Jack Aitken has now also arrived successfully in GT3 racing: the Brit won the second race of the ADAC GT Masters 2022 in Zandvoort together with his teammate at Emil-Frey-Lamborghini, Albert Costa.
For Aitken, it was the first success since September 8, 2019. At that time, the Brit won the Formula 2 sprint race in Monza on behalf of Campos Racing. Since last year he has been competing for the Emil Frey team in GT3 racing. “It feels like the win was long overdue,” Aitken now told Motorsport-Total.com.
The Briton continued: “I have a really experienced and fast team-mate and the team is doing a mega job. We had a few opportunities before that we couldn’t take advantage of for various reasons.” In fact, Aitken and Costa could have done better this year in the top Lamborghini with starting number 63.
Jack Aitken and Emil Frey shine on Sunday
It was Aitken himself who slipped up on the starting lap at the opening race in Oschersleben and thus laid the foundation for a botched race. In Spielberg on Saturday he triggered a chain reaction of mistakes with his “early start” during the pit stop, which brought the #63 and #19 a penalty lap.
But all these fateful mistakes now seem to be stopped. Aitken excelled in qualifying at Zandvoort on Sunday and secured pole position. In the race he didn’t miss a beat and controlled what was happening from the start.
“I had the opportunity to control my pace because I opened up a gap to #33 pretty early on. After that I just avoided all the obstacles,” explains Aitken. After all, it was important to be careful with the tires. “It’s a bit crazy that we have to drive like that. But I was super careful,” he says.
Lambo victory on Zandvoort Saturday a morale boost
Nevertheless, Aitken trembled again at the end: “In the last five laps, four or five cars had punctures. That was a very sensitive situation.” After all, the tires burst on several cars, including Maximilian Paul’s T3 Lamborghini. But Aitken had confidence in his team: “I wanted to let the engineers do their job.”
“Albert said he manages everything and takes no risks. That’s what I wanted to hear, so I left her alone.” And so it was a double whammy for Emil Frey Racing: On Saturday, Mick Wishofer/Konsta Lappalainen won in the #14 car. Franck Perera/Arthur Rougier also took third place on Sunday in the #19 car on the last lap.
Regarding the success of the #14, Aitken says: “Everyone was super happy for her. Konsta was my teammate last year. He’s really a great kid who doesn’t have that much experience in GT racing. It was a pleasure for me to have him on the To see the podium. And it was good for morale.” After the second success in a row, it should be at its highest level.