Sailesh Bolisetti, the only Indian racing in the British GT race event will start from fifth on the grid in his race debut at Qulton Park (Cheshire, UK), driving for the Lotus team. He recorded fifth fastest lap in the Lotus Evora GT4, in spite of the demanding circumstance since Friday. The fickle British weather held the racetrack damp during the first free practice session and the sessions to follow, positioning the Indian lad in the tricky phase.
The British GT set-up consists of two qualifying sessions, and the respective fastest lap recorded decides the grid position on the two main races.
His lack of experience in the GT racing was clearly visible in his performance, as the debutant failed to get the brakes and tyres warmed up and in tune with his driving style, giving him fifth position on the grid. However, his more experienced teammate, Phil Glew demonstrated his experience and skills on the track and finished pole in the second round of qualifiers.
Further in qualifying, with conditions improving, Sailesh was able to make it closer to his experienced teammate’s lap record. Team Lotus later realized that the 23-year old Indian driver had not got the brakes and tyres warmed up since during all preceding sessions, it was Glew who got behind the wheel first, leaving Sailesh unaware of this facet. However, he ended up fourth on the GT4 grid.
Depending on the results, the grid position will be aligned for the two main races. According to the racing rules, Sailesh will get behind the wheels first for race one and hand over the car to Glew during the mandatory pit-stop window between the 20th and 40th minute.
Sailesh has been a champion at Polo-R Cup India and VW Scirocco R-Cup Germany, and this is his debut at the British GT Racing. The two one-hour races are scheduled for April 9 (Monday).
