2009 FIA GT

[MOTV8]

The FIA GT contenders rolled out for the first test day at Paul Ricard in France. The new Nissan GT-R and Ford GT's showed up too, should be some good racing this year!

FIA GT contenders

[dewey]

Why does the Vette sat SRT on the grill? Is this the new Viperette?

[MOTV8]

SRT is Selleslagh Racing Team. They bought the ex-ALMS C6.R (chassis #006) last season, after running a C5-R before that. They're worth keeping an eye on, they do some damage over there.

Selleslagh Racing

I like 'em better than ole Luc whatshisname's race team.

[MOTV8]

Quick blurb on another C6.R campaigned by PK Carsport.

[Desertdawg]

The white sure stands out, just needs a jake skull

[Big Poppa]

I don't like all the red lettering, and I can't see where Jake would help.

[dewey]

Well, ol Luc set fastest time at Paul Ricard.

Corvettes had the top 3 fastest times. Maranello must be burning to the ground!

14/04/2009 Luc Alphand Aventures fastest at Paul Ricard testing

The nr 19 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6R set the best time during testing at the Paul Ricard HTTT, with a lap of 2:01.224, set by FIA GT newcomer Guillaume Moreau. The young French driver was concentrating on qualifying runs, while his team-mate Xavier Maassen did the endurance driving. Second-fastest was the DKR Corvette, in the hands of the team's FFSA GT drivers, Olivier Panis and Eric Debard. PK Carsport rounded off a Corvette trio at the top of the time sheets. As for GT2, the test bime was set by the nr 97 Brixia Porsche, Luigi Lucchini at the wheel, ahead of the nr 50 Ferrari 430 GT2 car of AF Corse's Bruni and Vilander.

linky

[MOTV8]

Just before the Silverstone kick-off, DKR Engineering confirms who will be driving their oddly painted Corvette C6.R.

[Desertdawg]

The 28 year young driver

Everyone else is 28 years old, I hate that saying....

The Corvette C6.R is the perfect weapon to do battle with

At least that got that part right!!!

[MOTV8]

I personally would rather have some large caliber machine gun to battle with...but that's just me.

A Corvette posted the fastest of the practice times for this weekend! Got those pesky Maserati/Ferrari Enzo bitches on his ass though. Ford GT and Nissan GT-R are behind all the C6.R's btw....

FIA GT Friday Practice Results

[MOTV8]

Uh oh, results from Silverstone posted, SPOILER ALERT!

KplusK Saleen wins FIA GT opener

By Gary Watkins Sunday, May 3rd 2009, 17:40 GMT

Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp won the Tourist Trophy for a second consecutive season at Silverstone today.

The Austrian and the Scot easily had the fastest car in the form of the KplusK Motorsport Saleen S7R, but ended up having to work hard for their victory in the opening FIA GT Championship round.

Quicker pitstops by the Vitaphone Maserati squad and a mid-race safety-car period that fell kindly for the German team meant that Wendlinger had to come from behind in the closing stages to seal the win.

Wendlinger emerged from the final round of pitstops on the heels of Andrea Bertolini's Maserati MC12. The former FIA GT champion spent three laps on the Maserati's tail before driving past through Vale when Bertolini was held up by a GT2 car.

"It wasn't always easy," said Wendlinger. "There was always pressure from the Vitaphone car behind us. I got a bit lucky behind Andrea because he was blocked by a GT2 car."

The Maserati, co-driven by Vitaphone team boss Michael Bartels, ended up five and a half seconds behind at the finish.

The third-placed Luc Alphand Aventures Chevrolet Corvette C6.R driven by Guillaume Moreau and Xavier Massen was a further 20 seconds behind at the finish.

GT2 honours went to the ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3-RSR driven by Richard Westbrook and Emmanuel Collard. The Belgian-run Porsche battled with the lead AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT for much of the race, but ended up inheriting a clear victory when Gianmaria Risi retired the Ferrari with suspension damage in the closing stages.

Pos Cl Drivers Car Time

1. GT1 Wendlinger/Sharp Saleen S7 2h00m10.556s

2. GT1 Bertolini/Bartels Maserati MC 12 + 5.499s

3. GT1 Moreau/Maassen Corvette Z06 + 25.956s

4. GT1 Hezemans/Kumpen Corvette Z06 + 30.564s

5. GT1 Lacko/Dominguez Saleen S7 + 59.628s

6. GT1 Longin/Ruffier Corvette Z06 + 1m43.824s

7. GT1 Menten/Palttala Corvette Z06 + 1 lap

8. GT1 Mutsch/Biagi Ford GT + 1 lap

9. GT1 Hines/Lemeret Saleen S7 + 1 lap

10. GT1 Leinders/Kuppens Ford GT + 2 laps

11. GT2 Westbrook/Collard Porsche 911 GT3 RS + 3 laps

12. GT2 Russo/Perez Companc Ferrari 430 + 3 laps

13. GT2 Bell/Kirkaldy Ferrari 430 + 3 laps

14. GT2 Malucelli/Ruberti Ferrari 430 + 3 laps

15. GT2 Barba Lopez/Cadei Ferrari 430 + 3 laps

16. GT2 O'Young/Holzer Porsche 911 GT3 RS + 3 laps

17. GT2 Mucke/Makowiecki Aston Martin V8 + 4 laps

18. GT2 Ragginger/Lucchini Porsche 911 GT3 RS + 4 laps

19. GT2 Mullen/Niarchos Ferrari 430 + 4 laps

20. GT2 Heyer/Romanini Ferrari 430 + 4 laps

21. G3C Alexander-David/Lagniez Corvette Z06 GT3 + 7 laps

Retirements:

GT2 Bruni/Vilander Ferrari 430 53 laps

GT1 Monfardini/Orts Saleen S7 39 laps

GT1 Muller/Ramos Maserati MC 12 28 laps

GT1 Krumm/Turner Nissan GT-R 28 laps

GT2 Sugden/Ashburn Porsche 911 GT3 RS 24 laps

[Desertdawg]

Ok so the vettes got beat... Dammit

But what caught my eye was in bold below!!!

Retirements:

GT2 Bruni/Vilander Ferrari 430 53 laps

GT1 Monfardini/Orts Saleen S7 39 laps

GT1 Muller/Ramos Maserati MC 12 28 laps

GT1 Krumm/Turner Nissan GT-R 28 laps

GT2 Sugden/Ashburn Porsche 911 GT3 RS 24 laps

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

[MOTV8]

Yeah, how about that Gaw-zirrah? Nice debut. Impressive. [/eyeroll]

Now, the rest of this is just information overload, but for this first race I was laughing at the use of "American power beast" to describe the C6.R....

FIA GT Championship 2009: Jos Menten Review Round One - Silverstone

Jos Menten and Markus Palttala managed to round off a difficult weekend in Silverstone with a seventh place. The Dutch-Finnish duo had to fight for three whole days with the Corvette C6.R’s difficult road handling. Normally the Corvette is a paragon example when it comes to handling, but in the United Kingdom the Corvette teams can’t seem to get it right. Tyre supplier Michelin proposed an exceptionally soft tyre for the opening round of the FIA GT championship but this didn’t turn out right for the teams with their powerful V8 engines under the bonnet. After a handful of laps the performance curve of the tyres disappeared into the abyss, resulting in heavy understeer.

Everything appeared to be going well for Jos Menten and his Finnish team-mate during the free practice sessions on Friday. The duo registered the seventh best time with the Corvette C6.R, in the wake of the similar cars of Luc Alphand Aventures and SRT: "The DKR Engineering Corvette is used as reference in the French FFSA GT championship. During the first training session we limited ourselves to some fine tuning and Markus had sufficient time to get used to the car. We only used up one set of tyres. We need to handle our stock of tyres carefully. After a few laps the Michelins break down quickly, which does give us some worries. It could well be that the lack of test mileage has something to do with it also", was the remark emanating from the DKR Engineering pit box after the first free practice session.

The ninety minutes pre-qualifying session results in a fourth place. Has the DKR Engineering pit crew come up with the correct set-up? "The balance is better, but the tyre wear remains far too high. We clocked up our fast lap on new rubbers. Those tyres can only hold that pace for one or two laps. Seeing we are carrying more weight in the nose of the car we are ballasting the front tyres far more than those of our opponents, namely Maserati and Saleen. We have tried out various set-ups, but nothing seems to help. We’re in for a heavy race", Jos Menten realised.

In qualifying Jos Menten has to content himself with a place on the fourth row of the grid: "I felt rather frustrated in the car. I was really pushing but due to a problem with the dashboard I was receiving incorrect lap times. My lap time was in fact three seconds better than what was being displayed. When you’re going flat out in the attack and you see that you are three seconds slower than during the training … you start asking yourself questions. Luckily the team were able to put my mind at ease via the car radio that we had made it to the fourth row of the grid", the 28 year old driver from Haelen declared.

The only thing that could still help the DKR-duo would be a solid downpour on Sunday. However the weather gods did not intervene in this edition of the RAC Tourist Trophy. In the warm-up Menten and Palttala tested out a new set-up, but this proved rather negative also. The blue-white Corvette C6.R remains in the middle of the GT1 pack. Between the warm-up and the race the set-up is revised once again, this time to the satisfaction of the drivers: "The car is still not perfect, but it does feel better than during the two previous days", Menten comments on the starting grid.

At 14.10hrs the lights turn to green for the start of the first FIA GT race of the season. Jos Menten immediately goes into the attack at Copse. The Dutchman overtakes the SRT Corvette C6.R on the outside, but already after two laps the tyres are giving way. "I had to let the SRT Corvette through and all I could do was to complete my stint and remain in close contact with the cars ahead of me."

Markus Palttala took over the wheel but similar to his team-mate had to undergo the law of the strongest. Even a short interruption by the Safety Car doesn’t bring any solace. Some forty minutes later Menten once again takes over the Corvette C6.R. On old used tyres he manages to drag the American power beast to the finish: "Up in front a competitor got into trouble, allowing us to finally finish in seventh place. Not the result we had hoped for at the beginning of the weekend", a visibly disappointed Jos Menten sighed.

...and the SRT blurb:

Silverstone: SRT weekend summary

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2009-05-04

SRT opens with sixth place in FIA GT Silverstone

SILVERSTONE. The opening round of the prestigious FIA GT Championship took place at Silverstone this weekend. SRT is taking part in the championship for the third consecutive season. Bert Longin and James Ruffier took sixth place in the opening race, "the highest possible for us", a humble Patrick Selleslagh admitted after the race. SRT is facing a really busy month of May, with races in Dijon and Magny-Cours for the FFSA GT Championship and of course the second race of the FIA in Adria, Italy.

The FIA GT season kicked off on Friday. The competitors in the prestigious GT championship had their first 80 minute long free practice session on the Silverstone circuit and Bert Longin and James Ruffier ended the session in a decent fifth place in their SRT Corvette.

"But regardless of the result the most important thing was to drive trouble- free for 80 minutes and find a good set-up", explained Bert Longin. "Things went well for me, even though we still have to search for a good seating position considering the difference in length between me and James, as the seat comfort is important for both drivers." For James Ruffier it was a real baptism of fire, as the French European GT3 champion had never been in a Corvette. "Super..." was his comment after his first stint. Bert Longin posted a strong 1:46.9 in the final minutes of the session, which meant SRT was in the top 5 straight away.

On Saturday morning the second free practice took place, but the most important mission on Saturday was the qualifying session that decided the starting order for the race. Bert Longin took the SRT Corvette to seventh place in the session. "But I made a really rookie error", admitted the driver from Leuven. "I spun on my first flying lap and blew my chances to improve. Position five would have been a real possibility."

Patrick Selleslagh: "The car is very good, we have worked hard and I'm quite positive about our chances for the race. We are where we hoped to be and our two drivers are equally matched, so fingers crossed for tomorrow."

The race itself went smoothly for SRT. Bert Longin had a great start, "and I was able to catch up with the Corvettes of Moreau and Hezemans", Longin looks back at his stint. "My rhythm was good right from the start and the car felt fine as well. But what happened then was really appalling. We had just completed the driver change and the safety car came out on the track. Instead of the cars lining up behind it, lots of bizarre things happened and all of a sudden we were more than 20 seconds behind the cars ahead of us. Incomprehensible for a series on the level of the FIA GT...For James there was nothing more to do than to make no mistakes and secure sixth place."

Patrick Selleslagh: "My drivers really did well and considering the circumstances and the safety car chaos I think we can be satisfied with the outcome of this race. The new technical regulations also mean each team has to use the same rubber, but the tyres on the Corvette seem to have had the best quite fast. It is not an ideal situation, but we expect it will be better in the next races."

So, sounds like the vettes were just eating up "tyres".....

Just for giggles, here's the Nissan GT-R report:

Silverstone: Darren Turner race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2009-05-03

POSITIVE PROGRESS MADE AT SILVERSTONE

Darren Turner returned to competing on four wheels this weekend, in the Nissan GT-R at the opening round of the 2009 FIA GT Championship at Silverstone. The team made good progress throughout the weekend but ultimately a rear suspension problem ended their race on Sunday afternoon.

Darren's team-mate, Michael Krumm, took the start and completed a good first stint before pitting with what looked like a puncture to his left rear tyre. The team ran through the normal pit-stop procedure and Darren jumped in, ready to take to the track. At this point it was determined that the car had a rear suspension problem so the team took the decision to retire it from the race.

Although Darren didn't complete any race laps today, a lot of positives can be taken from the weekend at Silverstone.

"Of course it's disappointing that I didn't get to race," said Turner. "But the progress we've made over this weekend has been very encouraging. We can go to Oschersleben now in the knowledge that we are going in the right direction."

The Oschersleben round of the FIA GT Championship takes place on June 21st. Darren will be back on track next weekend though for the Spa round of the 2009 Le Mans Series.

I hope they can make it 1000 kms around Spa!

[Desertdawg]

Poor GTr folks are probably all saying, "we are still faster, even though it looked like we didn't finish"

Sounds like the Corvettes are ready to pounce if they can get the right tires!

[MOTV8]

Indeed, it's the 'vettes and Maseratis, then all the rest, minus the GT-R...

FIA GT - Adria - Race Report

May 16, 2009

Vitaphone Racing Team won the night race at the Adria circuit this evening. The #1 Maserati MC12 of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini stayed out of trouble and kept all rivals behind. After two hours of racing in the dark the gap to the second placed Corvette was 10 seconds.

Saturday May 16th 2009 was a day to forget for the K plus K Motorsport team. After being stripped of their pole position earlier in the day Ryan Sharp took the Saleen back into the pit at the end of the formation lap. The #14 car was retired with a driveshaft failure. Team mate Mario Dominguez came into the pit at the end of lap one and handed over his car to Adam Lacko.

As the sun was starting to set the race got underway at 7:45 p.m. local time, both Vitaphone Maserati’s going into turn 1 side by side. Behind them Ferdinando Monfardini pushed his way through into fourth overall.

Seven laps into the race the #95 Pecom Racing Ferrari retired in the box. A weekend to forget for that team as well. Meanwhile Anthony Kumpen did whatever he could to pass the Full Speed Racing Saleen, but it took him quite some time and he only passed the Saleen on lap 14.

One lap later Monfardini got into the the pits. After it was refueled the bonnet of the car went off for some checks. It rejoined the race shortly after, only to return to the pit and pushed back into the box a couple of laps later. It would return once more, but then retired with overheating problems

The two Vitaphone Racing Maserati’s meanwhile kept their positions at the front, with three Corvettes chasing them. In GT2 the Porsches were still 1-2-3.

On lap 34 the #2 Maserati came into the pit for its first compulsory pit stop, many other teams followed the example of the Vitaphone team. Team mate Bertolini however stayed out for several other laps, before coming in on lap 43.

The GT2 Porsches came into the pit on lap 45, just at the end of the first hour. When all teams had made their pit stop Miguel Ramos was leading Michael Bartels in GT1, while Brixia Racing had taken back the GT2 lead, ahead of the AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT of Alvaro Barba.

On lap 54 the Vitaphone Racing Team #2 Maserati was given a stop and go penalty for starting the race on wrong tyres. For some reason the team did not start the race on the tyres used in qualifying, but a different set. Miguel Ramos came in to serve the penalty one lap later. In GT2 Alvaro Barba went by the Brixia Racing Porsche and took the lead of the race.

As a result of the stop and go Hezemans in the PK Corvette moved up into second place. In GT2 the Porsches got into difficulties with both the Brixia and Trackspeed cars spinning at turn 1, fortunately without any damage to the car.

Emmanuel Collard went after Barba and closed the gap to the Spanish driver quickly. A battle that went on for several laps started, with Collard all over the Ferrari all the time. Despite being caught up by the GT1 leaders Collard was back on the Ferrari soon after they had passed and on lap 67 there was contact between the #60 and #51.

Barba went into the pit for AF Corse’s final stop two laps later, handing the lead in GT2 back to a Porsche.

Front runners Bartels and Hezemans made their final stop on lap 74. As a result the Luc Alphand Corvette was leading, followed by Alex Müller in the #2 Maserati, who had taken over from Ramos some 10 laps earlier on.

Rather than returning in third place after its final pit stop the Alphand Corvette lost out to #2 Maserati and came back in fourth place. In GT2 Collard made his pit stop, with Gianmaria Bruni rapidly closing in. Fortunately for Richard Westbrook who took over the ProSpeed Competition Porsche the team was able to double stint the tyres and the Briton came back on the track a couple of seconds in front of the #50 AF Corse Ferrari.

At the front Bertolini had a gap of around nine seconds to the second placed Corvette of Anthony Kumpen. A gap that was never to be bridged by the Belgian driver.

On lap 88 Malucelli spun his BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari F430 GT into the gravel at turn 6, bringing out the yellow flags.

Nothing changed position wise and after 96 laps the chequered flag came out. Bertolini crossed the line in first place, 10 seconds ahead of Kumpen and 20 seconds ahead of team mate Alex Müller.

Gianmaria Bruni was unable to close the gap to Richard Westbrook, who secured ProSpeed Competition’s second win of the season. Niki Cadei took third place behind team mate Gianmaria Bruni.

Bartels and Bertolini move into first place in the 2009 FIA GT1 Driver Championship, while Collard and Westbrook increase their lead in the GT2 Driver Championship.

Results: 2009 Round 2 - AdriaRace Result

Pos Car Class Drivers Car Time Laps Gap Avgspeed

1 1 GT1 Bertolini/Bartels Maserati MC 12 2:00:22.680 96 129.21

2 4 GT1 Kumpen/Hezemans Corvette C6R 2:00:32.848 96 10.168 129.03

3 2 GT1 Muller/Ramos Maserati MC 12 2:00:43.145 96 20.465 128.84

4 19 GT1 Maassen/Moreau Corvette C6R 2:00:32.760 95 1 LAP 127.68

5 3 GT1 Ruffier/Longin Corvette C6R 2:00:39.492 95 1 LAP 127.56

6 11 GT1 Lemeret/Hines Saleen S7 Twin Turbo 2:01:36.384 94 2 LAPS 125.24

7 60 GT2 Westbrook/Collard Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 2:00:29.403 92 4 LAPS 123.70

8 50 GT2 Bruni/Vilander Ferrari F430 2:00:36.392 92 4 LAPS 123.59

9 51 GT2 Cadei/Barba Ferrari F430 2:01:03.586 92 4 LAPS 123.12

10 61 GT2 Holzer/O'Young Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 2:01:06.034 92 4 LAPS 123.08

11 97 GT2 Ragginger/Lucchini Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 2:01:09.267 92 4 LAPS 123.03

12 40 GT1 Leinders/Kuppens Ford GT (001 PT GT1) 2:01:30.086 92 4 LAPS 122.68

13 55 GT2 Mullen/Niarchos Ferrari F430 2:00:27.716 91 5 LAPS 122.39

14 56 GT2 Kirkaldy/Bell Ferrari F430 2:01:04.455 91 5 LAPS 121.77

15 59 GT2 Sugden/Ashburn Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 2:01:08.616 90 6 LAPS 120.36

16 78 GT2 Romanini/Heyer Ferrari F430 2:01:27.818 90 6 LAPS 120.04

17 18 GT1 Dominguez/Lacko Saleen S7 2:00:42.562 85 11 LAPS 114.08

18 77 GT2 Malucelli/Ruberti Ferrari F430 1:49:40.510 83 13 LAPS 122.60

19 44 GT1 Biagi/Mutsch Ford GT (001 PT GT1) 2:01:29.745 71 25 LAPS 94.66

20 13 GT1 Monfardini/Orts Saleen S7 37:25.905 20 76 LAPS 86.37

21 95 GT2 La Mazza/Sbirrazuoli Ferrari F430 8:29.272 6 90 LAPS 113.50

22 14 GT1 Sharp/Wendlinger Saleen S7 96 LAPS N/A

This is just in case you've never heard of Adria.

[MOTV8]

PK Carsport Corvette CR6 wins round three of the FIA GT Championship

Yesterday’s FIA GT Championship at Oschersleben, Germany was won by the GT1 Corvette C6R of Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen. While the team qualified down in 7th position, rain during the course of the race changed the dynamics of the track’s conditions and therefore the cars’ handling, something Kumpen and Hezemens were able to take advantage of after a brilliant start.

“That was a really easy win – we had a trouble-free race," said Hezemans in response to his 13th FIA GT victory. That early maneuver, which resulted after a minor crash, forced the two Maserati’s back down the field and gave Hezemens and Kumpel a solid advantage throughout the race. The Vitaphone Maserati’s did catch up, taking second and third overall positions, but the Championship is by no means cut and dry. “We’re happy, we’re still second in the Championship but it’s close,” Kumpen said afterwards. “Bartels and Bertolini did a fantastic job again so they are making life tough for us.”

The rain, as you can see from the pictures, created absolutely treacherous conditions and for the GT1 cars in particular, with in excess of 600hp at the rear wheels, keeping the car on the track is exceedingly difficult. “The result could have been much worse with that crash at the start and the heavy rain, because there was only one strategy in the rain: to keep the car on the track. I’ve never seen so many cars spinning off, and there was massive aquaplaning. We have added another eight points to our account, and now we are going to Belgium,” Bartels commented. “It is the last year of the Maserati MC 12 in the FIA GT Championship, and we will do everything to win the Total 24 Hours of Spa.”

Corvette’s rounded out the fourth and fifth spots at the checkered flag, and it’s worth noting that their were six American cars in the top 8 positions: Three Corvette CR6’s, two Ford GT’s and in 8th position, a Saleen S7R Twin Turbo.

The GT2 class was won by the AF Corse F430 team, with drivers Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander. “I am really happy to win,” Vilander commented. “I feel bad for car nr 60, but it was good for us. That’s racing. The Championship is completely open again, with two points separating us, so from Spa on it will be flat out, and we’ll have to see who is the next to make a mistake.” Vilander is considered something of a rain specialist and took charge during the torrential rain, assisting Bruni of finishing 16 seconds ahead of their nearest rival, the nr 61 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 RS car of Marco Holzer and Sean Edwards, the youngest driver pair on the grid. They put in a strong race to finish second despite an extra pit stop.

Unfortunately we have to wait over a month for the next race on the FIA calendar in part due to the reduced schedule to cut costs this year. However, July 26 is a big event, the 24 hours of SPA, which is one of the largest 24 hour events in Europe attracting many entries. The famous Belgian circuit is a favorite amongst drivers featuring long straights and sweeping corners, the most famous of which is probably Eau Rouge, which features a long down hill entry, quick left and right and elevation change as it goes back up another hill into Kemmel and Les Combes.

The track has undergone considerable change over the years to improve on safety. According to this source famous German racer Hans-Yoachim Stuck, warned his co-driver, Jochen Mass, during a 1973 event that he should '"look out for body parts at the Masta Kink". Mass arrived there expecting to see bits of car all over the road but was appalled to discover it was bits of a marshal.'

Buick.

[F22trainer]

NICE!

[Desertdawg]

Somebody is pushing!!!

Body parts (car or human) on the track is always a bad thing!

[MOTV8]

Breaking News Dept., another C6.R drops in on the Spa 24 hour FIA GT race. Trying to get a line on which chassis they got, and from whom. Who. F'it. Where.

Sangari Team Brazil joins FIA GT Championship

Starting at the Total 24 Hours of Spa next month the FIA GT Championship will have another GT1 Corvette C6.R in its races this season. Today it was confirmed that Sangari Team Brazil will join the GT1 class for the remainder of the 2009 championship.

The Corvette C6.R will be entered by DKR Engineering, in partnership with Brazilian company Sangari. Under the banner of Sangari Team Brazil the C6.R will have an all-Brazilian line up. Whilst the complete crew for the 24 Hours at Spa-Francorchamps has not yet been announced it was confirmed that former Arrows F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi will be sharing the car with former Formula 3 and Formula Nippon driver Roberto Streit.

Stephane Ratel was very happy with the addition of Sangari Team Brazil to the FIA GT Championship: “Attracting drivers from overseas is one of our prime objectives, in order to build up interest for GT racing in their countries. We hope that having a Brazilian car in the FIA GT Championship in 2009 will prove to be a first step towards having a round of the future FIA GT1 World Championship in Brazil in 2010 or 2011.”

Enrique Bernoldi is looking forward to this new challenge: “I am delighted with this great opportunity. And I think Roberto and I will form a strong lineup straight away. I am very motivated to work hard, and I know the team and Streit are also fired up. As a racing driver, I am looking forward to driving the Corvette as soon as possible.”

Streit, who has some Super GT experience from his time in Japan, is also very excited: “Everything will be new to me, so it is a new challenge altogether. I already know Enrique but I have never worked with him. For sure he is quick and professional, so I have great expectations about what we can achieve with DKR. I am still only 25 years old. Thus a career in GT1 is a very interesting prospect.”

The two Brazilians will have their first outing in the Corvette next week during a test at the Val de Vienne circuit in France.

You think Pratt & Miller likes Brazilians? I know I do....

[Desertdawg]

The more the merrier, always good to see another team join the Corvette fray!

[MOTV8]

Now Ollie Gavin (....and P&M) have thrown in with SRT in their ex-works C6.R for the Spa 24.

SRT with Gavin-Longin-Soulet-Ruffier in Spa

For the seventh successive time, the SRT team will be entering the Spa 24 Hours with a Corvette and, this year, it will be the final curtain for the American car in the GT1 category as it is nowadays. And the team around Patrick Selleslagh has every intention of bringing this chapter of history to an end with a flourish.

“This is the reason we are going to the Spa 24 Hours with a such an outstanding driver line up,” commented team’s leader. “Alongside our regulars in the FIA GT Championship, Bert Longin and James Ruffier, we are strengthened by the addition of Maxime Soulet and…Oliver Gavin! The British driver has enjoyed a great deal of success in recent years, at the heart of the official Corvette Racing team at Le Mans and in the American Le Mans Series, and it’s with pleasure that we welcome him into our team. I am not a fan of forecasts, but a top three place will be our main objective.”

“I am also especially happy,” explains Bert Longin after having learnt of the news of Gavin’s arrival within the team. “Because, on top of the experience that such a driver can bring, it also means that Pratt & Miller will support us on the technical and engineering side. And such a support is essential because it will really allow us to consolidate our chances for Spa. I am looking forward enormously to the race weekend and I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel at the first test session. I am furthermore indebted to Patrick Selleslagh for having brought such a project to completion, with such a favourable outcome. This will allow us to play a key role in the last edition of the 24 Hours of Spa which will be run with the present-day GT1 cars.”

Maxime Soulet is also delighted that the Briton will be coming to SRT for this event. “I am even more pleased at the support which Patrick is going to be able to benefit from. It’s a mark of respect for his team and his hard work, which he’s done so much of in the last few years with limited resources. Personally I’m looking forward a lot to this partnership with our American guests.”

“It’s true,” confirms Patrick Selleslagh. “I consider this support as validation for our work, and I am sure that this will allow us to achieve a good result. At Spa, we have twice picked up a place of honour and, this year, we want even more from it! But don’t put the cart before the horse, and let us build up for a good result stage by stage.”

As for Oliver Gavin, he can’t hide his satisfaction at the announcement. “I’m delighted to be driving for SRT at the Spa 24 hours. It’s quite a late deal because everyone’s been working hard to try and get their plans together, but I’m very happy to be returning to Spa for the first time since 2007 [when Oliver competed in the 24 Hours with Luc Alphand Aventures’ Corvette]. Spa is a fantastic race track to compete at and, of course, the 24 Hours is a special event. We’ve got a line up of drivers with a huge amount of knowledge at Spa and in the Corvette, which I think gives us a really solid foundation to go into the race. SRT is a strong Belgian team with a great heritage at Spa and it’s their home race and that gives me a lot of confidence. I remember meeting Patrick Selleslagh in 2003 at Pratt & Miller’s race shop in the States when he was one of the very first Corvette C5R customers. He’s been an extremely loyal and hard working privateer ever since that time and it’s a testament to his determination that his team has continued racing and with good results, especially in the very competitive FIA GT Championship.”

The Spa 24 Hours will begin on Wednesday, 22nd July with a day that’s free to the public. On Thursday, 23rd July all the practice and qualifying sessions will take place, while the race will begin on Saturday, as the clock strikes 1600 hours…

Gavin, schmavin....

[Desertdawg]

Must be nice to get a driver and he brings Pratt & Miller support to the party with him....

[MOTV8]

Hell, with P&M on board I think they stand a better than average chance of winning this pony show...if they can get a little "physical" with those pesky Maserati/Ferrari Enzos I'm sure some delicate eye-talian stuff could get broke.

Total 24 Hours of Spa 2009 - GT1 Preview

By Marcel ten Caat

July 22, 2009

In a few days the blue ribbon event of the FIA GT Championship will be taking place for the 61st time in history: the 24 Hours of Spa. Globally the race is regarded as one of the best races in the sports car racing world, on one of the most historic racing circuits that still exists.

Unfortunately the current entry list makes the 2009 edition one of the weakest races in recent history. At the moment of this writing thirty-nine entries were still on the list, with just over a handful of (current spec) GT1 cars. The hopes of many to see the ultimate fight over 24 hours between Corvette, Aston Martin, Maserati, Saleen and Lamborghini were dashed when it became clear that no Aston Martins or Lamborghinis would be entered. But it got worse…

With July 14th (the date of the publication of the entry list) getting closer rumours about teams pulling out or not entering started to increase and when the list finally arrived it turned out that out of nine full-season entries only six had entered. That number dropped to five a few days later.

Luc Alphand Aventures was the first of the full season regulars to make a shock announcement that they will not run in Belgium and will instead focus on their title defence in the Le Mans Series. Full Speed Racing and KplusK Motorsport had already confirmed they would only run one car, rather than the double entry in the season. But a few days after the entry list was revealed KplusK Motorsport decided to withdraw their second entry as well, leaving the Full Speed Racing team as the sole Saleen team in Spa. The reasons given for their withdrawal are understandable, but not at such a late moment. It is not that the teams only recently knew what regulations were in place for Spa.

All in all there will be nine GT1 cars on the grid, two of them in the 2010-specification.

Despite the rumours about several teams Vitaphone Racing never doubted racing at Spa, their favourite hunting ground. In fact the German squad is (again) doing everything to win. Three cars are entered and some top drivers are signed for the twice-around-the-clock race. Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini in the #1 Maserati MC12 will be joined again by Stéphane Sarrazin, part of the winning squad in 2008, and Alexandre Negrão, who finished second in 2008. The second car will have regular drivers Alex Müller and Miguel Ramos teamed up with 5x Spa 24 winner Eric van de Poele and Portuguese ace Pedro Lamy. The third car will have Vincent Vosse, Stéphane Lémeret, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Carl Rosenblad sharing the driving duties. All in all it is a highly experienced group of drivers in the best car available for the Spa 24 Hours. Unless weather conditions, accidents or driver errors rue their chances one of the Vitaphone cars should end up at the top spot.

First among the non-Maserati crews is the PK Carsport Corvette C6.R #4 of Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen. A disastrous year for the Corvettes in 2008 should be forgotten, PK is at Spa to win. The Dutch-Belgian pair is joined by another Dutch-Belgian duo, Jos Menten and Kurt Mollekens. A win at Oschersleben last month meant the team is ready for its attack on the Vitaphone team, but it remains to be seen if the #4 can beat the lead Maserati entries.

Selleslagh Racing Team is likely to be the second best of the Corvette teams. Bert Longin and James Ruffier will be joined by Maxime Soulet, his fourth Spa 24 Hours in an SRT Corvette. SRT will have Pratt&Miller support for their race car at Spa and will also have Briton Oliver Gavin racing for them. For Gavin it is a return to Spa after his race with Luc Alphand Aventures back in 2007. Gavin’s experience in the C6.R will hopefully make up for the flaws in the rest of the line-up.

The final Corvette C6.R is the Sangari Team Brazil entry, the rebranded DKR Engineering car. Enrique Bernoldi is the leading man in this team, though his lack of sports car experience is worrying. V8 Brasil is about the only thing he has done. A similar thing can be said about his team mate Roberto Streit, who only raced single-seaters as well and only once raced in the Japanese Super GT Series. For the Total 24 Hours of Spa 2009 the two Brazilians are joined by Dutchman Xavier Maassen, who was without a seat after the late withdrawal by his regular team Luc Alphand Aventures. Maassen finished second at the Le Mans 24 Hours and therefore knows what it is to do such a race. If there will be a fourth driver is not yet known at the moment.

The only current spec GT1 car left is the Full Speed Racing Saleen S7R. The #11 car will have Ferdinando Monfardini behind the wheel as usual this season, but the arrival of Dutch brothers Arjan and Rob van der Zwaan as well as reigning Japanese F3 champion Carlo van Dam came as a surprise. Drivers like Luke Hines, Johnny Mowlem, Michael Orts, Emerson Newton-John were expected (or at least linked) to the seat, but in the end it will be the Van der Zwaan brothers making their return to the FIA GT Championship for the first time since 2005, when they raced a JMB Racing Maserati MC12.

Completing the GT1 category are two brand new GT1 cars; the Nissan GT-R and the Ford GT.

Nissan Motorsports will be bringing the brand new Nissan GT-R to Belgium after its final test at the Oschersleben circuit gave the team enough confidence to enter it in a 24 hours race. Darren Turner and Michael Krumm will be joined by Anthony Davidson at Spa-Francorchamps, making it a top line-up. Nissan will see the Spa race as a big test for its new car ahead of the 2010 World Championship, but of course they would like to finish as high as possible.

Marc VDS Racing is the only Ford GT team in GT1, as Matech GT Racing Team decided to enter their GT3 cars at Spa. After running the Gillet Vertigo in recent years Bas Leinders and Renaud Kuppens finally have a real car to race around the Spa circuit. Joining them is reigning GT4 European Cup champion Eric de Doncker. As is the case with the Nissan GT-R the main focus is to finish.

So that is it. No Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9, no Gigawave Aston Martin DBR9, no Larbre Competition or Reiter Engineering, no KplusK Motorsport Saleen and no Luc Alphand Aventures C6.Rs. Conclusion: quantity isn’t there, but at least there is some quality among the driver lineups, even though it is mainly found at Vitaphone Racing.

Who is this guy, the Maserati PR-man? Jeeze, if you like 'em so much why don't you marry them? Nyah-nyah!

[MOTV8]

...and a more Gavin-centric blurb, for you Ollie fans.

Oliver Gavin gets final outing in Corvette C6.R at Spa-Francorchamps

Just two weeks before Chevrolet factory driver Oliver Gavin begins a new chapter in his career--behind the wheel of Corvette Racing's GT2-class contender at Mid-Ohio--he will have one final fling in the most important car of his career to date: the GT1 Corvette C6.R.

Gavin, part of Corvette Racing since 2002, has secured a drive in a privately run C6.R in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the blue-riband round of the FIA GT Championship. Should he win the big race with the Belgian Selleslagh Racing Team, he will add the historic enduro to a long list of triumphs aboard the C6.R. That list includes two GT1 wins at Le Mans, two more in the 12 Hours of Sebring, another pair at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, and three class championships in the American Le Mans Series. And that's not counting his successes aboard the C6.R's predecessor, the C5-R.

“Of all the circuits you could race the GT1 C6.R for one last time, you'd pick Spa,” he says. “I'm back with a good team and good teammates, which gives me a chance to win the race. It's not a bad way to sign off.”

A win for Gavin, who co-drives with FIA GT regulars Bert Longin, James Ruffier and Maxime Soulet, would be particularly poignant. The car he races this weekend is the very chassis that he and longtime Corvette Racing teammate Olivier Beretta used to win the 2007 ALMS crown with the Pratt & Miller factory team.

The car, like the other C6.Rs, is to be retired when new GT1 rules come into effect for 2010. Unless, that is, a plan hatched by the posse of privateers running the old warhorse in FIA GT competition comes to fruition. They propose downgrading the C6.R's performance to allow it to race against the new breed of GT1 contenders in next year's new FIA GT1 World Championship.

By then, Gavin's focus will be firmly on the GT2 Corvette. He's not allowed to talk about the project ahead of the car's Mid-Ohio debut on Aug. 8, except to say: “As one door closes, another opens.”

F'n frenchies. Now there WILL be a GT1 category, but with different rules? Whatever. A "detuned" C6.R will still lay waste to those new Ford GT's and Nissan GT-Rs.

[Desertdawg]

They have to lower the performance of the vette so it's a fair competition, why not just get better competitors?