Dunes - drama - dynamics. The season finale of the GT4 Central European Cup in Zandvoort at the beginning of October was a rollercoaster of emotions for Benjamin Mazatis. The driver from Bruckmühl and his team-mate Ilmari Korpivaara battled for the Pro-AM Cup title on the traditional Dutch circuit near Amsterdam. After an extremely turbulent race weekend, the duo finished the season in third place in the championship.
The two Reiter Engineering drivers started the final weekend just two points off the top of the standings. During free tests on Thursday, Mazatis underlined his title ambitions with strong lap times in the KTM X-Bow GT4 and confirmed his performance with second place in qualifying for Saturday's race. Mazatis and his team-mate ultimately finished the race in fourth place in their class.
The championship was to be decided in Sunday's race. Starting from third place, the chances were good until a competitor forced Korpivaara off the track. The KTM X-Bow GT4 touched the wall, but was able to continue and even make up a few positions. The scheduled driver change to Mazatis finally turned the tide for the title contenders. A safety car phase helped them to catch up in third place. As there were only guest entrants ahead of the Bruckmühler, the duo were in first place in terms of points and therefore on course for the title. Just a few laps before the end of the race, however, all hopes were dashed. Due to consequential damage from the accident at the start of the race, Mazatis lost control of his car and also stopped in the wall. After a repair stop, he still crossed the finish line, but the championship was out of reach.
Three questions for Benjamin Mazatis
You laid the foundations for a great weekend with second place in qualifying...
It was our best qualifying result of the season and I was really pleased with it, because it was the maximum against the Porsche at the front. Our car was just mega and it was a very special feeling to start from the front row. The race itself was a bit difficult. My start was good, but I couldn't hold off a Maserati with more power from behind. Due to an oil slick in front of me, I couldn't capitalise on my advantage on the brakes and so the team-mate of our championship rival went past and blocked everything. Ilmari also had to admit defeat to an opponent and so we finished fourth. That wasn't so dramatic in the end, because we knew that it would come down to an ultimate showdown on Sunday.
You were well positioned for this final with third place on the grid. Please explain from your point of view why it didn't work out in the end?
We thought we had a very good chance of finishing in front thanks to our balanced driver pairing. Ilmari had a great start and was able to maintain third place. Unfortunately, the team-mate of our championship rival sent him into the crash barrier on the straight. He got a drive-through penalty for that, but we were at the back of the field with bent steering. I couldn't believe at first that the well-timed driver change just before the safety car meant that I ended up in third place. We were ahead of our rivals and suddenly the top favourites for the title again. Everything was going in the right direction until the car suddenly broke away while accelerating out of the penultimate corner. I had no chance of catching it and simply crashed into the crash barrier. We all suspect consequential damage after Ilmari hit the wall at the start of the race. I returned to the pits and came back out with a repaired car two laps before the end. We didn't want to end the season with a retirement, so we showed everyone that we never give up!
Third place in the championship is a great result. Can you recognise that by now, or is the disappointment predominant?
At the moment, the focus is clearly on the lost title. We had every chance and our hopes were dashed from one second to the next. The championship was within our grasp and now we're only just beaten into third place. It will certainly take some time before I realise that third place in this championship is a really strong performance that I can be proud of. I would have wished the same success for all our guys at Reiter Engineering. The team has worked so hard all season and has not been rewarded in the end.