Tales from 'The Glen'

After round 3 of the CrewChief GT3 Masters VI at Watkins Glen we caught up with Ric Binnersley, who was kind enough to answer a few questions about his experience and expectations for this race.

Ric is driving a very nicely liveried BMW M4 GT3. Together with André Bergsma he races for team BB Racing. Their striking livery really stands out, which - as we learned - helped Ric being missed by other cars in a stressful moment on track…

RRL Media:
Was round 3 a race you was particularly looking forward to?

Ric:
I was certainly looking forward to Round 3 of the championship. It was my first time racing at Watkins Glen in ACC. It's a track that's produced some close racing in different titles but is extremely hard to overtake.

RRL Media:
How was your preparation going into the race weekend? Did you have much time to prepare for the event?

Ric:
I just did what I always do, to be honest. If I'm not participating in a race I will be found preparing for one.

RRL Media:
And how did the car feel in practice and what conditions were you expecting come Sunday evening?

Ric:
The car felt pretty good, Although I was concerned about the lack of top speed of the BMW. Surprisingly I don't think I got overtaken on the straight all race.

The weather during practice was possibly the most varied I've ever seen in an ACC server. I expected the race to be a mix of Dry and Wet conditions rather than a light shower we had at the end of the race.

RRL Media:
Tell us about the Qualifying session. Did you leave anything out there?

Ric:
Qualifying is an area that I need to improve on generally. I got held up while on a couple of faster laps, but I was happy enough with the time I ended up with.

RRL Media:
And how did the race go?

Ric:
The race itself was going ok. I managed to get up into the top 10 and had some excellent battles along the way.

With around 20mins to go, I found myself behind a back-marker. Unexpectedly found myself accelerating a lot faster than the car in front on the exit of T9. At this point, my emergency avoidance sensor kicked in. With cat-like reflexes, I gracefully managed to spin the car only to be facing the wrong way on the track with a gaggle of cars flying towards me.........Whoops.

It was a tootle round until the end after that.

RRL Media:
Because of that incident you (only) finished in 17th place. How does the result leave you in your respective driver championship and in the teams championship?

Ric:
The championship results haven't gone to plan for the team or myself so far. Things can only improve going into the remaining rounds. It's been a very enjoyable championship so far though.

RRL Media:
Kyalami next. Whats the goal for you and your teammate from here on in?

Ric:
I’m looking forward to Kyalami, what a fantastic track it is to drive. As with the previous rounds, the BMW seems to be somewhat lacking pace here. I think a Top 10 finish would be a good result.

Thank you very much Ric, for taking the time to answer our questions and telling our audience about your build-up to, and experiences during round three of the championship.

We are all looking forward to the next race of the Masters on Sunday, October 22. As mentioned this round will be held in the thin air of Kyalami, South Africa. The high altitude of the track might benefit the - seemingly - less powerful M4. But you can rest assured that Ric will again try to extract every last bit of performance from his machine.

...As will all other competitors. Make sure to tune in to our live broadcast of the event.

written by: Ruud Denis

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