The Romanian pilots at Bucharest Challenge

Constantin Raileanu had a perfect week-end at Vodafone Bucharest Challenge 2007. Former Formula Ford pilot started in the forth position the first round of the the Dacia Logan Cup, that took place on Saturday May 19th and by the end of a spectacular race, he won the second position. “It was an excellent race and I’m glad that I succeed to get on the podium, being my first time in the Dacia Logan Cup”, declared Raileanu.

On Sunday, the best Romanian pilot in the mono brand competition had an even more fantastic evolution. Constantin Raileanu had an excellent start, taking the leadership and keeping it until the end of the race. “Being on the highest level of the podium made me feel fantastic and I was really moved during our national anthem. I’m happy that I won here and I hope that this victory will help my career from now on”, Raileanu said after the last race of the Dacia Logan Cup.

Victory in Dodge Viper Cup
Mihai Marinescu and Claudiu David had this week-end, at the wheel of a Dodge Viper, their first start in the European FIA GT3 Championship. In the first race, that took place on Sunday, the 19th of May, the Romanian team started in the 23rd position and finished in the 18th, despite the fact that they manage to be the 3rd in the first half of the race. “We’ve had a very good start, but in the end the rain blew up our race strategy and the experience of the other teams played an important role. It was a very nice race, I think, and in the second one we’ll do better, I’m sure”, Mihai Marinescu said.

The last day of Vodafone Bucharest Challenge was actually luckier for the Romanian team: Mihai Marinescu and Claudiu David switched places – Marinescu ran first and David in the second part – and they’ve made an excellent race, finishing in the top 10. Unfortunately, they were informed, shortly after crossing the finish line, about a 30 seconds penalty caused by a yellow flag that they didn’t take into consideration. This penalty took them down 5 places, to the 14th position, but it didn’t change their place in the Dodge Viper Cup, where they remain leaders. „We’ve made an excellent race and I’m sorry for that yellow flag that costed the team so many seconds. We did our best and we are very confident in the future. I think we have many reasons to be proud – we are the first Romanian pilots driving in the European FIA GT3 race in Bucharest, the firsts in one of this competition’s top ten and so on”, declared Claudiu David after the race.