Tigani Motorsport drivers Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires have finished second against the Am Class competition at Mount Panorama in the three-hour endurance race during the Bathurst International.
As the only older specification trophy class car entered, the team set their sights on competing against the inherently faster Am Class outright cars. The lead up to race time was far from straight forward with disruptions to both practices sessions and qualifying.
Practice one was a wet affair with some rain falling just before the team rolled out for their only track running on Friday. Zalloua and Pires were immediately on the pace, splitting the Am opposition.
The second practice was reduced by 10 minutes after a fog delay set proceedings back. The Valmont Racing pairing were quicker than the Am field for much of the session before getting pipped at the very end. Qualifying later in the day was split into two sessions with both drivers required to drive and the grid set by the aggregate times of both drivers. In Q1 Zalloua was at the wheel and put the car in an impressive fourth outright and faster than a number of Pro Class cars. A delay after a crash for another car saw Q2 take place over an hour later, with Pires facing different track conditions to Zalloua but continuing on with the pace to earn seventh outright on the starting grid.
Somewhat remarkably, the entire three-hour race ran without a single intervention of the Safety Car. Zalloua was tasked with the opening stint which was complicated by a wet track and clearing fog over the top of the Mountain. Nevertheless, the team retained a strong position as Zalloua handed over to Pires for the first of three mandatory driver changes. As the race panned out the team solidified a strong P2 against the Am field, where they would run for almost the entire race before greeting the chequered flag.
“It was certainly interesting conditions at the start of the race, but we kept it out of the wall and managed to finish in the middle of the field. We were second against the Am cars, we’d have liked to have won that battle but they are running faster cars, so it was an uphill battle. I think we’re primed and ready now for the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2023,” said Zalloua.