FIA GT1 - 2010

[MOTV8]

FIA GT1 World Championship reveals participating brands

Prior to the publication of the official entry list for the new FIA GT1 World Championship, due at the end of this month, the series promoter revealed that six auto brands will be represented by 12 two-car teams. They are: Aston Martin, Chevrolet [Corvette], Ford, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan.

Series boss Stéphane Ratel's London-based SRO company says the Aston Martins will be raced by Hexis AMR, which won the 2009 FIA GT3 European team championship, and by Young Drivers AMR.

The Corvette will be represented by Madcroc Racing, a collaboration between FIA GT regulars Selleslagh Racing Team and DKR, and by Phoenix Racing Carsport, which is joint venture between two established teams, Phoenix Racing and Carsport Holland.

The Ford teams will be Matech Competition and Marc VDS Racing.

Lamborghinis will again be raced by Münnich Motorsport and by Reiter.

The Maserati teams will be the five-time FIA GT champion Vitaphone Racing Team and a new German team, Triple H Team Hegersport.

Finally, the Nissans will be operated by Swiss Racing Team and another new team, U.K.-based Sumo Power GT.

The new championship begins in Abu Dhabi on April 4.

Almost time to crush Lambos, Maseratis, AMs, Ford GTs, and Datsun GT-Rs....again.

[MOTV8]

Gavin and Salo head to Mad Croc Racing

Oliver Gavin and Mika Salo are the latest names to be confirmed for the new FIA GT1 World Championship.

Following weeks of rumours that the two would be paired at Mad Croc Racing it has been confirmed that they will indeed be racing a Corvette C6R.R under the Mad Croc banner, but not together.

Perrti Kuismanen is set to be the lynchpin of the team as he will be taking part in all ten of the seasons races with Salo and Gavin sharing driving duties over the season.

With Gavin recently confirmed for the American Le Mans Series, driving for the Corvette Racing team, the Englishman is set for a busy year as he be running in eight of the ten FIA GT races alongside a full ALMS season.

There is some clarification needed on one date however as the Laguna Seca round of the American championship clashes with the GT1 round in Brno.

Mika Salo will team up with Kuismanen to form a 100% finish entry. “I wanted the best possible drivers and I am pleased that Mika is involved. He is an experienced and great driver”, said Kuismanen as he talked to the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation YLE.

“The GT1 Championship is a very strong championship and I know that the Corvette C6.R is a really competitive car. My calendar was empty and it was such an interesting opportunity that I will really look forward to it”, said Mika Salo.

Pfft....Euros.

[Desertdawg]

My calendar was empty too, but my phone didn't ring.... He better not bend that vette or I might have to conk him on the noggin!

[MOTV8]

Zuber tipped to impress in GT1

Thursday, March 4th 2010, 11:48 GMT

Phoenix Carsport team manager Dirk Theimann expects GP2 convert Andreas Zuber to settle in quickly on his switch to sportscars in the new GT1 World Championship this year.

After four seasons in GP2, the 26-year-old Austrian has moved away from single-seaters to join long-time FIA GT frontrunner Mike Hezemans in the new Phoenix Carsport alliance's lead Corvette.

Theimann told this week's AUTOSPORT magazine that Zuber had impressed in his maiden GT test with the squad at Paul Ricard last week.

"It was the first time had driven with a roof over his head, but he was very cool," he said.

Zuber is one of a range of high-profile GT1 signings, with former Formula 1 racer Enrique Bernoldi also confirmed in the championship this week, and top sportscar drivers Darren Turner, Tomas Enge, Peter Dumbreck, Stefan Mucke, Dominik Schwager, Christophe Bouchut and Michael Krumm among the others committed to the new series.

"Teams understand that this could become something big and, if new manufacturers come in, they will have to do it through the existing teams," GT1 boss Stephane Ratel told AUTOSPORT.

"That's why they are employing top drivers, because they want to win races and prove they are the best in the championship."

[MOTV8]

Spy pix of the new Mad Croc C6.R that Gavin and Salo will be dominating euros with:

Source: BBV

[MOTV8]

Bernoldi and Maassen to complete Mad Croc Racing

By Marcel ten Caat

March 11, 2010

Enrique Bernoldi and Xavier Maassen are set to be confirmed to complete the Mad Croc Racing line up in the FIA GT1 World Championship. The Brazilian and Dutch drivers already raced together in a Corvette C6.R in the 2009 FIA GT Championship at Spa-Francorchamps and Portimao.

It is interesting to see Enrique Bernoldi at Mad Croc as the former Formula 1 driver was presented as Matech Competition driver during the GT1 World Championship launch in Paris on March 1st.

After testing at Paul Ricard as recently as last weekend Matech owner Martin Bartek confirmed the team and driver had split. “ I would like to thank Enrique that he has taken the time to come over from Brazil, to meet our team and to test our car. I am grateful for the feedback he has given us in his brief stint with the car and I wish him all the best for the coming season”, said Bartek.

Bernoldi was said to be unhappy with the Ford GT, preferring to race a Corvette over the Ford, and left the Paul Ricard circuit on Monday evening before the test session had ended…together with Xavier Maassen.

While Maassen said he was in talks with several teams in the FIA GT1 World Championship and in the Le Mans Series at Paul Ricard this weekend, the Dutchman confirmed his deal with Mad Croc Racing late on Wednesday evening.

“We are very pleased to have signed Xavier Maassen” said Kendy Janclaes (DKR) on Wednesday. “We proved last season, his speed and professionalism. Now it remains to find a second driver, also faster than him, so that we can fight for the title.” With Bernoldi being released from his Matech Competition contract on the same day and the Brazilian knowing the team, a Maassen-Bernoldi pairing is very likely and it would be a very strong line-up in the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship.

[MOTV8]

The season starts this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Think Gila Bend, but with oil-rich arabs....

2 solid teams will carry the Corvette C6R battle spears into the FIA-GT1 competitive fray vs Maserati MC12, Ford GT, Aston Martin DB9, Nissan GT-R, and Lamborghini Murcielago R.

The Mad-Croc Racing Corvettes will turn heads. While Oliver Gavin is in Long Beach with the CR factory team, Mika Salo and Pertti Kuismanen will tame the lead reptilian vette. The 2nd Mad-Croc will be led by Xavier Maassen, the co-driver TBD for now.

Germany’s Phoenix Racing / Carsport is the 2nd Corvette team. 2 cars here, too. Marc Hennerici / Andreas Zuber will drive one car. 14-race winner Mike Hezemans is in the 2nd car, with his co-driver also tbd.

While all eyes are on the new-spec GT1's [eg- the Nissan GT-R / Ford GT's], there will be no suprise if the proven C6R still prevails.

[MOTV8]

Vette is fastest, but not on pole....

Zuber on GT1 pole as session stopped

By Gary Watkins Friday, April 16th 2010, 17:09 GMT

Sportscar newcomer Andreas Zuber claimed pole position for the opening round of the new FIA GT1 World Championship in Abu Dhabi after qualifying was abandoned as a result of a serious accident.

The Phoenix/Carsport Chevrolet driver's time of 2m06.780s around the Yas Marina circuit will stand as pole because it will take up to three hours to repair the barriers at the end of the long back straight, where Natacha Gachnang crashed her Matech Ford GT just over 17 minutes into the opening round of qualifying.

GP2 graduate Zuber, whose team-mate Marc Hennerici will start tomorrow afternoon's qualifying race from pole, said: "I have to say it was a clear lap. I didn't push so much, but maybe when you push in these cars, you go slower. They are a bit different to a formula car [single-seater]."

Austrian Zuber will not get to start the main race from pole even if he and his German team-mate win the one-hour qualifying event. All four Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs will be given a 10-place grid penalty for the championship event because the cars are not in compliance with the sporting regulations concerning the position of the ballast required to bring them up to the new minimum weight of 1200kg.

Hexis Aston Martin driver Frederic Makowiecki was second fastest with a time nearly a second slower than than Zuber. The Frenchman's 2m07.705 lap was less a tenth ahead of Enrique Bernoldi in the best of the four Maserati MC12s on the entry list.

Gachnang was helicoptered to hospital after treatment at the circuit medical centre. The details of her condition released so far are that she was conscious when she was removed from the car and has a suspected broken leg.

Pos Drivers Team/Car Time Gap

1. Zuber/Hennerici Phoenix Corvette 2m06.780s

2. Makowiecki/Deletraz Hexis Aston Martin 2m07.705s + 0.925s

3. Bernoldi/Ramos Vitaphone Maserati 2m07.763s + 0.983s

4. Maassen/Muller MadCroc Corvette 2m08.049s + 1.269s

5. Bertolini/Bartels Vitaphone Maserati 2m08.070s + 1.290s

6. Salo/Kuismanen MadCroc Corvette 2m08.078s + 1.298s

7. Kox/Haase Reiter Lamborghini 2m08.090s + 1.310s

8. Turner/Enge Young Driver Aston 2m08.143s + 1.363s

9. Krumm/Dumbreck SumoPower Nissan 2m08.287s + 1.507s

10. Leinders/Martin Marc VDS Ford 2m08.322s + 1.542s

11. Mutsch/Grosjean Matech Ford 2m08.463s + 1.683s

12. Margaritis/Heger Triple H Maserati 2m08.494s + 1.714s

13. Ara/Nilsson SRT Nissan 2m08.610s + 1.830s

14. Wendlinger/Moser SRT Nissan 2m08.652s + 1.872s

15. Palttala/Kuppens Marc VDS Ford 2m08.737s + 1.957s

16. Bobbi/Longin Triple H Maserati 2m08.787s + 2.007s

17. Jager/Basseng All-Inkl Lamborghini 2m08.798s + 2.018s

18. Piccione/Hirschi Hexis Aston Martin 2m09.046s + 2.266s

19. Hughes/Campbell-Walter SumoPower Nissan 2m09.446s + 2.666s

20. Nygaard/Mucke Young Driver Aston 2m09.629s + 2.849s

21. Gachnang/Allemann Matech Ford 2m09.964s + 3.184s

22. Zonta/Daniel Reiter Lamborghini 2m10.261s + 3.481s

23. Pastorelli/Schwager All-Inkl Lamborghini 2m10.628s + 3.848s

24. Hezemans/Piccini Phoenix Corvette 2m16.352s + 9.572s

[MOTV8]

The first championship race of the FIA GT1 World Championship was won by Thomas Mutsch and Romain Grosjean in the nr5 Matech Competition Ford GT. Mutsch had to battle hard in the early part of the race to hold a slender lead over Andrea Bertolini in the Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 but Grosjean, who celebrated his 24th birthday today, pulled away from the rest of the field to take the chequered flag over 20 seconds ahead of Qualifying Race winner Marc Hennerici in the nr13 Phoenix Racing / Carsport Corvette Z06. It was a double celebration for the Corvette team when Andrea Piccini took the final podium position after his partner Mike Hezemans started from the back of the grid. Earlier in the day the qualifying race was won by Marc Hennerici and Andreas Zuber.

Qualifying

Marc Hennerici and Andreas Zuber became the first points scorers in the FIA GT1 World Championship by taking the chequered flag from pole position in the qualifying race at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The nr13 Phoenix Racing / Carsport Corvette Z06 with Zuber at the wheel crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of the nr5 Matech Competition Ford GT of Thomas Mutsch after Romain Grosjean went from 11th on teh grid to 2nd before handing over to his German teammate. The Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 of Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels a further two seconds up the road in third to round out the top three points scorers. During to an infringement of the sporting regulations Zuber and Hennerici were dropped 10 places and would the Championship Race start in 11th place promoting the Matech Competition Ford GT to the front of the grid.

Championship Race

From pole position Thomas Mutsch had to defend his position from the 2009 FIA GT Champion Andrea Bertolini while behind them Andreas Zuber was already moving up the grid finishing the opening seven places higher than his 11th grid spot. There were a few collisions in the midfield, with cars spinning and the nr8 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DB9 of Christopher Nygaard pulled off the track into retirement. The nr 4 Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-R returned to the pits to also retire.

Meanwhile back at the front Mutsch and Bertolini were fighting for the lead with the Ford GT holding back the Maserati at almost every turn with the nr 25 Reiter Lamborghini of Ricardo Zonta coming under pressure from Zuber's Corvette, the Austrian sweeping into 3rd on lap 3. The leading two cars soon became three as Zuber latched onto the battle for the top spot and for the next five laps the top 3 were nose to tail at almost every turn.

The pit window opened on lap 12 and Mutsch was the first car in to hand over the car to Romain Grosjean just after Zuber had found a way around the nr1 Maserati to take the lead. Bertolini pulled into the pits on the next lap to hand over to Michael Bartels while Zuber continued to circulate around the Yas Marina circuit. The lead Corvette pitted on lap 14, handing over to Marc Hennerici, and emerged from the pit lane tunnel to see Romain Grosjean in the nr5 Matech Ford GT sweep past into the lead.

Meanwhile the Nr14 Corvette of Mike Hezemans was also moving up the order and after handing over to Andrea Piccini, the second yellow Corvette was in 4th place and closing rapidly on Bartels in the nr1 Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12. On lap 23 Piccini put the nose of the Corvette down the inside of the Maserati and moved into 3rd place under braking for Turn 8. At the front of the field Grosjean's Ford was pulling away from Hennerici's Corvette and in the closing stages was a very comfortable 20 seconds in front while Piccini was closing the gap to his teammate.

However the chequered flag came out to end the first Championship Race in the FIA GT1 World Championship with Romain Grosjean celebrating his birthday in style. With a total of 31 points Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch hold a 5-point lead in the drivers championship over Andreas Zuber and Marc Hennerici. With 41 points from the weekend, Phoenix Racing / Carsport hold a ten-point lead over Matech Competition in the FIA GT1 World Team Championship.

Source: Paddocktalk

AND the doubleblurb post:

Abu Dhabi: Mad Croc race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-04-17

MAD CROC IS PART OF THE FIA GT1 LEGEND

ABU DHABI - YAS MARINA 17/04/10. This weekend took place the first round of the brand new FIA GT1 World Championship. The FIA GT1 World Championship is a competition between the most famous sportscar brands in the world and for the first season Corvette, Maserati, Nissan, Ford GT, Lamborghini and Aston Martin will compete the FIA GT1 World Title. Each brand has to enter two teams of two cars. One of the two teams representing the American brand Corvette is Mad Croc Racing. The team enters two Corvette Z06 GT1 for Dutchman Xavier Maassen and German Alex Muller (#11 Corvette) and Pertti Kuismanen and former F1-driver Mika Salo (#12 Corvette) from Finalnd. The first round in Abu Dhabi on the Yas Marina racetrack was a fantastic event, with the Mad Croc Corvette finishing in 10th and 15th position.

The FIA GT1 meetings start with two 80-minute free practice sessions, followed by a qualification session identical to the F1 system: a first round of 20 minutes, than 15 minutes for the top-16 and a final session of 10 minutes for the top-8. The final outcome is the start grid for the first race.

Xavier Maassen: "But it all went wrong when another competitor had a heavy crash during the first part of the session and the clerks of the meeting decided to stop the session and freeze the results as they were on the moment of the accident. Luckily we were already in a good position, 4th with our car and our team mates qualified in 6th."

Qualifying Race

"We were in a good position to fight for the podium when another competitor hit us out", explained Mika Salo. "The result of the first race is also the starting order of the Championship Race, so this outcome was a major handicap for us."

While the Mad Croc mechanics were repairing the #12 Corvette, Xavier Maassen and Alex Muller were fighting for 3rd position. "Suddenly the engine broke and our race was over as well", said Alex Muller. "So we were both at the back end of the grid for the Championship Race..."

Championship Race

The 60-minute Championship Race was very intense and the Mad Croc team did a good job, getting both cars home in (#11) 10th - thus scoring a point - and (#12) 15th position.

"A 10th and 15th place in the Championship Race might not be the result we aimed for, but when you are starting with both cars from the back of the grid, you know that you are in a difficult situation", told Xavier Maassen after the race.

"My car was a bit oversteering and not always easy to drive, but we learned a lot", is the conclusion of Mika Salo. "I'll do two more rounds of the World Championship and for the other races, Corvette factory driver Oliver Gavin will be driving with Pertti Kuismanen."

All that remains now is for the teams to enjoy some down time in Abu Dhabi while they wait for the international air space to re-open so they can fly home to prepare the next round on the 1st and 2nd of May in Silverstone, UK.

-source: mad croc

I'm impressed the Mad Croc team has a PR hack....

[MOTV8]

Silverstone GT1 round to go ahead

By Steven English Thursday, April 22nd 2010, 09:14 GMT

Despite the disruption caused the volcanic ash cloud over Europe the second round of the FIA GT1 World Championship will go ahead, as planned, at Silverstone on April 30-May 2.

The event – which will christen the Northamptonshire circuit’s new arena layout – had been in doubt when the ash cloud, from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, grounded the flights to most of Europe.

Series organiser SRO had feared that the teams, cars and equipment would not be able to get to Britain from last weekend's season opener in Abu Dhabi in the two-week break.

But two cargo planes carrying the cars and equipment land in Luxembourg this morning and two charter flights will get the teams and series personnel into Austria on Thursday.

"This situation has been extremely difficult but we have managed to pull all the different elements together to get the cars and teams to where they need to be, so our next event at Silverstone can go ahead," said SRO chief operating officer Patricia Kiefer.

"The cars are now back in Europe and the teams will arrive tomorrow; they will be able to pick up their cars and equipment before the weekend. The FIA GT1 World Championship races at Silverstone on May 1-2 will now be able to go ahead, barring any further problems caused by mother nature."

Volcanos.....pffft.

[MOTV8]

Nissan is already crying, and threatens to take their ball and go home!

Nissan teams threaten GT1 boycott

Friday, April 23rd 2010, 10:18 GMT

The two Nissan teams competing in the new FIA GT1 World Championship have threatened to boycott the next round and to launch a protest unless the weight penalty heaped on the GT-R ahead of the Abu Dhabi series opener is removed, this week's AUTOSPORT magazine reveals.

The Swiss Racing Team run by Othmar Welti insisted that it would not race again with the 30kg penalty that rendered the Nissan GT-R uncompetitive in last weekend's Abu Dhabi event.

The British Sumo Power squad explaining that it was considering a protest against the penalty, which was imposed under the series 'Balance of Performance' rules.

"We will not go to Silverstone under these conditions," said Welti. "We cannot be a grid filler."

Sumo team manager Allen Orchard added: "We have to go to Silverstone because it is our home event. We have tried to argue our car with facts and figures, but we are ready to put our money down and protest."

The Nissan was given the penalty after an open test on the Wednesday before the races, during which former grand prix driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen sampled all six cars on the GT1 grid.

The Maserati MC12 was given 25kg, and the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV 10kg each. The spec of the Matech-developed Ford GT was left unchanged, while the Aston Martin DBR9 was given a larger-diameter air restrictor in an attempt to increase its performance.

The Nissan teams were among those that argued that the testing was not done in a fair manner.

"I do not believe that all data needed was collected," said Orchard. "Some cars barely ran and some didn't run long enough."

Frentzen completed only two laps in the Matech Ford after complaining that he was uncomfortable in the car, and drove the Corvette early in the day when the Yas Marina track was 'green'. He did only one flying lap on new tyres in the Nissan, when it had been planned that he would undertake a 10- or 15-lap run in each car.

The Nissan teams argued that the decision did not take into account the higher weight to which the GT-R runs and its higher centre of gravity. This has a detrimental effect on tyre wear over the course of a stint.

There were also allegations of gamesmanship levelled at the Ford, Chevrolet and Aston Martin teams. The Matech Ford, which went on to win the main race, is understood not to have broken the 2m10s barrier in testing, yet lapped at 2m07/08s throughout the race.

Committee chairman and FIA technical consultant Peter Wright defended the measures.

"We gave the Maserati 25kg and it was still competitive," he said.

The best of the MC12s finished fourth in the main event, although its best race lap was 1.7s shy of the fastest lap set by the winning Ford.

[MOTV8]

Bernoldi quickest in Silverstone practice

Enrique Bernoldi was the fastest driver in the FIA GT1 World Championship free practice around the 5.891 km long renovated Silverstone circuit. The Vitaphone Racing Team driver was 0.352s quicker than the Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette of Mike Hezemans and another tenth of a second quicker than team mate Bertolini in the number 1 Vitaphone Maserati.

All drivers used the first 80 minutes of track action at Silverstone to get to grips with the new layout, described by some as ‘horrible’. Perhaps due to the fact that the track was somewhat damp in the opening session numerous cars had trouble negotiating the corners and on more than one occasion cars went wide even on the exit of Copse Corner.

At the end of the session ten cars were within a second of each other, with each of the six brands represented in the series having at least one car in the top 10. Seven more cars were within 1.5 seconds of the leader.

Prior to the first session the FIA also confirmed several Balance of Performance amendments on the cars racing this weekend.

Lamborghini

- 10 kg removed from the minimum weight of the car. Total is now 1190 kg.

- restrictor size from 32 mm to 32.8 mm

Corvette

- 40 kg added to the minimum weight of the car. Total is now 1240 kg.

Maserati

- 35 kg added to the minimum weight of the car. Total is now 1235 kg.

- restrictor size reduced to 31.2 mm

Aston Martin

- 50 kg removed from the minimum weight of the car. Total is now 1150 kg.

Nissan

- 20 kg removed from the minimum weight of the car. Total is now 1230 kg.

Ford

– no adjustments

[Bigfoot]

Something is just not right with their calculations I think.

[MOTV8]

Something is just not right with their calculations I think.

You're the math whiz...

Turner "sits on pole" at Silverstone

By Gary Watkins Saturday, May 1st 2010, 11:32 GMT

Darren Turner claimed pole position for the Young Driver AMR Aston Martin team at his home round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Silverstone.

Aston Martin factory driver Turner leapfrogged Frederic Makowiecki in the timesheets to go fastest in the closing seconds of the third segment of the new championship's qualifying procedure. (Only Aston drivers play leapfrog,...just sayin')

His time was four tenths quicker than Hexis Aston Martin driver Makowiecki.

Turner, whose team-mate Tomas Enge will start this afternoon's qualifying race from pole position, said: "I'm very happy to be on pole after a lot of disappointment at Abu Dhabi [the opening round of the series]. It's nice to be at the sharp end of the grid." (Ghey.)

The Aston Martin DBR9, which was given a 50kg weight break ahead of this event, topped the timesheets in all three 10-minute qualifying sessions. (Shocking, lose 50kg, qualify 1st and 2nd.)

Stefan Mucke was fastest in Qualifying 1 in the second Young Driver car and Clivio Piccione did the best time in Qualifying 2 at the wheel of the second Hexis car.

Sumo Power Nissan driver Michael Krumm ended up third in the timesheets, just over two tenths behind Makowiecki. The German was three tenths ahead of Andrea Bertolini in the best of the Vitaphone Maseratis.

Oliver Gavin was second fastest in Qualifying 1 at the wheel of the SRT-run Mad Croc Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. His team-mate, sextogenarian Pertti Kuismanen was unable to make it into the top eight in Qualifying 2, meaning the car failed to make it into the final session. (I just realized I have no idea how the FIA runs their races and qualifying.)

Also eliminated at this stage was the winner of the main event at Abu Dhabi, the Matech Ford GT driven by Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch.

Grosjean was only 15th in the opening session and Mutsch was second slowest in Qualifying 2.

Those eliminated in the first round included multiple FIA GT Championship race-winner Karl Wendlinger in the Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-R and All-Inkl Lamborghini driver Christophe Bouchut.

Pos Drivers Team/Car Time

1. Turner/Enge Young Driver Aston 1m58.81s

2. Makowiecki/Accary Hexis Aston Martin 1m59.29s

3. Krumm/Dumbreck SumoPower Nissan 1m59.50s

4. Bertolini/Bartels Vitaphone Maserati 1m59.78s

5. Hughes/Campbell-Walter SumoPower Nissan 2m00.46s

6. Piccione/Hirschi Hexis Aston Martin 2m00.57s

7. Menten/Kechele All-Inkl Lamborghini 2m00.64s

8. Kox/Haase Reiter Lamborghini 2m00.70s

9. Zuber/Hennerici Phoenix Corvette 2m00.22s

10. Nygaard/Mucke Young Driver Aston 2m00.34s

11. Hezemans/Kumpen Phoenix Corvette 2m00.64s

12. Bobbi/Longin Triple H Maserati 2m01.28s

13. Bernoldi/Ramos Vitaphone Maserati 2m01.37s

14. Margaritis/Heger Triple H Maserati 2m01.90s

15. Mutsch/Grosjean Matech Ford 2m02.11s

16. Gavin/Kuismanen MadCroc Corvette 2m02.29s

17. Bouchut/Basseng All-Inkl Lamborghini 2m01.16s

18. Leinders/Martin Marc VDS Ford 2m01.18s

19. Ara/Nilsson SRT Nissan 2m01.19s

20. Maassen/Armindo MadCroc Corvette 2m01.42s

21. Wendlinger/Moser SRT Nissan 2m01.51s

22. Palttala/Kuppens Marc VDS Ford 2m02.07s

23. Schwager/Pastorelli Reiter Lamborghini 2m02.93s

- AND -

FIA GT1 Silverstone Qualifying: Oliver Gavin Weighs In At Silverstone Supercar Weekend

In qualifying today for the second round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Silverstone, Northamptonshire, Oliver took to the track for the first of the three qualifying sessions on a dry but cool track. On only his second flying lap, he placed the Mad Croc Racing Corvette in second place in the provisional grid classification with a time of 1:59.861. He then came back into the pits and sat out the remainder of Q1. His time was impressive considering that, following the new performance balancing measures taken by the organisers, the Corvettes are now carrying 90kg more weight in the car than the Aston Martins and it was Stefan Mucke’s Young Driver Aston which pipped him to the top slot.

"I came in to save the tyres for the race as we only get four sets for the whole weekend," he explained. "The car was good although we still need to work on it a bit. We’re searching for the right wing levels, ride heights, springs and so on, but I think with what we’ve got we’ve done well. Patrick [selleslagh] has done a first class job with the tools he has at his disposal, as always, and there’s a great spirit in the team."

Oliver’s team mate, Pertti Kuismanen, took to the wheel for Q2 and posted his best time of the weekend so far in the SRT/DKR run C6.R. With far less experience than his British team mate, and only limited laps of the new Silverstone Arena track due to an engine problem yesterday, this placed the Finn in 16th place. Only the top eight go through to the third and final qualifying session, so the Mad Croc Racing Corvette will start in 16th place on the grid for today’s one-hour qualifying race.

[MOTV8]

Silverstone FIA GT1 Under A Hexis

By James BroomheadPublished: May 1, 2010

After a GT3 race which saw them fail to score a point in their role of defending team’s champions the Hexis AMR team bounced back in spectacular fashion, with a 1-2 finish in an unpredictable Qualifying Race at Silverstone.

Having started from second the no.9 car, started by Thomas Accary, held on through the opening lap, fending off a start line challenge from the lead Vitaphone Maserati MC12, the no.1 car driven by Michael Bartels. Bartels practically placed his left side wheels on the dirt that currently makes up many of Silverstone’s unkempt run-off areas as he looked down the outside on the rolling start before making ducking back in (and onto the track) on the run down to the first corner.

Not so lucky was the other Vitaphone entry, Miguel Ramos forced into evasive action to avoid a spinning Triple H Racing MC12 at Copse, an incident in which the no.8 Young Driver AMR entry picked up a left-rear puncture, the tyre parting company with the car on the Hanger Straight on the first lap, leaving driver Christoffer Nygaard to limp back to the pits.

Their teammates were picking up in the race where the left off in the final part of qualifying, leaping into a 1.6 second lead over Accary, Bartels and the duo of Sumo Power GT Nissans, Peter Dumbreck remaining seemingly glued to the rear bumper of the black and turquoise car ahead through much of the first half of the race.

That lead looked destined only to expand, breaching four seconds after just as many laps as Accary, in his first GT1 start began to gather a train of followers, second through eleventh position following each other closely, whilst battling between themselves – the no.24 Reiter Lamborghini the biggest loser, dropping two places to the back of the train as the found themselves passed by first the no.14 Phoenix/Carsport Corvette then the no.40 Marc VDS Ford GT within half a lap.

It was to be an eventful race for car, shared by German Christopher Haase and Dutchman Peter Kox. They had already been demoted from sixth to eleventh on the grid because of cutting the (soon to very important) white line at pit entry and spent much of the race on the fringes of the top ten only to be assaulted in the closing laps by Enrique Bernoldi in the second Vitaphone car at the chicane at Vale, the Brazilian clattering into the side of the Lamboghini as he aimed for a gap that was never going to exist when he needed it, before clattering over the kerb and damaging the rear bodywork of his own car which then broke lose to become an unwelcome obstacle on the Wellington Straight on the final lap.

The chicane of Vale and Club also saw perhaps the most unwelcome contact of the race, the two Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-Rs hitting each other, Seiji Ara spinning Karl Wendlinger in an attempt to pass him down the inside.

However, much of the important action happened in the pitlane.

Or rather, just outside it.

Once the pit window was opened 25 minutes into the race there was the normal flurry of activity, Accary the first to stop, passing the car over to the more experienced Fred Makowiecki.

It was when Tomas Enge brought the lead car in that the shuffle began. The pitstop was fluid as ever and the car held position within the pit rotation, however, the Czech had cut the pit entry line, which seems to require a dizzyingly tight exit of Luffield, Peter Dumbreck also falling foul of the rule with his last minute dive into the pits to hand over to Michael Krumm.

With both cars effectively out of the running for race wins the main challenge to the Hexis cars was the no.1 Maserati, a challenge that was largely blunted when Andrea Bertolini lost vital seconds stalling as he got away from their compulsory pitstop.

That left the two Astons comfortably out front, Makowiecki with a six second lead over teammate Jonathan Hirschi, the pair a further three seconds ahead of Bertolini with an ever expanding gap to fourth place.

With those gaps, and points, as well as grid positions for the Championsip Race on offer, the top three settled down for the remainder of the race, the main point of interest being the blistering recovery drive by Darren Turner after a second penalty (this one a stop-go for cutting the pit entry line a second time).

First Turner passed the Sumo Power GT car of Warren Hughes, the pair driving side-by-side through Stowe, the Aston clinging onto the kerb even as every bounce of the suspension strained to pull the Turner wider. That should have given his the unfavoured outside line for the left hander at Vale , and it did, but it was no obstacle, the works Aston driver simply powering around the outside of the Nissan, the GT-Rs resurgent in their own right at the second round of the championship.

Turner would climb as high as fourth, making a more text book move down the inside at Stowe to relegate the Reiter Lamborghini of Jos Menten and Frank Kechele to sixth, as Hughes also found his way past.

“It’s incredible for me,” said Accary. “My first race in GT1 and a victory.” “We did the perfect race, the team did the perfect race,” added Makowiecki, also congratulating his driver partner on a fine debut drive.

The Phoenix/Carsport entries, so fast in Abu Dhabi languished in the anonymity of seventh and eleventh, while the Ford GT of Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch continued their disappointing week, Mutsch losing two laps, spinning into the Becketts gravel twenty minutes into the hour long race.

So...7th and 11th...in the Qualifying race...wonder how long the Race race will be?

[MOTV8]

Nissan granted win after Aston penalties

By Gary Watkins Sunday, May 2nd 2010, 19:20 GMT

The British Sumo Power Nissan team has been awarded victory in the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone, Britain's round of the FIA GT1 World Championship.

Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter have been declared the winners after the two cars that finished ahead of them in the one-hour 'championship' race received penalties.

The winning Young Driver AMR Aston Martin driven by Darren Turner and Tomas Enge was excluded because its mandatory underfloor skid plank was worn beyond the permitted tolerance.

The Hexis Aston shared by Frederic Makowiecki and Thomas Accary, which finished second, was given a 15-second penalty for not taking a drive-through penalty within three laps.

The penalties mean that Hexis is still classified second, now behind the Nissan. The Reiter Lamborghini driven by Jos Menten and Frank Kechele moves up to fourth.

Sumo Power team manager Allen Orchard said: "Wow! Normally I like to talk, but I don't know what to say. No one wants to win like this and the Young Driver guys are nice people, but rules are rules. Our plank was checked, just like everyone else's."

It is expected that the German-run Young Driver team will appeal the decision.

Pos Drivers Team/Car Time/Gap

1. Hughes/Campbell-Walter SumoPower Nissan 1h01m46.717s

2. Makowiecki/Accary Hexis Aston Martin + 1.885s

3. Menten/Kechele All-Inkl Lamborghini + 10.284s

4. Bobbi/Longin Triple H Maserati + 10.875s

5. Nygaard/Mucke Young Driver Aston + 11.051s

6. Margaritis/Heger Triple H Maserati + 11.787s

7. Bertolini/Bartels Vitaphone Maserati + 19.310s

8. Leinders/Martin Marc VDS Ford + 22.413s

9. Ara/Nilsson SRT Nissan + 27.708s

10. Palttala/Kuppens Marc VDS Ford + 28.790s

11. Maassen/Armindo MadCroc Corvette + 35.507s

12. Schwager/Pastorelli Reiter Lamborghini + 58.724s

13. Piccione/Hirschi Hexis Aston Martin + 1m25.799s

14. Gavin/Kuismanen MadCroc Corvette + 3 laps

15. Bernoldi/Ramos Vitaphone Maserati + 4 laps

Retirements

Kox/Haase Reiter Lamborghini 16 laps

Wendlinger/Moser SRT Nissan 16 laps

Zuber/Hennerici Phoenix Corvette 15 laps

Krumm/Dumbreck SumoPower Nissan 10 laps

Hezemans/Kumpen Phoenix Corvette 2 laps

Bouchut/Basseng All-Inkl Lamborghini 1 lap

Turner/Enge Young Driver Aston Excluded

-AND-

Silverstone: Oliver Gavin race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-05-02

Northamptonshire's Oliver Gavin made his debut in the FIA GT1 World Championship this weekend on Silverstone's new Arena circuit and really enjoyed being back racing on British soil in front of his many fans, family and friends.

Driving for the Mad Croc Racing team in a Corvette Z06, 13th and 15th finishing positions in the two one-hour races were poor return for the race pace shown by Gavin in the Patrick Selleslagh-run car.

In the Qualifying Race on Saturday afternoon, Oliver's team mate Pertti Kuismanen took the start and held his grid position before handing over to the Briton at 25 minutes 12 seconds into the race, the first of the 23 cars to make their pit stop.

"The pit stop was a little bit slow," said Oliver, "because the engine was taking its time to fire so we dropped back in the order. Once we got back out it was confusing as to who had and hadn't made pit stops, and it was difficult to know the real order of things on the track.

"After the stops I quickly caught a Nissan and Lamborghini, but it was very difficult to get by them because these huge rear wings generate a lot of air turbulence and you lose a lot of down force at the front of the car which makes it tricky to pass. Eventually I managed it and came up against my team-mate and we had a good dice to the end of the race. It was going to take some contact to get by him fully so I thought I'd leave it until tomorrow's Championship Race!"

Those words proved to be somewhat prophetic, as the #12 Mad Croc Corvette was speared off the track on the 10th lap by Michael Krumm's Nissan in a racing incident. By the time the car was extracted from the gravel trap, Oliver had had lost three laps and any hope of a good finish.

He explains what happened. "I'd caught Bertolini [Maserati #1]and Krumm going into Stowe and they were squabbling over 7th place and they both ended up on the Astroturf on the exit of Stowe. They both headed to the right for braking into Vale and I got a good run on them and I knew our car was good on the brakes there. I went up the inside and thought I was definitely past them when there was then a big bang on the right rear and I was spun around. It was really frustrating and a big shame as I think we could have been up to 7th. I talked to Michael afterwards but he said he didn't really know what happened.

"The start was really good and a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to want to go inside and I got up behind the Phoenix Corvette and I could see fuel was coming out of its right side as we went round the Arena corner. He had fuel on his tyre so was slipping around. He went down into Brooklands and was trying to defend his position but slid wide because of more fuel on his tyres; the car caught fire later on the next lap and the safety car came out. Fortunately Hezemans was okay, although the car doesn't look too pretty now.

"It was a shame the Safety Car was out for such a long time but I really enjoyed being back racing at Silverstone and making my debut in the FIA GT1 World Championship. I'm a big fan of the new layout; there are some great overtaking opportunities. It's fun and challenging and I think it suits different cars in different places so you really have to think about where to pass people. I'm looking forward to seeing the F1 cars and Moto GP bikes on it."

-source: olivergavin.com

[MOTV8]

Uh oh, there's been an "appeal."

GT1 World Set for Brno Encounter

Source: PlanetLeMans.com

May 17, 2010

Next weekend Eastern European race fans (all 37 of them) will have the chance to witness the raw power of the newest World Championship as the teams and drivers compete in Round 3 of the FIA GT1 World Championship at the Automotodrom Brno on 22/23 May. While this is the first visit by GT1 World, 2010 will mark the tenth occasion that FIA GT cars have raced at the Czech circuit.

The FIA GT Championship last visited Brno in 2008, when Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp took the win in an Aston Martin DB9 ahead of four Corvettes, headed by Mike Hezemans and Fabrizio Gollin.

For 2010 local interest will centre on Tomas Enge, who is racing with Darren Turner for the Young Driver AMR team, with Stefan Rosina joining Mike Hezemans in the nr 14 Phoenix Carsport Corvette for his home race and Slovak driver Jan Danis joining Frank Kechele in the nr 25 Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago.

So far, the inaugural season had shown great variety and close competition with different cars and drivers coming out on top in Abu Dhabi and Great Britain. In the opening round at Yas Marina the weekend belonged to the Match Competition Ford GT of Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch, taking second place in the qualifying race before dominating the main event, finishing ahead of the two Phoenix Racing Corvettes of Andreas Zuber/ Marc Hennerici, who had won the earlier qualifying race, and Mike Hezemans/ Andrea Piccini.

Just two weeks later the tables were turned, with the Aston Martin teams proving to be the dominant force on the reprofiled Silverstone Grand Prix track. The Aston Martin DB9 of Frederic Makowiecki and Thomas Accary headed a Hexis AMR 1-2 in the qualifying race, with the Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 of reigning FIA GT Champions Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini in third. However in the main event it was the Young Driver AMR Aston Martin of Darren Turner and Tomas Enge which pushed through to take the chequered flag ahead of the Makowiecki and Accary and lift the Tourist Trophy on the podium. However their joy was short lived as the Young Driver Aston Martin was excluded from the results when the friction block of the flat bottom of the car was found not to be in accordance with the 25mm minimum thickness. The second placed Aston Martin was also handed a 15-second penalty for not serving a drive-through penalty within the required three laps and so the third placed Sumo Power Nissan GT-R of Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter was presented with the 25 championship points, ahead of Makowiecki and Accary, with the Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago of Jos Menten and Frank Kechele being classified in third. The Young Driver AMR team have appealed the decision to the FIA and the result remains provisional until the FIA Court of Appeal hearing on Tuesday 18 May in Paris.

Whatever the outcome of the appeal the FIA GT1 World Championship has already proven in just two events that, with four different winners in four races, the battle to become the first ever GT1 World Champion is unlikely to be decided until the final races in South America in November.

[Desertdawg]

Current standings show the Sumo Power GT-R with 15 points, honestly that's 14 more points than I thought they would have!

[MOTV8]

FIA GT1 CHAMPIONSHIP

Brno qualifying dominated by Vitaphone Racing

The two Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12s will start the qualifying race at the Brno circuit from the front row. Andrea Bertolini and Enrique Bernoldi were quickest on a dry and sunny circuit.

With 23 cars racing this weekend we would again lose just seven cars after the Q1. The #6 Matech Competition Ford GT, #25 Reiter Lamborghini, #22 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R, #37 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini, #24 Reiter Lamborghini, #41 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT and the #4 Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-R did not make it into the top 16 and were eliminated. Tomas Enge was quick, but his time was not enough to take first place in Q1 as Andrea Bertolini went 0.090s quicker. In the end the top six was within three tenths of a second, with the top 12 within 1 second of each other.

In Q2 the #1 Vitaphone Maserati was on top again, this time it was Michael Bartels who set the fastest time, just over a tenth of a second ahead of the Corvette of Dutchman Mike Hezemans. Enrique Bernoldi completed the top three, setting a fastest lap time that was 0.361s slower than his team mate Bartels. Maxime Martin was able to qualify his Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT for the third session, but then went off into the gravel trap and was unable to get back to the pit in time for the third session.

During the final part of the session the Vitaphone Racing Team drivers were very quick again. Andrea Bertolini set the fastest lap time, a 1:55.441. His time was by far the best, as teammate Enrique Bernoldi was almost four tenths of a second slower. Young Driver AMR took third place on the grid for the qualifying race, with local here Tomas Enge posting a 1:56.304.

The grid for the qualifying race will be:

Row 1 : #1 Vitaphone Racing Team – #2 Vitaphone Racing Team

Row 2: #7 Young Driver AMR – #23 Sumo Power GT

Row 3: #11 Mad-Croc Racing – #38 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport

Row 4: #33 Triple H Team Hegersport – #40 Marc VDS Racing Team

Row 5: #9 Hexis AMR – #5 Matech Competition

Row 6: #34 Triple H Team Hegersport – #13 Phoenix Racing/Carsport

Row 7: #10 Hexis AMR – #8 Young Driver AMR

Row 8: #3 Swiss Racing Team – #12 Mad-Croc Racing

Row 9: #4 Swiss Racing Team – #41 Marc VDS Racing Team

Row 10: #24 Reiter – #37 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport

Row 11: #22 Sumo Power GT – #25 Reiter

Row 12: #6 Matech Competition

Edit: And a GT3 news splash, because it's good news...

FIA GT3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Corvette 1-2-3 in first GT3 race at Brno

The Corvette Z06R GT3s dominated the first FIA GT3 European Championship race at Brno this afternoon. On a wet track the American cars secured a 1-2-3, with the pole sitting Argo Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 of Geipel and Von Thurn und Taxis the first non-Corvette in fourth place.

The start of the first GT3 race of the weekend was delayed after a crash in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo race. And just before the start of the race it started to rain, leaving the race director with no other option than to start behind the safety car.

With the safety car still on track the first car to come into the pit was the #98 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3. At the end of lap 2 the safety car pulled in and the field was released, with Philip Geipel leading the field into turn 1.

Behind him it was the #9 Team S-berg Racing BMW Alpina B6 GT3, but Mayr-Meinhof was soon caught by the Callaway Corvette Z06R GT3 of Daniel Keilwitz. Into the first corner on lap 4 the German passed the Austrian and moved into second place. A drive through for violation of the starting procedure meant the BMW Alpina dropped even further down the order.

Despite the sun still out there and shining brightly the rain started to intensify, but this did not prevent Joakim Lambotte (#16 Graff Racing Corvette) from closing the gap to Geipel’s Lamborghini and to start a fight for position. On lap 7 a small mistake by Geipel meant Lambotte was able to pass the Lamborghini.

Just before the pit window opened and all cars would come in for their mandatory driver changes Bernhard van Oranje got into a battle with the Hexis AMR cars, a battle he lost as the Dutchman spun the Corvette and lost several places.

After all teams had completed their stop the Argo Racing Lamborghini of Albert von Thurn und Taxis was given a drive through penalty, as the engine of his car was not switched off when changing drivers.

Mike Parisy had combined the strong performance of his teammate and a quick and faultless pit stop to move into the lead, nine seconds ahead of the Callaway Corvette and 12 seconds of the Argo Lamborghini that had yet to serve its penalty. A minute later there was another penalty, this time for the #6 Audi R8 LMS for stopping 26 seconds too late, the car had to stop for 26 seconds.

Behind the leaders the battle heated up for seventh place, with the #33 Black Falcon Audi and the #1 Hexis AMR Aston Martin bumper on bumper around the track for several laps. It took until the first corner on the 21st lap for Makowiecki to pass Stück…when the Audi driver slid wide.

In the remaining laps nobody was able to challenge for a top position anymore and so after 25 laps it was Mike Parisy who crossed the line in first place in the #16 Graff Racing Corvette Z06R GT3. 18.776 seconds behind was the #101 Callaway Competition Corvette Z06R GT3, while Dino Lundardi completed a Corvette podium in the Toni Seiler Racing car, at 24.347 seconds from the leader.

[MOTV8]

Brno: Series race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-05-23

Ford GT takes the spoils in Brno

The Matech Ford GT No.5 of Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch won an eventful Championship Race in Brno.

Second was Czech driver Tomas Enge and Darren Turner in the Young Driver Aston Martin No.7.

Peter Dumbreck and Peter Krumm claimed the final podium position in their Sumo Power Nissan GT-R.

The Hexis Aston Martin No.10 of Jonathan Hirschi and Clivio Piccione was fourth ahead of the Vitaphone Maseratis of pole-sitter Andrea Bertolini/Michael Bartels and Enrique Bernoldi/Miguel Ramos.

Nicky Pastorelli/Dominik Schwager rounded out a successful weekend for the All-Inkl.com Lamborghini No.38 with seventh place.

The No.13 of Stefan Rosina and Marc Hennerici flew the flag for Corvette in eighth place followed by the Hexis Aston Martin No.9 of Frederic Makowiecki/Stephane Sarrazin with the Swiss Racing Nissan GT-R of Karl Wendlinger/Henri Moser claiming the final point for 10th place.

It was the second race win and 25 points for the Ford GT pair after taking the spoils in the opening race in Abu Dhabi.

Brno: Mad Croco event summary

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-05-23

Mad-Croc Racing unlucky in Championships Race of the third round of the FIA GT1 World Championship

BRNO -- CZECH REPUBLIC. The third round of the FIA GT1 World Championship took place this weekend at the challenging Brno Automotodrom in the Czech Republic. Xavier Maassen and Mike Hezemans finished as high as fifth in the first FIA GT1 World Championship race of the weekend, while Pertti Kuismanen and Mika Salo ended up in 19th position. The Championships Race looked very promising as well, but a problem during the tyre change ruined the race of Xavier Maassen and Mike Hezemans in the #11 Mad Croc Corvette. The Dutch pairing came home in 14th position, while Pertti Kuismanen and Mika Salo finished 12th, just outside the points in the #12 Corvette of the energetic team.

In FIA GT3, the Mad Croc Racing Ford GT3 of Christoffer Nygaard and Mikko Eskelinen was ht out by another competitor in the first corner.

Xavier Maassen: "We did again everything that's possible with the Corvette C6.R and until the last wheel of the tyre change, everything looked very promising. A top-5 finish and even a podium were within our sight... But the fourth wheel created a mess and that was it. How much bad luck can a team possibly have in a season?"

Mike Hezemans: "We were 5th in qualifying, 5th in the first race and so close to a podium in the main race of the weekend... This feels really bad. The car was ok, we made progression throughout the weekend and I really believed in a strong outcome. I'm as disappointed as everyone is in the Mad Croc Racing Team."

Pertti Kuismanen and Mika Salo did a very job as well, climbing up from 19th into 12th position in this highly competitive field of 23 GT1-cars. Ex-F1-driver Salo showed his masterpiece in the first half of the race, with a strong comeback and Pertti Kuismanen consolidated the result. The Corvette came home in 12th, the best result of the 'Kuismanen' car since the beginning of the season.

The next race of the FIA GT1 World Championship takes place on the 3rd and 4th of July in Paul Ricard (France), while the FIA GT3 European Championship will race on 19th and 20th of June in Jarama, Madrid (Spain).

-source: mad croc

And the GT3 good news for Callaway:

EU-GT3: Brno: Callaway Competition event summary

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-05-24

Share |

Callaway built Corvette dominate at Brno Hohenadel/Keilwitz claim championship lead

The second weekend of the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship at Brno was one of the most successful for Callaway Competition built Corvette ever. The first heat on Saturday saw a triple victory for the Corvette Z06.R GT3, developed and built by Callaway Competition in Leingarten/Germany. A Callaway built Corvette also won the second race on Sunday. Callaway Competition drivers Christian Hohenadel (GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (GER) took the driver's championship lead at Brno with a second and third place finish.

The first race held on Saturday started in wet conditions after a heavy rain shower just before the race. Daniel Keilwitz started third and could gain one position directly at the start. In the second lap, the young German attacked successfully the leading Lamborghini and took the lead. Keilwitz could build a small gap, but after the mandatory pit stop with driver change, Hohenadel/Keilwitz lost the lead to the Graff Racing-Corvette of Mike Parisy and Joakim Lambotte. The two Frenchmen of Callaway's latest French customer team Graff Racing won, Hohenadel/Keilwitz took second place. Callaway customer Toni Seiler came third together with Dino Lunardi in his Toni Seiler Racing-Corvette and completed the all Callaway built Corvette podium. "I got really good traction right from start in the wet conditions and was certainly much faster then the leader", Daniel Keilwitz said after the race. "I tried to built small gap, but unfortunately we lost the lead during the pit stop."

In Sunday's second race, Hohenadel and Keilwitz impressed with an amazing chase trough the field. Right from the start, Hohenadel was handicapped by an engine problem. The Corvette engine was soon only a six cylinder, after two spark plug cables burnt. Hohenadel tried to be as quick as possible with six the cylinder engine until the pit stop window opened midway trough the race. The Callaway mechanics replaced the burnt cables when Hohenadel pitted, and Keilwitz went back on the track with full engine power. Keilwitz was almost at the back of the field, but a battled up to the front. Within only 30 Minutes, he overtook all cars on the track, beside two, meaning he finally saw the chequered flag in brilliant third place! Mike Parisy and Joakim Lambotte scored a fine double with their Graff-Corvette and won also Sunday's race.

"My start wasn't good and right from beginning of the race I had engine problems", Christian Hohenadel said. "I tried to by as quick as possible with the six cylinder Corvette. After the repair and the driver change, Daniel drove a unbelievable race."

The two Dutchmen Marius Ritskes and Bernard van Oranje in the second Callaway Competition-Corvette Z06.R GT3 finished 22. in both races.

Hohenadel and Keilwitz claimed the lead in the driver's championship with their podium positions at Brno and the double victory of Graff Racing made the Callaway Competition-Corvette Z06.R GT3 now the most successful car in the history of the FIA GT3 European Championship.

-source: Callaway Competition

Euros....

[MOTV8]

Gavin's driving in Europe again....

FIA GT1 announces entries for next rounds

By Marcel ten Caat

June 29, 2010

After the Le Mans 24 Hours the FIA GT1 World Championship is about to restart their season next weekend at Paul Ricard. Today the series released their provisional ENTRY LIST.

At the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit the FIA GT1 World Championship will again have twenty-three cars racing. Phoenix Racing will only enter one car, its first car still damaged after the fire in Silverstone. Marc Hennerici and Andrea Piccini will be racing the Phoenix car.

As a result Mike Hezemans is again set to share the wheel of the Mad Croc Racing Corvette with Xavier Maassen. At Matech Competition Cyndie Allemann has been replaced by Olivier Panis for the French round of the championship. Stéphane Sarrazin will not race for Hexis Racing AMR, Peugeot Sport calling him back for testing duties, his place has been taken by Thomas Accary.

The only other changes can be found in the Lamborghini’s. At Reiter Engineering Ricardo Zonta and Rafael Daniel return to the #25 car, while Christophe Bouchut is back in the seat of the #37 Munnich Motorsport All-Inkl.com Racing Lamborghini.

[F22trainer]

this is getting interesting!!!

[MOTV8]

this is getting interesting!!!

You know euros, those wild and crazy guys...

Paul Ricard: Oliver Gavin preview

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-01

OLIVER GAVIN RETURNS TO FIA GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STAGE

It is exactly 20 years since a World Championship race has taken place at the scenic Paul Ricard track at Le Castellet in southern France, and Britain's Oliver Gavin can remember it well.

"As a teenager I used to love watching the French Grands Prix when they took place at the Paul Ricard track," he remembers. "It hardly seems possible that it was 20 years ago I saw Senna, Mansell and Prost racing there. Now we're going back to a very different layout with another generation of cars and drivers...hopefully to recreate some of the fantastically exciting races that thrilled so many people and to help the track celebrate its 40th anniversary."

Oliver will be competing in the fourth round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship for Mad Croc Racing, driving the Patrick Selleslagh-prepared Corvette C6.R with Finland's Pertti Kuismanen. Having missed the last round in Brno, Czech Republic due to a clashing ALMS round, Olly is looking forward to returning to European racing action.

"I've tested at Ricard now three times but I've not raced there yet. It's a great place to be, not only because it's in an impressive part of southern France but also thanks to the massive investment and development in recent years."

The 37-year-old from Northamptonshire continues, "The Corvette seems to perform well on this track, winning there in 2006 and again last year. It's a fun circuit but challenging, with lots of different combinations of corners that you need to be fully committed with to get a good lap time. There are some very slow speed corners which are a little frustrating but overall I'm looking forward to it and getting back with Patrick's SRT team and Mad Croc.

"At Brno it seemed that the balance of performance was against the Corvettes and hopefully there've been some adjustments now which will equalise things more. I hope there'll be another exciting race like we had at Silverstone."

All the latest action can be followed online at www.gt1world.com including live streaming of the two 60-minute races from the Paul Ricard HTTT track in the south of France. Practice and pre-qualifying take place on Friday, 2nd July and the first of the two one-hour races, the qualifying race, takes place at 5:30pm (CET) on Saturday. The Championship race takes place on Sunday, 4th July at 2:15 pm.

-source: olivergavin.com

BAM! BAM!

Double tap for the GT3 Callaway team...

EU-GT3: Paul Ricard: Callaway Competition preview

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-01

Callaway starts second half as championship leader

Kickoff for the second half of the FIA GT3-European Championship season at this weekend's fourth round at the HTTT Paul Ricard in Le Castellet/France. The first half of the season went almost perfect for Callaway Competition. Christian Hohenadel and Daniel Keilwitz lead the drivers championship in their Corvette Z06.R GT3, developed and built by Callaway Competition in Germany, while Callaway Competition leads the team championship. Also Marius Ritskes and Bernard van Oranje in the second Callaway-Corvette start optimistic in the second half of the season. The two Dutchman scored their best result of the season at the last round in Spain, just ten days ago.

"The two races in France will be very critical for the driver's championship", says championship leader Christian Hohenadel. "After the French round, there are only two race weekends left. With a good result at Le Castellet, we will have some room for the next races". Hohenadel knows the former French Formula One-track at the Cote d'Azur from a test in early spring. "The track is really nice and should suit our Corvette very well. But it will not be easy, as our competitors get stronger and stronger."

For Daniel Keilwitz, the 5,842 meter long track near the Mediterranean Sea is a complete new territory. "Some tracks of the first part of the season were also new to me, but this wasn't a problem. I learn the tracks quickly and I prepared myself for Le Castellet on the computer, so I don't expect any problems. Hohenadel/Keilwitz finished the last five races within the top four, a trend that the two Corvette drivers would like to continue at Paul Ricard. "The most important thing for us is to score points in both races", Keilwitz says. "I hope we have two trouble free races and can finish within the top five, this should strengthen our position in the drivers championship."

Also Marius Ritskes and Bernard van Oranje, who compete this year for the first season in a Callaway-Corvette, had an upward trend in the last races. The two Dutchman scored their best result ten days ago at the difficult track at Jarama and travel quite optimistic to Le Castellet.

FIA GT3-European Championship in TV:

All races of the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship are shown live or re-live on the European motorsport channel "Motors TV"

Saturday: 03. July, 14.30 -- 16.00 o'clock LIVE

Sunday: 04. July, 17.00 -- 18.00 o'clock RE-LIVE

-source: Callaway Competition

[MOTV8]

Stoopid Maserati Enzos.....

Bertolini puts Maserati on pole

By Gary Watkins

Saturday, July 3rd 2010, 10:29 GMT

Vitaphone Maserati driver Andrea Bertolini claimed a second consecutive FIA GT1 World Championship pole position at Paul Ricard.

The Italian, who shares his Maserati MC12 with team boss Michael Bartels, followed up on his Brno pole with a stunning lap that put him more than half a second clear of his nearest rival in final qualifying.

Bertolini's pole lap of 2m03.511s compared with the 2m04.028s set by Peter Kox in the second-placed Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago.

"The balance of the car was good from the beginning of free practice," said Bertolini. "The car was good, my lap was good, everything was good."

Kox, who shares his Murcielago R-SV with Christophe Haase, edged out Sumo Power Nissan driver Michael Krumm to take the other front row spot for the qualification race.

Both the second and third-placed drivers paid tribute to Bertolini's time, Krumm describing it as "absolutely mind-blowing".

Mike Hezemans was fourth fastest in the best of the Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs, the DKR-run Mad-Croc Racing entry he shares with Xavier Maassen. Warren Hughes was fifth in the second Sumo Nissan.

Pos Driver Car Q1 Q2 Q3

1. Bertolini/Bartels Maserati 2:04.189 2:04.469 2:03.511

2. Haase/Kox Lamborghini 2:04.729 2:05.098 2:04.028

3. Krumm/Dumbreck Nissan 2:03.785 2:04.659 2:04.392

4. Maassen/Hezemans Corvette 2:04.716 2:04.139 2:04.438

5. Campbell-Walter/Hughes Nissan 2:04.541 2:05.035 2:04.701

6. Basseng/Bouchut Lamborghini 2:04.543 2:05.053 2:04.993

7. Pastorelli/Schwager Lamborghini 2:05.097 2:05.065 2:05.058

8. Mucke/Nygaard Aston Martin 2:05.124 2:05.139 no time

9. Margaritis/Heger Maserati 2:05.139 2:05.202

10. Ramos/Bernoldi Maserati 2:04.339 2:05.206

11. Hennerici/Piccini Chevrolet 2:03.924 2:05.360

12. Bobbi/Longin Maserati 2:04.383 2:05.664

13. Zonta/Daniel Lamborghini 2:04.187 2:06.058

14. Gachnang/Panis Ford 2:04.624 2:06.110

15. Grosjean/Mutsch Ford 2:05.102 2:06.414

16. Ara/Nilsson Nissan 2:04.945 2:07.320

17. Turner/Enge Aston Martin 2:05.189

18. Leinders/Martin Ford 2:05.262

19. Makowiecki/Accary Aston Martin 2:05.330

20. Gavin/Kuismanen Chevrolet 2:05.334

21. Wendlinger/Moser Nissan 2:05.387

22. Piccione/Hirschi Aston Martin 2:05.637

23. Palttala/Kuppens Ford 2:05.703

Wassup with Gavin suckin hind teat....

[MOTV8]

Paul Ricard: Series race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-04

Maserati dominant at Paul Ricard

The Vitaphone Maserati No.1 of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini completed a hard-fought victory in an incident-packed Championship Race at Paul Ricard.

Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck in the Nissan GT-R No.23 were second ahead of the No.33 Triple H Maserati of Altfrid Heger and Alexander Margaritis.

Bas Leinders and Martin Maxime also produced a stunning drive in the Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 to finish fourth from 20th place on the grid.

The Phoenix Racing Corvette No.13, driven by Marc Hennerici and Andrea Piccini was fifth. They were heading for the podium in comfortably holding third place before a stop-go penalty towards the end of the race.

The result means that Maserati were the overwhelming winner of the battle of the brands, Bartels/Bertolini having also won the Qualifying Race.

It also strengthens Vitaphone Maserati's position at the top of the teams' standings.

-source: gt1world.com

And...

Paul Ricard: Oliver Gavin race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-04

RICARD'S RECKONING FOR MAD CROC RACING

The high points of Oliver Gavin's visit to the impressive Paul Ricard HTTT for Round 4 of the FIA GT1 World championship were second fastest lap of the race in Race One, and a spectacular drive through the field in Race Two from 19th to top four. Unfortunately a combination of unfortunate events, which occurred once Olly's stints were over, meant that two 19th place finishes were scant reward for all his hard work.

"Just two flying laps in qualifying -- one of which was a banker and the other interrupted by a red flag -- in the end turned out to be quite lucky for us," said Oliver. "With most of the field having done many more qualifying laps, in the hot conditions they were struggling to retain optimum performance in their tyres by the end of the first 35-minute stint in yesterday's Qualifying Race."

Fortunately the No. 12 Mad Croc Racing Corvette, in Olly's hands, had no such problem and he was able to set the second fastest lap of the race. Having handed over to team mate, Pertti Kuismanen set about retaining position but suffered a spin which set him back to 19th place.

Starting from 19th on the grid for today's Championship Race, Olly knew that he had his work cut out to make an impression on the race but was soon able to show the performance within Patrick Selleslagh's SRT-prepared Corvette C6.R.

"I had a good battle at the start of the race," he says happily, "and managed to make up six places on the first lap, coming past the pits in 13th. It might have been even more but I was trying to follow Olivier Panis who was in one of the Fords and, as we got to the first corner, it all started bottling up. He was going to the right of the bunch and I decided to go to the left but two cars then spun in the first chicane and he managed to get past quicker and made up more places than I did.

"I had to muscle past a few more cars, including a Nissan, one of the Hexis Aston Martins and a Maserati, and was lucky to pick up a few more places when Grosjean and Hezemans clashed. I then had one of the Sumo Nissans in front of me which was a bit quicker than us, but I was into the top four by the time we came into the pits for the driver change."

That advantage was unfortunately lost after a sluggish departure from the pits from the Mad Croc Corvette, followed by an incident between Kuismanen and Palttala's Ford GT which effectively put paid to a better result. A suspected broken exhaust meant that lap times weren't what they might have been, and 19th was the end result.

Oliver heads straight off now to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah for the fourth round of the American Le Mans Series, the Utah Grand Prix, on Sunday, 11th July.

-source: olivergavin.com