Shahan Sarkissian returned to racing for the first time in five years at the French GT4 championship this past weekend.
Racing in the K-Worx Ginetta G55, the Lebanese driver teamed up with Jihad Abujaoude in the Amateur class with the first event taking place at Nagaro.
Keen to get back into the rhythm after so long away, Sarkissian’s weekend got off to a bad start on Thursday as two brake problems in testing limited running to just a quarter of the available time.
Needing to catch up, Friday saw yet more car problems resulting in a total of just 45 minutes in the car for Shahan before the action began in earnest.
First qualifying would see the less experienced Abujaoude behind the wheel and unfortunately finish bottom of the timesheet for Race 1.
In the second session though, Sarkissian put the limited testing aside to claim an incredible pole position in the Am class and 15th overall in a field of 44 cars
“I am quite happy with my qualifying, especially because there was still more speed in the car but I took no risks,” he commented.
Starting from the back in Race 1, it was all about getting experience for Jihad in his first race, as a penalty for speeding in the pit-lane proved.
But when Shahan took over the car, he was able to make progress up the field to 11th in the Am class and would finish 31st overall.
Race 2 would be about trying to capitalize from 15th on the grid, but unfortunately, a collision with a Pro class driver dropped the team to the back on Lap 13.
Once back on track, Sarkassian put in another charge through the field to make it back inside the top 10 in the Am class.
But another collision would mean the car was too badly damaged and a retirement would be the final result.
“All in all I am happy with the pace, to qualify 1st in Am and 15th overall between the Pros that are getting paid to drive to race is something we should be proud of,” Shahan reflected.
“I am happy with the job I have done and the outcome of my preparations.
“We learned a lot, especially about the Ginetta because this car has no top speed and we have to make aggressive moves on the braking to be able to overtake.
“The car is fast in corners but on the straights we lost a lot compared to others even if we went on the throttle before them.
“Lot of positives and we look forward to the next round on Pau, where everything is made in qualifying.”
Shahan will be back on track for the second event of the French GT4 championship at the famous Pau street circuit on May 17-19.