps.
Derrick went out to do his 1hr 45 mins stint but 30 mins in the car stopped - a wire inside the alternator broke which cost the number 45 car an hour in the pits.
The final two hours of the race was split between the 2 drivers and was classified 18th overall and 7th in class.
Ryan says “although we've managed to score points in all three rounds, its been really frustrating when we should have had 3 podiums and be leading the series - our luck needs to change for the remaining 5 rounds"