Patel, Campanico earn points in International GT Open

India's Aditya Patel and team-mate Cesar Campanico finished eighth and received points after starting 13th in the second race of the International GT Open championship here.

It was a disappointing race Sunday as things went backward for the duo in the Audi R8 LMS right from the start when the Indian, supported by Audi India, JK Tyre and Amante, started 13th on the grid and eighth in the GT3 class, lost many positions after being caught on the wrong side before turn one.

That, coupled with a momentary problem with the throttle pedal, lost the team time and track position. Stuck behind a slow car after that, Patel, who finished fourth in the first race Saturday, decided to make an early pit stop and hand the car over to Campanico who managed to get out on track in some clear air.

The Portuguese driver then put in an impressive drive moving up from 12th to seventh before being hit by another driver. However, he managed to bring the damaged car home in eighth place which helped them gather some valuable points.

"It was really a race for me to forget. Nothing went in my favour right from the start. That, coupled with a throttle issue and lack of straight line speed made things hard for me," Patel said.

"Overall, it wasn't the best of weekends, but it was a track where we knew we would have a hard time due to lack of speed compared to the competition.

"The next race is in Jerez and we don't have such long straights there. The team is looking forward to a better race, hopefully a podium finish."