Podium For Frank Bird In Abu Dhabi
After last weekend’s solid performance in the opening two rounds of the four-race Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) held at the Dubai Autodrome, Cumbrian driver Frank Bird impressed as he secured a podium in the fourth and final race which took place at the YAS Marina Circuit in neighbouring Abu Dhabi today.
The Penrith starlet was contesting the second pair of four-hour races in the Middle East driving a McLaren 720S in the GT class for the UK-based Garage 59 team along with teammates Alexander West from Sweden and German driver Marvin Kirchhofer.
The #88 team of Bird and his teammates qualified in mid-pack for the first of the weekend’s races but another superb drive by Frank saw them climb the leaderboard to end up in twelfth place at the chequered flag.
However, they saved the best until last and with Bird once again impressing in his stint, whereby from twelfth on the grid, he had the car up to second at one point, but in the end, had to settle for third place to record the debut podium in a McLaren for the Garage 59 squad.
After the four-round series, Frank claimed an impressive sixth place overall in the GT drivers’ class.
Frank Bird: ‘That’s the Asian Le Mans series done. We finally got the podium we had been chasing in that last race and it’s been a great two weeks out here in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We made some great steps with the car, especially as this was the team’s first event in a McLaren, and to get a podium in the final race made it even better. It was a great experience to do this championship so thanks to all the mechanics and engineers for their hard work, also to my teammates Marvin and Alex for the brilliant jobs they did. Finally, thanks to the sponsors and my dad for making this happen.”
For further information please visit www.asianlemansseries.com and www.garage59.co.uk
