FIA GT1 - 2010

[MOTV8]

I found the reason why the top vette got the penalty...and this guy tells it better anyway.

Vitaphone Maserati Cruise To First Sunday GT1 Win

BY JAMES BROOMHEAD – JULY 5, 2010

Vitaphone Maserati and drivers Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels broke their Championship Race win duck in the FIA GT1 World Championship by taking a convincing, though not always entirely comfortable win at Paul Ricard.

The German-run team completed their domination of the weekend adding the win, and 25 championship points, to glory in the Qualifying Race and pole from the initial time trial session.

“It’s a great day, a great victory,” said Bartels. “I’m happy to have also this year, in the new era of GT1 championship a victory in my pocket; it feels fantastic. But there is still a long season if you calculate how many points there are to score still, around 200 or something. We’re still far away. These points mean nothing so far, and I think the championship will remain open until the last two races.”

The happiness of a first Sunday win for Maserati was only added to by a surprise podium for the Hegersport example of Alfred Heger and Alex Margaritis. Between the two MC12s was the Sumo Power GT Nissan of Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm, bouncing back with an impressive result after a Qualifying Race when they seemed to be drifting unstoppably backwards. However, Dumbreck, bringing the car home, had no answer to the Maserati by the time he inherited second place three laps from the end, faced with a deficit of nearly 12 seconds.

It was not always that easy for Bartels and Bertolini.

The start was almost a carbon copy of the beginning of the Qualifying Race, with the pole sitting Maserati beaten back into third by the opening corner, Peter Kox stealing the lead from second on the grid, while Warren Hughes made his way around the inside of Bertolini by taking his Sumo Power car off the track.

But ‘steal’ proved to be operative words for both of Bertolini’s rivals. Kox was the first to be slapped with a drive through penalty, a jump start explaining the cushion the Reiter Lamborghini had immediately found, while Hughes was given the same penalty for passing outside of the track limits, though both Vitaphone Maseratis and the Phoenix Corvette of Andrea Piccini had already despatched the Briton by the time he served his penalty.

When Kox pulled the Reiter Murcielago into the pits (realistically ending Lamborghini’s best weekend of the season – he and Christopher Haase would finish a lowly 18th, their teammates the brand’s best finisher in tenth) it could easily have been the beginning the sort of Vitaphone exhibition that long-time fans of FIA GT series should be familiar with.

Piccini, driving in the series for the first time since Abu Dhabi, had other ideas, his yellow Corvette seemingly defying belief to have the temerity to match the Vitaphone duo.

After following the no.2 car, driven by Enrique Bernoldi, for a number of laps Piccini launched a move down the inside into the final corner – a tight right hander. The move itself was clean, and successful, but the Italian jink right one on the straight to try and block any Bernoldi comeback led to contact, the Maserati’s suspension failing and retirement for Bernoldi. The Brazilian, interviewed for TV was understandably critical of Piccini’s move, offering it up as a explanation of why he had been a Formula One driver and Piccini was “nothing”.

The Corvette survived damage free, catching Bertolini and even trying to repeat the late, lunging move into the final corner. This time however, it did not work, the Corvette ending up pirouetting across the High Tech Test Track’s striped run-off areas. The was no sign that contact had sent the Corvette spinning, though the two did nearly come together again as Piccini regained the track as Bertolini came in for his pitstop, but as the Corvette carried on down the pit straight in the lead it was the final time the Maserati would be troubled upfront.

Piccini came in late during the tem minute window to hand over to Marc Hennerici and when the car exited the pits it had fallen off the metaphorical rear bumper of the no.1car to over seconds behind, though still in second. Hennerici would maintain second before Piccini’s Bernoldi-angering move was punished with a stop-go penalty.

Third after the pitstops was the Matech Competition Ford GT, Thomas Mutsch having taken over from Romain Grosjean. The French/Swiss had started seventh, but taken advantage of the early penalties to move up, but perhaps by talent level, perhaps by the car and tyres screaming in protest Mutsch was unable to keep the car on the podium. Dumbreck went past first, a wiggle wide at the first corner let Margaritis through before Maxime Martin took his Marc VDS Ford GT past his more illustrious brand-mate. The fourth place Martin and driving partner Bas Leinders took the Belgian squad’s first points of the season.

Hennerici finished fifth after taking his penalty, coming out ahead of a struggling Mutsch. (Take that, Mutsch.) The Warren Hughes/Jamie Campbell-Walter recovered from their own penalty for eighth.

Bertolini and Bartel’s perfect point scoring weekend gives them the championship points lead on 77 points each having passed the Matech pairing, who each have 62 points.

[MOTV8]

Paul Ricard: Made Croc Racing race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-05

Mad-Croc Racing scores strong fourth place in Paul Ricard in race 1 of the fourth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship

PAUL RICARD -- FRANCE. The fourth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship took place this weekend at the beautiful and modern site of Paul Ricard in the very hot south of France. Xavier Maassen and Mike Hezemans (#11 Mad-Croc Corvette C6.R) finished as high as fourth in the first FIA GT1 World Championship race of the weekend and the Dutch driver pairing scored good points with a sixth spot in the Championship Race on Sunday in front of a delighted crowed. Pertti Kuismanen and Oliver Gavin (#12 Mad-Croc Corvette C6.R) ended up in 19th position, just like in the Saturday's race. In FIA GT3, the Mad-Croc Racing Ford GT3 of Christoffer Nygaard and Mikko Eskelinen came home in a fine 11th on Sunday, after a good race.

Xavier Maassen (#11 Mad-Croc Corvette C6.R): "I'm not entirely happy with this sixth place as the result could have been much better without a race incident in the opening laps caused by another driver. Mike got hit by a car and lost at least ten places, which is not really a gift in this high level competition. He managed to get the car back on track and the rest of his stint was a long chase, just as mine... We ended up in 6th, but I don't want to check what this result would have been without the incident. This is a shame as the car performed really well, the team did a perfect job and we also did what we possibly could on track... I would like to see the Mad-Croc team on the podium for the home race in four weeks time in Spa. We deserve it!"

Oliver Gavin (#12 Mad-Croc Corvette C6.R): "My opening stint was very good, the car was really OK, although I think the car can be even more performing. We also lost all chances on a good result as Pertti got hit from behind and the exhaust of the car was damaged which caused a loss of power. It's really a shame as we also could have done much better than 19th. We also have to get even quicker in the driver change, as we are still losing some time in the pitlane. The pitlane work is as important as the race on track, every second counts!"

Mike Hezemans (#11 Mad-Croc Corvette C6.R): "What can I say... This is not the way you want to lose a possible podium finish. I like racing, even a tough fight on the track, but it has to remain fair play, don't you think? This is not stock car racing."

The next round of the FIA GT1 World Championship will take place on the 31st of July on the legendary track of Spa in Belgium.

-source: mad croc racing

The news was WAY better down in GT3...

EU-GT3: Paul Ricard: Callaway Competition event summary

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-05

Callaway scored a perfect double victory in France

Callaway extends lead in the team championship

The fourth round of the FIA GT3 European Championship at the circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet/France ended with a perfect result for Callaway Competition. Championship leader Christian Hohenadel and Daniel Keilwitz scored a double victory in their Corvette Z06.R, developed and built by Callaway Competition in Germany. The two championship leaders extended their lead in the drivers championship with the great result in France, as did Callaway Competition in the team championship. Mike Parisy and Joakim Lambotte completed the Callaway-Corvette success at the former French Formula One track with two second places in a Corvette of Callaways latest customer team Graff Racing. Also Marius Ritskes and Bernard van Oranje in the second Callway-Corvette had something to cheer about in France. The two Dutchmen drove two strong races and scored a championship point for he first time this season.

In Saturday's first race, Hohenadel and Keilwitz scored a perfect start-finish-victory. Daniel Keilwitz secured his first pole position in the FIA GT3 European Championship for the race and made the best out of it at the start. He took the lead and handed over the Callaway-Corvette to Christian Hohenadel midway through the race in first position. When Keilwitz pitted, Bernard van Oranje in the second Callaway-Corvette took the lead and lead for the first time in a FIA GT3 race. After the pit stops, Hohenadel retook the lead and secured a fine victory, Ritskes/van Oranje finished twelfth. „I had a really good start,"Keilwitz said after the race."Then we had the Safety Car out after the first lap due to an accident. Also my restart went really well and I had no problems to control the race."

In Sundays second race, Hohenadel started the race and was seventh at the end of the first lap, after starting from fourth. He tried to make up some lost ground, but stuck behind a competitor. Hohenadel was quicker, but couldn't pass the other car, so the Callaway pit crew reacted quickly and called Hohenadel to the pits very early for the mandatory driver change. Due to the good call of the Callaway team, Keilwitz moved to fourth position after the pit stops and had a great run until the end of the race. He passed the three cars in front of him ten minutes before the chequered flag and took a fine third win of the season in the #101 Corvette. "The start was really hectic, I stuck behind another car", Hohenadel explained after the race. "Although I was much faster, he blocked me. I didn't want to overtake with too much risk, as I wanted to save the car and the tires for Daniel. The team reacted quickly and called me in, so Daniel had the chance to run some quick laps with no traffic. As in Saturday's race, there was a Safety-Car after the first lap, this also helped much the save the tires."

Not only Hohenadel/Keilwitz cheered in France, also their team mates Marius Ritskes and Bernard van Oranje. The two Dutchmen drove their strongest race of the season on Sunday and scored their first championship point in tenth position. „We are really satisfied with our tenth place and our first point", said a happy Marius Ritskes after the race. „For two drivers of the bronze driver category like we are, this is a really great result. And it's even better to see which competitors we bet today. I have to say a really huge thank you to the team. Our car is always perfect prepared and a joy to drive."

"This was one of our most successful weekends in the FIA GT3-European Championship", Callaway Competition boss Ernst Woehr was happy after the success of his team and his cars in France. „It can hardly be better, with two cars built by us in front in both races. In the second race we had four cars in the top ten, which is fantastic."

Callaway Competition extended the lead in the team's championship after the France round, Christian Hohenadel and Daniel Keilwitz have a comfortable lead in the drivers championship. The FIA GT3 European Championship takes a summer break now and will be back on track mid September in Portugal.

-source: callawaycars.com

Edit: added the Callaway pic showing the current Playboy sponsorship!

[MOTV8]

The FIA GT circus moves on to Spa for the annual 24 hour race. The 24 hours of Spa 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 sources 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.'

Nice...

Total 24H of Spa 2010: Corvette and BMW quick

By Marcel ten Caat ⋅ July 7, 2010

The test day for the 2010 edition of the Total 24 Hours of Spa was held today on a hot and sunny Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. 32 GT1, GT2, GT3 and “S” (non-FIA GT homologated) cars took to the track during the two sessions in the morning and afternoon.

In the morning session it was the Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette C6.R of Marc Hennerici and Marcel Fässler that topped the time sheets with a fastest time of 2:18.118. The number 13 Corvette was over a second quicker than the Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R #22 and the Marc VDS Racing Ford GT #40. The top six in the morning session consisted of GT1 cars.

Best of the non-GT1 cars, the cars that will actually race in the Total 24 Hours of Spa itself on Saturday and Sunday, were the BMW Motorsport cars, carrying the numbers #101 and #102 today. Testing for Charly Lamm’s Schnitzer team were Jörg Müller, Dirk Adorf, Dirk Werner and Andy Priaulx. Priaulx will not be racing with the team in the Spa 24 Hours as the date clashes with the FIA WTCC round at Brno. The #101 was quickest in the morning, setting a time of 2:22.887.

As the BMW’s are racing in Class S the BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3 RSR of Romain Dumas and Martin Ragginger was officially the quickest GT2 car in the morning session (2:23.160), a tenth of a second behind the second BMW.

WRT’s Greg Franchi, Vincent Vosse, Frank Biela and Frank Stippler were quickest in GT3 with the #72 Audi R8 LMS, four tenths of a second behind the Porsche.

After the lunch break the cars went out again until six p.m. At the end of the session the Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette C6.R was quickest again, this time setting a 2:18.927. The two Sumo Power GT cars were second and third, both cars just under eight tenths of a second behind the Corvette. GT1 cars took the top seven positions in the session.

Like the first session the BMW’s were the quickest non-GT1 cars. This time it was the #102 BMW M3 E92 that set the fastest lap time around the Spa-Francorchamps track. A 2:22.592 meant the #102 was almost half a second quicker than its sister car.

This time though the two BMW’s were not followed by GT2 cars but by three GT3 cars. Marc VDS Racing’s Ford GT #113 set a 2:23.981, almost nine tenths of a second behind the BMW and good enough for tenth overall. The Ford GT (GT3) was followed by the #124 s-Berg BMW Alpina B6 GT3 and #72 WRT Audi R8 LMS.

Jota Sport ended the day in 31st place, ahead of the Marc Blaton Racing Maserati Gran Turismo GT3, that did not set a time.

[MOTV8]

FIA GT1 2010: Phoenix Racing Prepares for Spa

Spa-Francorchamps will be a busy time for Phoenix Racing and their regular GT1 drivers. The team has entered two Audi R8 LMS for the Spa 24 Hour race along with their Corvette commitments for the fifth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship. The drivers nominated for the two GT3 cars are Mike Rockenfeller, Marcel Faessler, Lucas Luhr and Anthony Kumpen as well as Markus Winkelhock and GT1 regulars Marc Hennerici, Alex Margaritis and Henri Moser.

“Phoenix Racing has achieved several exploits at the Spa 24 Hours and we are pleased to participate with two Audi R8 LMS and two very strong driver line-ups again,” team principal Ernst Moser said. Meanwhile, following the decision to put the programme with the Mustang GT3 on hold, Marc VDS Racing will run two Ford GTs (in GT3-spec) in the Spa 24 Hours.

"Martin Bartek, our partner and constructor of our two Ford GTs in the GT1 World Championship came to visit us after we announced our decision regarding the Mustang and he put two Ford GTs at our disposal," Marc van der Straten said. "This was a very nice gesture," added Eric De Doncker. "Now we can fully respect our commitments towards our partners, our fans, but also the RACB and RACE, the organisers of the race." The driver pairings will be Eric De Doncker, Renaud Kuppens and Markus Palttala in the No.98 car and Bas Leinders, Maxime Martin and Marc Duez in the No.99.

So they race Audi's, Ford's and a refurb C6.R....

[Desertdawg]

Holy crap, so what happens next? Do they make a class just for Phoenix Racing, and if all we see is one team racing it's self will it still be interesting ???

[MOTV8]

Only the shadow knows....

GT1 Spa: Second Phoenix Corvette rising from the ashes?

By Marcel ten Caat ⋅ July 27, 2010

After the fire at Silverstone Phoenix Racing only entered one Corvette C6.R at the FIA GT1 World Championship rounds at Brno and Paul Ricard. Regular driver Mike Hezemans moved to Mad Croc Racing where he joined fellow Dutchman Xavier Maassen. The Hezemans-Maassen duo was set to get into action again at Spa…but things can change.

Our Belgian colleagues at Racingworld.be confirmed that Mike Hezemans will not be racing the Mad Croc Racing Corvette this weekend but his seat will instead be taken by another Dutchman…Jos Menten. For Menten it means the return to the FIA GT1 World Championship, after racing at Silverstone in the Reiter Lamborghini. Menten also raced the same (DKR) Corvette in 2006 and won last year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa in another Corvette C6.R.

With Menten moving to Mad Croc it seems likely that Mike Hezemans will return with the number 14 Phoenix Racing / Carsport Corvette that is currently on the official entry list with its drivers to be announced – as it was for the previous two rounds.

[MOTV8]

Mad-Croc Corvette dominates at Spa

Dutchmen Jos Menten and Xavier Maassen dominated the qualifying race for the fifth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Spa.

Menten converted Maassen's pole into the lead of the race aboard the DKR-run Mad-Croc Chevrolet Corvette and edged away from Frank Kechele in the best of the Reiter Lamborghini Murcielagos through the opening stint.

The DKR crew maintained an advantage of more than two seconds during the mandatory pitstops, giving Maassen enough of lead over Ricardo Zonta to claim a comfortable victory.

Menten said: "I don't really think it was easy. I'd raced with Frank at Silverstone [in the Reiter Lambo] and I know what he is capable of."

Third place went to the Phoenix/Carsport Chevrolet driven by Marc Hennerici and Mike Hezemans. Hennerici ran fifth to the pitstops behind Dominik Schwarger and Stefan Mucke, but contact between the All-Inkl.com Lambo and the Young Driver AMR Aston Martin and then a fast pitstop by the Phoenix squad got Mike Hezemans out in third place.

Mucke and Christoffer Nygaard ended up fourth ahead of the Vitaphone-run Hegersport Maserati of Nico Verdonck and Bert Longin. Sixth place went to Schwarger and team-mate Nicky Pastorelli.

Championship leaders Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini non-scored in their Vitaphone Maserati after the former sustained body damage on the opening lap. Second-placed Romain Grosjean crashed the Matech Ford GT he shared with Neel Jani at Blanchimont. X 2!!

The Mad Croc paint scheme has really grown on me, I now declare it 'badass', for the record.

[Desertdawg]

Decloration noted... I like it too!

[MOTV8]

Oh well. Vettes sucked....

Racing Bull: Lamborghini join GT1 winners club at Spa

Lamborghini joined the list of winners in the FIA GT1 World Championship as the brand took the lead late in the Championship Race at Spa-Francorchamps. However, it was a race the Murcielago 670 R-SVs of Reiter Engineering and Munnich Motorsport should have dominated.

From the very start three of the cars were at the fore of the race. Ricardo Zonta moving into the lead from the outside of the front row. The second Reiter car, started by Peter Kox followed through, both the Blancpain adorned cars beating polesitter Xavier Maassen in the Mad Croc Corvette through the opening corners of La Source and Eau Rouge.

Behind the field improbably squeezed through the famous turns, finding the room to run four wide round La Source before only just avoiding running thre abreast into Eau Rouge, Christoffer Nygaard back out of the middle of the sandwich, Nicky Pastorelli and Bert Longin moving ahead of the Dane in the Young Driver AMR no.8.

Pastorelli’s move gave the All-inkl.com Munnich Motorsport driver fourth place (the Phoenix/Carsport no.13 which finished the Qualifying Race third had been demoted to the rear of the because of a fuel irregularity) behind the two Reiter cars, now split by Maassen who had re-passed Kox along the Kemmel straight.

Behind Longin, proved a hold-up for those behind, allowing the leading quartet to escape into a clear lead, though Pastorelli never caught up to the rear of the third place man. 2.9 seconds behind on lap four as the Maserati led chasing pack followed 4.5 second further down the track.

On lap five Maassen took the lead, another typical Spa move down the Kemmel Straight towards Les Combes, the Dutchman completing the move early enough to move back ahead of Zonta before committing to the first, right handed element of the following corner. While Kox also moved ahead of Zonta in a (dare the words team orders be mentioned) suspiciously easy move on the sweeps between Stavelot and Blanchimont as Zonta dealt with tyre degradation.

But two laps later the drama was once more at Les Combes.

Maassen’s Mad Croc car had suffered a right-rear tyre failure – at Eau Rouge according to the driver – and limped down the Kemmel Straight, losing a second in time, and the lead, to Kox before running wide into the gravel trap at Les Combes.

Maassen was able to crawl around to the pits, but despite his slowness the tyre had completely disintegrated, flailing much of the rear bodywork, and most probably the suspension into pieces.

The Qualifying Race winner retired.

Maassen’s exit left a trio of Murcielagos in the lead, though as one challenger to Lamborghini domination departed more arrived.

Pastorelli running wide at the Bus Stop, and Zonta’s on-going tyre problems had seen the top three spread out and, now past Longin’s Hegersport Maserati rolling roadblock Richard Westbrook in a Matech Ford GT and Enrique Bernoldi had formed a three way battle for third with Pastorelli.

A battle for third became a battle for second, then a fight for the lead as first Zonta peeled in for the compulsory stop (and some sorely needed new tyres) for new driver Frank Kechele, the Kox handed the race leader over to Christopher Haase.

Meanwhile the now leading trio followed each other dutifully around – Westbrook (in a sadly rare foray outside Porsches) and Bernoldi swapping positions for half a lap the only movement. Predictably all three came to pit together, on the final lap of the pit window, and while Matech and Vitaphone pulled off swift stops – the Ford squad’s still noticeably better – the All-Inkl squad were struggling, dropping out of the top ten, Pastorelli’s replacement Dominik Schwager spinning the tyres angrily at his team as he re-entered the fray.

As the results of the pitstops wound out Reiter must have been fearing the worst, problems for both Kechele and Haase after the stops, and in-fighting on the track, Kechele surviving an enormous lock-up at the chicane were he briefly looked to be smoking towards the rear of Haase’s car which was struggling, its headlights flickering on and off, a symptom of a larger problem which ate away at Kox’s pre-stop lead.

Gone was the 1-2 running the lead instead falling to Thomas Mutsch in the Matech Ford Westbrook gave up, the Swiss team’s pit work resulting in on track benefits (not for the first time this year).

Mutsch held a number of half-hearted attempts from the Lamboghinis before the Safety Car was scrambled, chiefly to allow for the recovery of some debris which had found the racing line at Pif-Paf.

The intervention – slightly ill-handled as the Safety Car took several minutes to pick up the leader – saved Mutsch from nearly eight minutes of pressure from Kechele, Haase finally succumbing to the problems that had dogged his stint.

Once the green flag was out the Kechele quickly returned his Murcielago to the front of the field, Mutsch running wide at La Source, allowing Frank to slip through on the drag down the hill to Eau Rouge. The earlier pace suddenly returned to the Lamborghini, pulling out to a 1.682 second lead in a single lap before Peter Dumbreck and Alex Muller could also pass Mutsch to begin to chase Kechele down. Despite their best attempts, Kechele’s lead only grew in the handful of remaining lap, winning by a margin of over three seconds to start celebrations centred around Ricardo Zonta and team owner Hans Reiter.

Muller, making his debut for Alfred Heger’s Maserati team, risked stealing the show from the victorious Lamborghini’s he and Heger bringing the car from 12th on the grid to sixth when the safety car pulled in.

In the remaining 13 minutes Muller – a veteran for FIA GT campaigns with Vitaphone – overhauled the no.9 Hexis AMR, before passing Miguel Ramos in the Vitaphone Maserati on the Kemmel Straight. Finally he was handed second when Peter Dumbreck pulled the Sumo Power Nissan off the track only a few laps before the end of the race.

Thomas Mutsch, who held off Ramos for third was rewarded with a move to third outright in the driver’s championship – Matech decision to juggle their driving line-up splitting he and Romain Grosjean for the weekend.

Aston Martin’s took fifth and sixth – Hexis leading the Darren Turner/Tomas Enge Young Driver entry. The championship leading no.1 Maserati salvaged seventh having retired early in the Qualifying race. The second Hegersport MC12, the recovering All-Inkl Murcielago and the other Hexis AMR team completed the points paying positions.

Pos Drivers Car Time/Gap

1. Zonta/Kechele Lamborghini 1h01m.200s

2. Heger/Muller Maserati + 3.253s

3. Westbrook/Mutsch Ford + 6.675s

4. Bernoldi/Ramos Maserati + 7.074s

5. Makowiecki/Accary Aston Martin + 7.936s

6. Enge/Turner Aston Martin + 8.274s

7. Bertolini/Bartels Maserati + 9.741s

8. Longin/Verdonck Maserati + 10.591s

9. Pastorelli/Schwager Lamborghini + 10.784s

10. Hirschi/Piccione Aston Martin + 13.921s

11. Hughes/Campbell-Walter Nissan + 14.140s

12. Wendlinger/Moser Nissan + 14.346s

13. Hezemans/Hennerici Corvette + 15.056s

14. Grosjean/Jani Ford + 15.354s

15. Palttala/Kuppens Ford + 19.486s

16. Ara/Nilsson Nissan + 23.695s

17. Gavin/Kuismanen Corvette + 33.139s

Retirements:

Krumm/Dumbreck Nissan 22 laps

Nygaard/Mucke Aston Martin 19 laps

Kox/Haase Lamborghini 15 laps

Basseng/Bouchut Lamborghini 11 laps

Martin/Leinders Ford 10 laps

Maassen/Menten Corvette 8 laps

Piccini/Kumpen Corvette 3 laps

[MOTV8]

Spa: Mad Croc race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-07-31

Mad Croc scores first victory in FIA GT1 World Championship

Xavier Maassen and Jos Menten on the highest podium in race 1 of Belgian FIA GT1 round

Spa-Francorchamps. The Dutch pairing Jos Menten and Xavier Maassen scored a first pole and a maiden victory for Mad Croc Racing in the FIA GT1 World Championship on the legendary Belgian track Spa-Francorchamps.

On Friday morning the #11 Corvette was fastest in qualifying, so the Mad Croc Corvette started on pole for the first race of the weekend.

Jos Menten: "It's nice to be back again, and nice to see that the other car I drove is also so good. It was a late call, and to go with someone who lives 30 km from me is also nice, we can speak the same dialect. To be on pole and to come here is always nice. Normally I don't get a hotel here because I live an hour from the track, but yesterday it finished at 1am, and this morning, back at 7, so it was a bit tiring. But being on pole, I don't feel so tired anymore."

The #12 sister car of Oliver Gavin and Pertti Kuismanen finished in 16th position.

Some hours later, Jos Menten and Xavier Maassen drove a perfect race and finished ahead of all the other competitors of the prestigious World Championship.

Xavier Maassen: "It was great. We made a good pitstop. We had an awesome car in the beginning. Struggled a bit with a bit the low tire pressure, and I saw Ricardo coming quite close; it was a bit up and down. I needed to increase the gap, and we had the ability to do it, which was good. The car seemed to be running fine. We had a good car all through the race, except for the last couple of laps, with the understeer and oversteer, because of the high tyre degradation here. But we managed to do well and we've now officially qualified on pole for a championship race, which is good. We'll still have a job to do tomorrow. We're going to look at the data to see if we can improve a bit for tomorrow, and from there we'll see what happens tomorrow."

After a race incident, the #12 car came home in 18th position.

The Championship on Saturday started also very promising, but a flat tire due to a race incident ruined the race of the victorious Dutch pairing. "I'm sure we could have won without the flat tire. The car was perfect, the team had a strong strategy, we still had a set of fresh rubber, the race was perfect so far, but it turned out different for us. I'm disappointed, but I'll try to keep the souvenirs of the pole and the win", explains Xavier Maassen.

Oliver Gavin also took a very strong start in race 2, but yet again a race incident intervened. "I got hit out by another competitor", tells American star driver Oliver Gavin. "But it wasn't his fault, as he also got hit... Maybe some drivers should calm down a bit... Otherwise we could have done much better than 17th."

The next race will follow in about a month, on the 27th, the 28th and the 29th of August on the famous German Nurburgring.

-source: mad croc

[MOTV8]

Oliver Gavin To Concentrate On 2010 ALMS Campaign

Britain’s Oliver Gavin has a vast amount of experience and proven success as an International sports car driver with the GM factory Corvette Racing team, including multiple Championship titles and victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This experience is much in demand in both Europe and North America right now, particularly within the intensely competitive GT class of the American Le Mans Series which boasts an in-depth field of factory and factory-supported entries.

With a need to focus on this North American challenge, it has been agreed that Gavin will concentrate fully on the remainder of the 2010 ALMS and will take no further part in any of the rounds of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship. Gavin’s participation in the FIA series has failed to yield the results expected or deserved, despite some excellent showings with the tight knit and well-run Patrick Selleslagh SRT team in previous years.

Oliver said of the mid-season change of direction: "I’ve enjoyed my time with Mad Croc Racing and working with Patrick and his team, but we’ve agreed to end our agreement earlier than planned. This is primarily due to my commitments to Corvette Racing in the ALMS – the competition is so intense that we are putting in a lot of extra time and effort to that series in order to achieve success. I have had some great fun with the close racing in the series and securing the odd fastest race lap, but working with Pertti Kuismanen was also proving to be extremely challenging each weekend.

"I wasn’t going to be able to do the Nürburgring round anyway as it clashed with Mosport, and I’m sure there are many drivers available who would like an opportunity to participate in the FIA World Championship. I wish them all a safe completion to the season, and I very much hope I might have another opportunity to race with Patrick and his team again in the future."

A day late and a dollar short to focus on the ALMS series Olly.

[F22trainer]

Mad Croc! i gotta get speed channel...nice to see Phoenix drag in the #3 to make the "VETTE POWER" statement a little bit louder at SPA!

[MOTV8]

Mad Croc!

I would drink tons of 'Croc if we had it over here!

[MOTV8]

Stoopid rules.....

GT1 Nürburgring: Practice update and latest news!

Young Driver AMR was quickest in the rain this morning in the free practice session for the sixth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at the Nürburgring. The Aston Martin DBR9 of Christoffer Nygaard and Stefan Mücke was 1.593s quicker than its nearest rivals as it posted a 2:13.554.

Marc Basseng and Thomas Jäger were second in the number 37 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini Murcielago with the Matech Competition Ford GT number 5 of Thomas Mutsch and Richard Westbrook in third place.

With the Vitaphone Maserati MC12 of Bertolini and Bartels in fourth place, the Phoenix Racing Corvette of Hennerici and Margaritis in fifth and the Sumo Power GT Mossam GT-R of Hughes and Campbell-Walter in sixth place all six manufacturers had a car in the top six.

Even before the first meters had been driven though there was already a serious stewards decision, regarding the Phoenix Racing Carsport team. It read:

The Stewards, having received a copy of an e-mail to the FIA and its permanent chairman of stewards (Mr Schwägerl) that Phoenix Racing Carsport will not compete with their car 14 for the rest of the season.

After hearing from the team representative the stewards now have verbal confirmation of that e-mail which is a breach of championship regulation art. 38. The stewards are further informed by the team representatives that car 14 was owned by a private person who has demanded the return of the vehicle and subsequently disposed of it elsewhere. No written contract exists between the team and the private owner.

The regulation provides two exactable reasons for absence namely force majeure and accident in the previous race. Neither applies in this instance.

After considering all the information provided by the team, the stewards decide:

To implement the last paragraph of regulation 38 and as a result the team will lose his right of priority for the following season as well as all the points scored since the start of the season.

The competitor is reminded of his right of appeal.

Only one Phoenix Racing Carsport Corvette remains on the list but it will not score any points this race. Alexander Margaritis, who will take over from Mike Hezemans who apparently suffered a hand injury while in Miami, will join Marc Hennerici in the number 13 Corvette C6.R.

Other changes on the entry list include Alessandro Pier Guidi at Triple H Team Hegersport, taking the seat that Nico Verdonck occupied in the last race at Spa. Romain Grosjean has left Matech Competition, his seat is taken by Nicolas Prost.

Word around the paddock is that Vitaphone Racing Team will ditch its Maserati MC12 after the 2010 season and will be running Lexus LF-A’s in the 2011 GT1 World Championship.

Oh great, so not only does the Phoenix team lose its points, they gotta plan on racing Lexus LFA's next year instead of Maserati 'Enzo's....

[MOTV8]

Stoopid double posting....

[MOTV8]

Nurburgring: Series qualifying race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-08-28

Aston Martin wins eventful Qualifying Race

Darren Turner and Tomas Enge extended their dominance in the sixth round of the championship by taking victory in an eventful Championship Race at Nurburgring.

In a frantic start the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23 of Peter Dumbreck had a coming together with the Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 of Bas Leinders. The Nissan GT-R was eliminated, the No.40 sustained heavy damage and limped to the pits while several other cars were caught up in the chaos.

When the dust settled and the field sorted itself out it was the Turner/Enge Aston Martin which made hay while the sun shone in what has been a very wet event to date.

The rain eventually arrived with 25 minutes of the one-hour race remaining. It triggered a scramble to the pit lane for wet tyres and a shake-up of the running order.

Andrea Bertolini, having just taken over from Michael Bartels in the Vitaphone Maserati No.1 opted to stay out on slick tyres even though the track in parts was very wet.

Turner, on wets, chased down the Maserati with 10 minutes remaining to claim the lead. He was followed through by Marc Hennerici in the Phoenix Racing Corvette No.13 for second place.

Third was the Reiter Lamborghini No.24 of Peter Kox and Christopher Haase from the sister car of Ricardo Zonta and Frank Kechele.

The Maserati eventually slipped down the order to finish 10 as the gamble failed to pay off.

Sunshine, downpour, tyre changes and gambles. The Qualifying Race was an exciting hour of racing. Here's what the drivers say ...

Thomas Enge, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7

"This was an interesting race. The beginning was great I saw a gap on the inside and managed to get away in first place.

"We had a very strong car by the end of the race, when I was driving I kept it fairly calm and tried to not to do anything stupid. Nearing the end of my drive I tried to make a gap to make it easier for Darren. This was a good race, we got some points which were very happy about and let's see what can happen tomorrow."

Darren Turner, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7

"I have to say Tomas [Enge] made a great call with the pit stop. I was coming round the last chicane and I got the call to pit so there must have been some rain on other parts of the track.

"We were the last car to pit and after we came out the tyres were cold and I saw the Corvette closing in on me. I was then told to pit again to fit the wet tyres which was a relief.

"From then on it was one of the those nervy races where you just watching the pit wall, watching your mirrors and just trying to keep the car on the track."

Alex Margaritis, Phoenix Racing Carsport Corvette No.13

"The start was good for me, we were coming out of the last chicane and I saw a gap on the inside so I went for it, it was a little bit tricky but I made it and I'm thankful nothing happened there.

"Going into the first corner was hard, I was trying to keep up the speed of the cars around me but I had to let them go. I tried to slot into third or fourth position while Michael Bartels was pushing. After that the race was easy for me, I changed over with Marc [Hennerici] and he managed to get us into second."

Marc Hennerici, Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette, No.13

"After I got in the car I pretty much had to come straight back to the pits because of the rain. I got the call that there was dark clouds when I was behind the Aston Martin and we got the wet tyres on.

"With the wet tyres on I was going well, taking care like everybody else but I managed to catch Bartels reasonably easily and take the place.

"Second place was great for me so I didn't push too hard to catch the Aston Martin, tomorrow should be good for us the car is pretty good in the rain but also in dry conditions so I'm really happy."

Christopher Haase, Reiter Lamborghini, No.24

"My start was really good but on the first corner we had a small collision, I'm not sure who with but maybe there was a driver who went in a little bit too hard. After that collision I managed to carry on but I noticed that there was something broken on my right wheel but luckily this wasn't too much of an issue.

"After the first lap our car was pretty fast and pretty stable. The driver change was good and efficient, the team got round the car very quickly. After me Peter was very good and got into third."

Peter Cox, Reiter Lamborghini, No.24

Like most others I came in after the driver change which wasn't a hard choice to make. I personally wanted to come in a lap earlier with the Corvette, I thought that would have worked better but in the end it was OK, no loss."

"For us the front tyres took a little bit of time to warm up so the Corvette seemed to be moving away from me. After that I had a little problem with the rear tyres but I managed to keep third place.

"The Lamborghini also finished fourth so it shows how strong the car is. Its getting better and better so we'll see how it goes tomorrow. It should be OK."

-source: gt1world

[MOTV8]

Nurburgring: Series race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-08-29

Dominant weekend for Aston Martin

Darren Turner and Tomas Enge won the Championship Race in Nurburgring to round out a dominant weekend for the Young Driver Aston Martin pair.

Having taken pole in Qualifying then victory in the Qualifying Race, the Aston Martin No.7 combination completed the set with victory today to take a big points haul away from the sixth round.

Second place went to the Reiter Lamborghini No.24 of Peter Kox and Christopher Haase with the Phoenix Racing/Carsport No.13 Corvette of Marc Hennerici and Alexander Margaritis third.

Nurburgring Championship Race: What the drivers say...

Darren Turner, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7

"I wanted to get away from the start in one piece, whatever happened after that was another part of the race. That was the main objective. I was happy with the gap I made over the Corvette.

"I tried to get my head down and not make any mistakes. I tried to push a few times throughout the race to get a bit more of a gap in case we had any trouble at the pit stop. We waited for the Corvette to box and we boxed the following lap. It was nice to get out and do some solid laps."

Tomas Enge, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7

"I think that we had the fastest car of the weekend but not as fast as it appeared at the end of the race.

"We were very concentratred and we didn't put a foot wrong, we had a fabulous pit stop as well. It was the perfect weekend for us. I'm very happy that we have closed the gap at the top of the table of the championship standings."

Peter Kox, Reiter Lamborghini No.24

"We had a fantastic pit stop so we owe it all to the team which helped us to overtake the Corvette. The car is not quite there yet but we are working on it and improving it and at least we can now compete at the front.

"Christopher did a fantastic stint under a lot of pressure from four cars."

Christopher Haase, Reiter Lamborghini No.24

"Our team did a great job at the pit stop. This was the key to taking the second place. It was a difficult race as I was very close with the Corvette. I am really delighted to be on the podium at my home race. Our whole team did a great job."

Marc Hennerici, Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette No.13

"We have done a very consistent job during the whole weekend. To find a good set-up with a new team-mate is sometimes difficult but with Alex (Margaritas) it was really perfect from the first moment.

"The car was much better than we expected because of the latest Balance of Performance decision. Third place is really great for us."

Alexander Margaritis, Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette No.13

"Coming back with Phoenix, we have a long relationship since the DTM times. It was a great moment on Wednesday when I got the phone call 'Alex can you be there on Thursday?'. I said for sure it would be a pleasure to drive for you. The atmosphere from the first moment was very good.

"I hope we can find a solution so I can continue driving. I have to speak to my manager and make the decision in the next few days."

-source: gt1world

Pfft....euros.

[MOTV8]

Nurburgring: Mad Croc event summary

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-08-29

Not all weekends are the same, difficult German FIA GT1 round for the Mad Croc Vettes

Nurburgring. After the magnificent win of the Dutch Mad Crocs Xavier Maassen and Jos Menten in Spa, the Dutch pairing showed up at the German Nurburgring for the sixth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship with high hopes, just as the Finish paring Mika Salo and Pertti Kuismanen. But sport is not only about success, but also about fighting back after a defeat. "And that's what we will have to do in Portugal for the next round of the FIA GT1 World Championship", explains Patrick Selleslagh, team manager of the #12 Mad Croc Corvette C6.R of Mika Salo and Pertti Kuismanen. "We can not be satisfied with a 15th and 23rd position in the races, that's for sure. "So can't we, with two 18th places", tells a very honest Xavier Maassen in the black and red box of the Mad Croc Racing Team after the German weekend.

QUALIFYING

Like every race weekend, things get serious in qualifying. "And that's where our weekend started to go wrong", says Jos Menten. "I made a little mistake in the last chicane during my last fast lap and so we lost the opportunity to go to the third and final qualifying session. We looked at the data and my mistake was the difference between a tenth spot and a place in the top-8... And it's the top-8 that battles for pole position... So what can I possibly tell you more? Of course I'm disappointed, for myself, the team and Xavier." Meanwhile, the #12 Mad Croc Corvette C6.R was already eliminated in the first session. "We will have to change the set-up, as this was not the direction to go", told Mika Salo right after the session.

RACE 1:

The first race was another difficult chapter in the German GT1 book. The #11 Mad Croc Corvette, with Jos Menten at the wheel took a good start, "but the first corner was a real chaos. I got hit from all sides and the race was over, we lost four laps in the pitlane and that was it... And what's more, race 1 settles the grid for the Championships Race on Sunday and our place on Sunday was the back end of the grid. That was another bitter consequence of it."

Salo and Kuismanen raced from 21 to 15, "a rather good result, given the fact that we got a drive through penalty for pitlane speeding, as Mika came in", says Kuismanen.

Race 2.

Another race, another race incident... "Indeed, that's right", agrees Xavier Maassen. "After making a good start, I was 11th or 12th, I got hit again and that was it... We finished 18th and that was it..." Mika Salo took a relative good start in the #12 Mad Croc Racing Corvette, but a brake problem slowed the car down, resulting in a 23rd position.

-source: mad croc

[MOTV8]

The rare triple play...

Portimao: Mad Croc preview

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-16

Portugal should be the one!

This weekend the FIA GT1 World Championship arrives in Portugal, near the beautiful coast of the Algarve. The recently build track of Portimao already hosted a FIA GT race last year and is now the Portugese venue for the brand new world championship. Mad Croc already landed in the warm south and Xavier Maassen talked us through the track, which should suit the Corvette.

"Portimao is a nice place to come and the track is amazing, it's like a roller coaster... I love it very much and I think our car should be very good here. Corvette won here last year and we are really keen on reproducing that victory. Me and my new team mate Julien Jousse will do everything possible to score the first Mad Croc victory in the Championship's race on Sunday!"

"The first corner is a difficult one, not too fast, but certainly not slow, you really need a well-balanced car here. The real first slow corner is the third one and the braking is delicate. Now the roller coaster really starts with an uphill section until turn four, a blind and the outcome is important for the for the following long straight.

"At the end of the straight, you go down to a hairpin, really hard braking and than it's fun again with an uphill. The sixth corner is fast, the seventh and eight are hard braking again. Exiting turn eight is a slow process and now approaching turn nine, one of the most fantastic turns of this track. It's really the place where your stomach goes up and down..."

"All the way uphill to turn 10, the most difficult one in my opinion. It's a blind turn which has to be taken in permanent braking." Than it's downhill again, with another hard braking corner, number 12, before you go to 13 and 14, the last one, which leads to the finish line."

"I really love it and can't wait for the race!"

-source: mad croc

EU-GT3: Portimao: Callaway Competition preview

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-14

Match point for Callaway Competition Callaway-drivers on Pole-Position for European title

The summer break in the FIA GT3 European Champion comes to an end this weekend with the penultimate round at the scenic Portimao track at the Algarve coast in Portugal. Callaway Competition travels as leader in the drivers- and in team championship to the southwest of Europe, Callaway drivers Christian Hohenadel (GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (GER) have a good chance to claim the European title in their Callaway-Corvette Z06.R GT3, developed and built by Callaway Competition in Germany, already this weekend. In the second Callaway-Corvette, the two Dutchman Marius Ritskes and Dennis Retera will fight for points in the fifth round of the FIA GT3-European Championship.

Hohenadel and Keilwitz will have a real "heavy" job in the two races at Portimao. After two brilliant victories in the last round in France, the organisers changed the "balance of performance" of the Corvette. The Callaway built cars have to start with more weight and a smaller restrictor, which means less power. Additionally, Hohenadel/Keilwitz have to carry 40kg success ballast around the scenic track in the backcountry of the Algarve coast. "Unfortunately the new balance of performance of the Corvette seams not to be very objective", Callaway Competition boss Ernst Woehr says. "It looks like the organisers only took the brilliant performance of Christian and Daniel into account, and therefore took the whole Corvette brand in kin liability. I hope our two championship contenders will have two good races and will be able to clinch the title already this weekend."

Hohenadel and Keilwitz are actually 51 points in front of their closest rivals. If the Corvette-duo manages to conserve this gap during the two races in Portugal, they can nail the championship at Portimao. "I hope we will be able to clinch the title in Portugal", Christian Hohenadel says, "but it will be very difficult. It would be great to claim one or two podiums there, but we have to see how the changed "balance of performance" will effect our car. The track is new to me, so it's quite difficult to judge what to expect. Most important thing for us is to finish both races trouble free and see the chequered flag two times in front of our closest rivals."

"After a break of more then two month, I can't wait to race again", Daniel Keilwitz says. "The track should suit our car well, but the new "balance of performance" adds an question mark. We will try to drive two flawless races and will not take any risk, because at this time in the championship, points are the most important thing for us."

The second Callaway-Corvette will start with a slightly different driver line-up. Dennis Retera will replace regular driver Bernard van Oranje, who has a scheduling conflict. Former A1-GP-driver Retera will team up with Marius Ritskes. "Marius had a great run in the last races. I hope that will continue in Portugal, as we are also leading the team championship, and Marius and Dennis can add valuable points to this," Ernst Woehr explains.

-source: callawaycars.de

And finally....

Portimao: Series practice 1 report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-17

Ford GT fastest in Free Practice

The Ford GT of Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin topped the time sheets in Friday's Free Practice session at the Autodromo do Algarve this morning.

At the start of the 80-minute session, the field took to a damp track on wet weather tyres but as the morning progressed and the sun broke through slick tyres were the order of the day.

The Marc VDS No.40 set a time of 1:44.446. Second was the Vitaphone Maserati No.1 of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini with the Nissan GT-R No.23 shared by Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm third fastest.

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40

"We managed to set the fastest lap but this was only a Free Practice. Those extra horsepower we are having for this race are not really that important because at the same time we got some extra kilos added as well.

"In this track the engine is not as important as it was in the Nurburgring but at least the extra power will allow us to keep the pace with our competitors. The circuit seems favourable to our Ford GT, let's see what happens.

"Algarve is a wonderful track, I love it."

Miguel Ramos, Vitaphone Racing Maserati No.2

"We went for this Free Practice with a different set-up and were much slower than our No.1 car (Bartels/Bertolini). We've tested a new differential but it did not work very well. Enrique (Bernoldi) was a bit faster than me, some three tenths of a second, but still very far from our No.1 car. So for this afternoon's pre-qualifying we will go back to the basic set-up and see how things go.

"The only problem our Maserati has in this circuit is the weight. Since most of this track's slow turns exit up the hill, then the car gets really slow. If instead we went downhill after those slow turns it would be great."

Xavier Maassen, Mad-Croc Racing Corvette No.11

"We had a little spin at turn number nine, it was Julien (Jousse) at the wheel and yellow flags went on. But it was nothing special, just a spin, and everything is fine for the pre-qualifying."

Peter Dumbreck, Nissan GT-R No.23

"There are some quick corners which suit us and some slow ones that usually don't, but Michael went quickest in his first lap on slicks, so it looks like it might be good for us. I'd expect us to be up there fighting for a top six, we should be everywhere we go."

Darren Turner, Aston Martin No.7

"The track was getting better and better every lap. Surprisingly as we are running with 40kg ballast, the performance and balance of the car doesn't feel too bad. I don't want to get too excited but we are looking OK at the moment.

"I've raced here a few times and done quite a bit of testing and I really like it. It's challenging with a few slow corners and a few high speed corners and the fact that it has so much elevation change is really nice. For a new circuit it's probably the best one out there at the moment."

Portimao: Practice 1 times

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-17

Pos Car Drivers Car Time Gap To 1st

1. 40 Martin, Leinders Ford GT 1:44.446

2. 1 Bertolini, Bartels Maserati MC12 1:44.628 0.182 0.182

3. 23 Dumbreck, Krumm Nissan GT-R 1:44.653 0.025 0.207

4. 6 Prost, Jani Ford GT Matech 1:44.710 0.057 0.264

5. 7 Turner, Enge Aston Martin DB9 1:44.783 0.073 0.337

6. 5 Mutsch, Westbrook Ford GT Matech 1:44.808 0.025 0.362

7. 9 Makowiecki, Clairay Aston Martin DB9 1:45.003 0.195 0.557

8. 37 Bouchut, Basseng Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:45.020 0.017 0.574

9. 3 Wendlinger, Moser Nissan GT-R 1:45.083 0.063 0.637

10. 34 Mayr-Melnhof, Pier Guidi Maserati MC12 1:45.286 0.203 0.840

11. 24 Kox, Haase Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:45.322 0.036 0.876

12. 38 Pastorelli, Schwager Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:45.461 0.139 1.015

13. 8 Mucke, Lamy Aston Martin DB9 1:45.671 0.210 1.225

14. 2 Bernoldi, Ramos Maserati MC12 1:45.697 0.026 1.251

15. 10 Hirschi, Piccione Aston Martin DB9 1:45.741 0.044 1.295

16. 33 Heger, Muller Maserati MC12 1:45.761 0.020 1.315

17. 22 Campbell-Walter, Hughes Nissan GT-R 1:45.770 0.009 1.324

18. 11 Jousse, Maassen Corvette Z06 1:45.825 0.055 1.379

19. 13 Hennerici, Margaritis Corvette Z06 1:45.851 0.026 1.405

20. 25 Kechele, Menten Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:46.091 0.240 1.645

21. 12 Cazenave, Kuismanen Corvette Z06 1:46.340 0.249 1.894

22. 4 Ara, Nilsson Nissan GT-R 1:46.551 0.211 2.105

23. 41 Palttala, Kuppens Ford GT 1:46.648 0.097 2.202

-source: gtworld

[MOTV8]

Portimao: Series qualifying report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-18

Corvette tops the pile in Qualifying

The Phoenix Racing Corvette No.13 of Marc Hennerici and Alex Margaritas took pole position for this afternoon's Qualifying Race in a keenly contested Qualifying session at Portimao.

Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin in the Marc VDS Ford GT were second with the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23 of Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm third.

Portimao Qualifying: What the drivers say ...

Marc Hennerici, Phoenix Corvette No.13

"So far its gone really well. This is our first time here out on this track. Last weekend I drove 300 laps on the simulator so I'm getting to know the track now. The car with 20 kilos of ballast was really good.

"The lap was the maximum, maybe we could find one tenth, but I think its going to be a real battle this afternoon, with the tyre wear it will be more of a battle than a race, its going to be very interesting."

Alex Margaritis, Phoenix Corvette No.13

"It's the best feeling that I can have, after a great weekend at the Nurburgring we got the solution for this race and I hope for the next races. It was also the first time for me in Portimao so it was difficult to get the knowledge of the circuit but we both made it, and now I think the the package of the Pheonix team is very strong, now the problem will be the tyre wear."

Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40

"Its a great result for the team. We've worked real hard and it's not been all that easy this season. It's fantastic to be on the front row. Now we have to go to the end and we'll see tomorrow in the Championship Race."

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40

"We've shown potential all the way through the year but never really got to it. This is the first time that I really enjoyed driving the car. Also with Maxime we work well together we are growing into each other, getting to know each other better and we can feel it in the car as well.

"To be on the front row to start a race in this world championship is a first for me, I just hope that Peter (Dumbreck) goes into the first corner a bit nicer than he did at the Nurburgring."

Peter Dumbreck, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23

"You think that you've got your head around it and someone puts in a mega time and you've got to respond to that. It's a game of chess to get it just right, to get that lap perfect, with all the sectors together.

"If I was a betting man I wouldn't have said that we would be the first three cars, I'd have said that there would be a Maserati here but it was a good session and we both drove well. This afternoon will be hot on the tyres and it will be about who can manage them best and who can keep a cool head."

Michael Krumm, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23

"The team did a fantastic job, I think that we squeezed the maximum that we could out of the car. We didn't expect P3 but its really the ideal result for us. It equals our best result so far in qualifying.

"I really like the track, it makes it so much more exciting because of the elevation changes, it's really a big big challenge here. The race is going to be even a bigger challenge with the tyres. It's going to be the most exciting and incredible race this afternoon for the people watching, maybe not for us."

Miguel Ramos, Vitaphone Maserati No.2

"The gaps are very small. If you don't have a clean lap in Qualifying you miss your chance for a good lap. Unfortunately the Maserati is not best suited to this track. For the Qualifying Race we are fourth on the grid and will see how our tyres go."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.22

"We were struggling yesterday with the set-up, particularly rear-end stability. It was our biggest problem on braking. The other car [No.23] had another differential installed, which on paper gives more rear-end stability.

"Therefore we've decided to put that diff on our car for Qualifying. It was obviously untested and on top of that we kept our set-up, just installed the diff.

"But the main reason for our time was I had a problem in my out lap, power steering failed. We've lost all the power steering fluid and had to spend 15 minutes in the pits repairing it. I went out of the pit lane with five or six minutes to go and that was just not enough, having to learn a car which was different from the one I've been driving throughout the year.

"We'll see for this afternoon's Qualifying Race. We usually do good races. So far we've only used one set of tyres, it will be hard but we'll see how it goes."

Peter Cox, Reiter Lamborghini No.24

"Yesterday I was quite pleased with the car but we made some set-up changes overnight and I think we may have gone in the wrong direction. The car was completely different to drive today and it has cost us."

Darren Turner, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7

"We are in the mix and we can pick some points from where we are on the grid so we are reasonably happy. Given the weight we are carrying from the success in Nurburgring we are better placed than we thought we'd be."

-ans then-

Portimao: Series qualifying race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-18

Nissan GT-R wins thrilling Qualifying Race

The Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23 of Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck took the spoils in a spectacular Qualifying Race at Portimao.

It was a maiden win for the German-British partnership in a race that showcased the very best of the close combat of GT1.

The Nissan won a tense three-way battle at the head of the field with the Vitaphone Maserati No.1 of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini second.

Long-time race leader and polesitters Marc Hennerici and Alex Margaritas in the Phoenix Corvette No.13 claimed third place.

Fourth was Darren Turner and Tomas Enge in the Young Driver Aston Martin No.7, while Richard Westbrook and Thomas Mutsch produced a stunning drive in the Matech Competition Ford GT No.5 to grab fifth place from a starting position of 21st on the grid.

-and then-

Series race report

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-19

Maserati wins Championship Race

The Vitaphone Maserati No.1 of Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels won the Championship Race after a nail-biting finish in Portimao.

The Maserati held off the challenge of Richard Westbrook and Thomas Mutsch in the Matech Competition Ford GT No.5.

Westbrook produced a stunning drive to close a gap of over nine seconds to the Maserati with Bartels at the wheel after the driver change.

At the finish Bartels was able to hold Westbrook at bay by just 1.4 seconds in a gripping climax to the one-hour race.

Third place went to the Phoenix Crovette No.13 of Marc Hennerici and Alex Margaritas.

The pole-sitters, Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck in the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23 finished fourth.

Portimao Championship Race: What the drivers say ...

Andrea Bertolini, Vitaphone Maserati No.1

"It was difficult for us at the start but today I got a good start, and this for us was the maximum that we could do. After that I tried to stay close to him (Peter Dumbreck) but that was not easy, I was losing the downforce at the front, if I was too close then I would destroy my front tyre.

"The crew did a really unbelievable pit, because I jumped out of the car and Michael starts and I thought what happened here. It was really quick. If we are here and we won this race, it has a lot to do with our crew."

Michael Bartels, Vitaphone Maserati No.1

"First of all I think that today's victory is a big part due to the pit crew. I was nearly not finished with my belts when they dropped the car so I could just tighten them a little bit. It was really very strong pit work.

"When you are leading by 8, 9, 10 seconds, it's a more difficult race than when you are fully under presure because you can lose concentration and you can think things that you should not think.

"But I was aware of course that the Ford was coming from behind making big steps with a really strong performance and I think that two laps more and he would be on my back."

Thomas Mutsch, Matech Competition Ford GT No.5

"As we were starting yesterday from 22nd place after the Qualifying when we had some issues with our car but the performance overall has been amazing during the race, and over the last few rounds.

"We need to work on our performance in Qualifying but the race speed is really good and also how long the tyres last that we've found compared to our competitors. And of course Richard (Westbrook) did an amazing stint and was catching up lap by lap."

Richard Westbrook, Matech Competition Ford GT No.5

"It's a long way to come from 22nd on the grid and that's really not where we should have qualified. Thomas had a failure on suspension in Qualifying. We showed in practice that both our races were really strong.

"We had to get our heads down and stay clean and really attack. In my stint I didn't really know what was going on to start with, I didn't plug my radio in an I didn't seem to find the time to do it.

"So I just thought we'll just throw caution to the wind. Then I could see Michael (Bartels), I didn't know how long to go, but if the race was a little bit longer then it could have been different. Well done to these guys, they did a perfect job."

Marc Hennerici, Phoenix Corvette No.13

"After Spa it was a little bit hard for us as we lost third place to a mistake, I dropped down in the championship from third to seventh now we are back to third and I'm on the podium.

"It was a strong performance from Phoenix which got me back in this position. I saw that the Aston Martin was struggling and I knew that I could gain some points. It's my rookie season and I'm really happy about it."

Alexander Margaritis, Phoenix Corvette No.13

"I'm very happy when you consider that both of the drivers, both Marc and me were the first time in Portimao and with 20 kilos of extra weight, and the circuit not being the best for the Corvette. We found a good set-up from yesterday to today, we found something overnight. I'm very happy to be second time on the podium."

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40

"Although we were having clutch problems this is a very good result. Me and my team-mate (Maxime Martin) managed to recover 16 places from our position on the grid. He did a very good start and took something like 10 places. We took two places in the pit stop and then I overtook another four, so we did a very good race.

"Yesterday we were in the front row and had that problem with the air box which broke during the FIA tests. But it is our fault, we should have made it stronger. Next time we will do and probably win the race."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.22

"I am really upset with what's been happening in the last few races. Some drivers think these races are to be won in the first lap. This time I was hit by a car when there was no chance he could overtake me. I could not simply vanish from where I was and still he came on and hit me.

"These are very expensive cars and mine shows the signs of what happened today. This is not a touring car championship and the FIA must make a stand and penalize those drivers who behave like that. Yesterday I overtook some 10 cars during my stint and did not touch one single of them."

Pedro Lamy, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.8

"Midway through my stint, my tyres were gone and the car was very difficult to handle. I did a spin by the end of the race but managed to return and from there it was just a matter of taking the car through in one piece.

"It's been some years now since I've raced in GTs and I find this new format of the FIA GT1 World Championship very competitive, with many cars almost at the same level. That makes the races much more interesting."

Peter Dumbreck, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23

"I was fully focused at the start on getting away well and then building up a gap so I could bring the car home for Michael (Krumm). I had the legs on Andrea Bertolini today and enjoyed the run. I thought to myself that all I had to do was get to the pit-stop, have a clean stop and then watch Michael pop up in the lead.

"I'm happy from my side that I did all I could and you could say that every cloud has a silver lining: we won't have a car full of success ballast for Navarra."

Michael Krumm, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23

"I tried everything I could to recover after the pit stop and managed to pass a couple of cars along the way. Yesterday everything was perfect for us. GT1 racing is so close that one little thing is all it takes to lose the victory: the devil is in the detail as they say.

"I'm glad we won yesterday and it was good to see how much the team has improved through the season, which was demonstrated by their quick recovery in the pit stop. To finish fourth after all that is a good result."

-source: gt1world

Portimao: Championship race results

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-19

Pos Car Drivers Car Laps Gap

1. 1 Bertolini, Bartels Maserati MC12 34 0.000

2. 5 Mutsch, Westbrook Ford GT Matech 34 1.402

3. 13 Hennerici, Margaritis Corvette Z06 34 15.482

4. 23 Dumbreck, Krumm Nissan GT-R 34 24.623

5. 40 Martin, Leinders Ford GT 34 31.945

6. 9 Makowiecki, Clairay Aston Martin DB9 34 32.483

7. 24 Kox, Haase Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 34 32.850

8. 25 Kechele, Menten Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 34 34.845

9. 33 Heger, Muller Maserati MC12 34 41.948

10. 7 Turner, Enge Aston Martin DB9 34 43.495

11. 8 Mucke, Lamy Aston Martin DB9 34 44.434

12. 6 Prost, Jani Ford GT Matech 34 46.306

13. 10 Hirschi, Piccione Aston Martin DB9 34 47.565

14. 11 Jousse, Maassen Corvette Z06 34 54.916

15. 41 Palttala, Kuppens Ford GT 34 1:10.419

16. 12 Cazenave, Kuismanen Corvette Z06 33 24.451

17. 37 Bouchut, Basseng Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 32 2:12.371

18. 4 Ara, Nilsson Nissan GT-R 32 51.177

19. 34 Mayr-Melnhof, Pier Guidi Maserati MC12 32 45.332

20. 3 Wendlinger, Moser Nissan GT-R 31 4:17.635

21. 38 Pastorelli, Schwager Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 13 36:00.644

22. 22 Campbell-Walter, Hughes Nissan GT-R 1 57:59.828

-and then-

Standings afer Portimao

Racing series FIA-GT

Date 2010-09-19

Drivers' Championship:

Pos Driver Nat Points

1. Michael Bartels D 122

1. Andrea Bertolini I 122

2. Thomas Mutsch D 95

3. Marc Hennerici D 80

4. Darren Turner GB 66

5. Tomas Enge CZ 66

6. Alexander Margaritis GRC 65

7. Romain Grosjean CH 62

8. Peter Dumbreck GB 57

9. Michael Krumm D 57

10. Frederic Makowiecki F 54

11. Frank Kechele D 50

12. Altfrid Heger D 45

13. Ricardo Zonta BR 42

14. Thomas Accary F 38

15. Peter Kox NL 38

16. Christopher Haase D 38

17. Jamie Campbell-Walter GB 37

18. Warren Hughes GB 37

19. Richard Westbrook GB 33

20. Clivio Piccione MCO 31

21. Jonathan Hirschi CH 31

22. Enrique Bernoldi BR 28

23. Miguel Ramos P 28

24. Andreas Zuber A 26

25. Maxime Martin B 26

26. Bas Leinders B 26

27. Andrea Piccini I 25

28. Christoffer Nygaard DNK 24

29. Stefan Mucke D 24

30. Bert Longin B 24

31. Jos Menten NL 23

32. Mike Hezemans NL 23

33. Alex Muller D 21

34. Matteo Bobbi I 18

35. Xavier Maassen NL 17

36. Yann Clairay F 14

37. Rafael Daniel BR 11

38. Dominik Schwager D 8

39. Nicky Pastorelli I 8

40. Stefan Rosina 4

41. Nico Verdonck B 4

42. Henri Moser CH 2

43. Max Nilsson S 2

44. Alessandro Pier Guidi I 2

45. Karl Wendlinger A 2

46. Seiji Ara J 2

47. Stephane Sarrazin F 2

48. Renaud Kuppens B 1

49. Markus Palttala FIN 1

Teams' Championship:

Pos Team Nat Points

1. Vitaphone Racing Team D 152

2. Reiter D 109

3. Sumo Power GT GB 99

4. Young Driver AMR D 98

5. Matech Competition CH 95

6. Hexis AMR F 92

7. Triple H Team Hegersport D 73

8. Marc VDS Racing Team B 30

9. Mad-Croc Racing B 17

10. All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport D 8

11. Swiss Racing Team CH 5

-and then the good news-

Callaway Corvette locks up GT3 title

Good night now.

[MOTV8]

Zonta gives Lamborghini first pole

By Gary Watkins

Ricardo Zonta claimed Lamborghini's first pole position in the FIA GT1 World Championship at the new Navarra circuit in Spain.

The former grand prix driver topped the times in the final section of the three-round qualifying session with a 1m36.118s laps aboard the best of the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Murcielago R-SVs. That means team-mate Frank Kechele will start tomorrow morning's qualifying race from the pole.

Zonta said: "I am very happy to be on pole. Our car suits this track and I like it as well. You have to remain focused because it is very easy to make a mistake and lock a wheel."

Second place went to Alessandro Pier Guidi, who shares his Vitaphone-run Hegersport Maserati MC12 with Nico Verdonck. His time was two tenths slower than the pole-winner.

Neel Jani ended up third-fastest in the best of the Matech Ford GTs. He ended up a tenth ahead of Maxime Martin in the Marc VDS-run Ford.

Championship leaders Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini (Vitaphone) will start 13th after the former failed to make it through to Q3.

Pos Drivers Car Time Session

1. Zonta/Kechele Lamborghini 1m36.118s Q3

2. Pier Guidi/Verdonck Maserati 1m36.329s Q3

3. Jani/Amindo Ford 1m36.407s Q3

4. Martin/Leinders Ford 1m36.410s Q3

5. Turner/Enge Aston Martin 1m36.484s Q3

6. Kox/Haase Lamborghini 1m36.877s Q3

7. Campbell-Walter/Hughes Nissan 1m37.520s Q3

8. Hirschi/Piccione Aston Martin 1m38.090s Q3

9. Bernoldi/Ramos Maserati 1m36.950s Q2

10. Longin/Müller Maserati 1m36.992s Q2

11. Westbrook/Mutsch Ford 1m37.019s Q2

12. Hennerici/Margaritis Corvette 1m37.097s Q2

13. Bertolini/Bartels Maserati 1m37.163s Q2

14. Bouchut/Basseng Lamborghini 1m37.231s Q2

15. Makowiecki/Clairay Aston Martin 1m37.873s Q2

16. Wendlinger/Moser Nissan 1m38.537s Q2

17. Dumbreck/Krumm Nissan 1m37.381s Q1

18. Ara/Nilsson Nissan 1m37.493s Q1

19. Huisman/Kuismanen Corvette 1m37.730s Q1

20. Schwager/Pastorelli Lamborghini 1m38.583s Q1

21. Bobbi/Palttala Ford Q1

-and then-

Lamborghini wins again in main race

By Gary Watkins

Reiter Lamborghini duo Ricardo Zonta and Frank Kechele completed a FIA GT1 World Championship double at Navarra with victory in the main points-scoring event.

Zonta and Kechele followed up on their win in the qualifying event by taking the laurels in the championship race. They were not as dominant second time around, but their Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV still crossed the line nearly 12 seconds ahead of its nearest rival.

"The car felt quick and easy to drive from the beginning of the weekend and we didn't make any mistakes," said Zonta.

Second place went to the Hexis Aston Martin driven by Frederic Makowiecki and Yann Clairay. Makowiecki jumped from ninth on the grid to fourth on the first lap and then moved up to second on lap three.

Jamie Campbell-Walter was another fast starter in the best of the Sumo Power Nissans, jumping from fifth on the grid to second. He briefly dropped to fourth, before regaining third, and then team-mate Warren Hughes was able to hold off the advances of Tomas Enge in the Young Driver AMR Aston Martin to seal the final place on the podium.

Vitaphone Maserati drivers Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels extended their championship lead with seventh place, as nearest rival Thomas Mutsch (Matech Ford) retired having crashed into Alex Margaritis' Corvette while trying to regain ground lost when his team-mate Richard Westbrook spun amid the chaotic opening laps.

Pos Drivers Car Time/Gap

1. Zonta/Kechele Lamborghini 1h01m30.476s

2. Makowiecki/Clairay Aston Martin + 11.897s

3. Campbell-Walter/Hughes Nissan + 12.352s

4. Turner/Enge Aston Martin + 12.968s

5. Schwager/Pastorelli Lamborghini + 30.362s

6. Martin/Leinders Ford + 36.026s

7. Bertolini/Bartels Maserati + 40.311s

8. Bernoldi/Ramos Maserati + 50.589s

9. Jani/Amindo Ford + 51.023s

10. Hennerici/Margaritis Corvette + 1m00.070s

11. Bobbi/Palttala Ford + 1m13.267s

12. Pier Guidi/Verdonck Maserati + 1m19.405s

Retirements:

Westbrook/Mutsch Ford 21 laps

Dumbreck/Krumm Nissan 6 laps

Bouchut/Basseng Lamborghini 5 laps

Ara/Nilsson Nissan 1 lap

[MOTV8]

GT1: Interlagos Preview

FIA GT1 World Championship heads to South America for double-header, beginning with this weekend's penultimate round from Interlagos, Brazil

The FIA GT1 World Championship travels to South America for the final two rounds of the inaugural season of the FIA’s newest World Championship with the Drivers’ title possibly being decided during the first weekend at Interlagos in Brazil.

While this is the first visit to Brazil for the FIA GT1 World Championship, many of the teams and drivers have raced in other championships at Interlagos, including in 2006 for the Mil Milhas, which was organized by Antonio Hermann of SRO Latin America and won by current GT1 driver and former FIA GT Champion Christophe Bouchut, with Brazilian star drivers, Nelson Piquet, Nelson Piquet Jnr and Helio Castroneves, in an Aston Martin.

A win in Round 7 in Portugal extended the lead of Vitaphone Racing’s Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels in the Driver’s Championship and, despite a disappointing weekend in Round 8 at Navarra, their lead was further extended when their nearest rival, Thomas Mutsch, failed to score any points in Spain.

The reigning FIA GT Champions are currently 35-points ahead of the rest of the field and as long as they still have a 33-point advantage at the end of the Championship Race in Brazil, they will be crowned as the inaugural FIA GT1 World Champions.

The last round at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain provided a great setting for the final European round of the 2010 season, with the Reiter Lamborghini pairing of Brazil’s Ricardo Zonta and Germany’s Frank Kechele dominating the proceedings by starting from Pole Position and taking wins in both the Qualifying and Championship Races. Their efforts helped to close the gap in the Team Championship, with their Reiter team now just 18-points behind title leaders, the Vitaphone Racing Team.

In recent races, the Reiter Lamborghinis have been providing a consistent podium challenge with Ricardo Zonta and Frank Kechele winning at Spa Francorchamps at the end of July and Peter Kox and Christopher Haase recording a hard-won second place at the Nürburgring.

The All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghinis have been just as competitive this season but a combination of bad luck and mechanical problems have left the team with fewer points than their performances have deserved and the team will be hoping for a change of fortune as the FIA GT1 World Championship heads to South America.

The Corvette Z06 is the only car of the six represented in the GT1 World Championship yet to win a Championship Race in 2010. The Phoenix Racing / Carsport team have been close on several occasions, with Marc Hennerici and Andreas Zuber taking victory in the Qualifying Race in Round 1 in Abu Dhabi and third in the Championship Race in Germany and Portugal with Hennerici and Alexander Margaritis.

The Mad Croc Racing Corvette of Xavier Maassen and Jos Menten claimed Qualifying Race victory in Belgium and Pertti Kuismann is now partnered by former Dutch Touring Car Champion Duncan Huisman, who formed a successful duo in the Belgian GT Championship. The two Corvette teams will be looking to finally set the record straight by taking a win on Sunday as the season draws to a close.

While the No. 1 Maserati MC12 of Bertolini and Bartels continues to move closer to the Drivers Title by consistently scoring points in every round, the No. 2 car of Portugal’s Miguel Ramos and Brazil’s Enrique Bernoldi has been struggling to match their team mates. Strong performances in France and Belgium have underlined the pairing’s speed on track will hopefully bring them their first podium of the season this weekend.

The Triple H Team Hegersport Maserati cars have also been celebrating some strong performances with podium finishes in France and Belgium for Altfrid Heger with co-driver Alex Margaritis at Paul Ricard and Alex Müller at Spa-Francorchamps, while Alessandro Pier Guidi and Nico Verdonck finished second in the Qualifying Race in Navarra.

With two race victories in Abu Dhabi and the Czech Republic and podiums in Belgium and Portugal, to his credit, Thomas Mutsch is currently in second place in the Driver’s Championship in the Matech Competition Ford GT Matech. Since Round 5 in Belgium he has been paired with reigning FIA GT2 Champion Richard Westbrook. The performance in Algarve would have netted them more points but for a poor qualifying performance that saw them start towards the back of the grid but the pairings fight for their second podium finish is certainly one of the highlights of the 2010 season.

Spain saw a disappointing weekend for the No. 5 Ford GT, with no points scored, and they will hope to return to the podium again in Brazil to keep Mutsch’s championship aspirations alive. Portugal also saw a return to form for the Marc VDS run Ford GT, with Maxime Martin and Bas Leinders qualifying on the front row of the grid and finishing in 5th place in the Championship Race. At Navarra the Martin and Leinders took a top 3 finish in the Qualifying Race but unfortunately failed to score in the main event of the weekend.

The Nissan GT-R has been one of the revelations of the new FIA GT1 World Championship. The Sumo Power GT team have recorded a race win at their home circuit at Silverstone, with Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter claiming the world famous Tourist Trophy. This was followed by two podium finishes for the sister car of Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck in the Czech Republic and France and a strong performance by both cars in Portugal, including a win in the Qualifying Race for Krumm and Dumbreck.

Hughes and Campbell-Walter had a excellent weekend in Spain, taking third place and 15 Championship points in the main event. The Swiss Racing Team have not matched the performances of the British team but have been steadily improving race by race and with two rounds of the season remaining will be looking to score well in Brazil.

The Aston Martin DB9 has had a turbulent season with strong performances at some tracks and then falling back at others. The Young Driver AMR pairing of Tomas Enge and Darren Turner have enjoyed the view from the top step of the podium in Germany and recorded a podium finish at Enge’s home race at Brno in May. A strong performance in Spain netted the pairing a 4th place. Team-mate’s Christoffer Nygaard and Stefan Mücke have recorded two 5th place finishes, but an accident in Free Practice in Spain damaged the car beyond repair, leaving Nygaard and Mücke on the sidelines for the rest of the weekend.

Frederic Makowiecki recorded a podium finish for the Hexis AMR Aston Martin at Silverstone in May the day after taking victory in the Qualifying Race with Thomas Accary. Makowiecki has been partnered with Yann Clairay since Round 6 in Germany and in Spain they finally stepped onto the podium with a fine 2nd place. Clivio Piccione and Jonathan Hirschi have two 4th place finishes to their credit in the No. 10 Hexis Aston Martin.

Follow all of the action this weekend on SPEED.com, with increased coverage of the FIA GT1 World Championship.

[MOTV8]

FIA GT1 Interlagos: Qualifying Race Report

Darren Turner and Tomas Enge took an easy victory for Young Driver AMR in the Qualifying Race in Interlagos, pushed to victory by a decisive pitstop.

Turner had started for victors at the Nurburgring earlier in the year and while he took the rolling start from third on the grid he took second as the front row pairing of Nicky Pastorelli and Xandi Negrao obligingly made an Aston Martin sized gap for Turner to fill as they plunged in the Senna-S for the first time.

Negrao – one of five Brazilians added to the field for the race in Sao Paulo – held onto the lead from Turner with Alex Margaritis in third, Pastorelli being forced back to fourth. The Greek’s Corvette is one of several car involved in the battle for the drivers’ championship, his teammate Marc Hennerici entering the race with an outside chance of taking his chances to the final race.

So it was the German who was probably the most animated person on the team when an over-zealous move by Pastorelli on the fifth lap tipped the Corvette into a win. You could almost sense the panic in Pastorelli’s All-inkl Murcielago as the line up the inside of the corner rapidly filled with yellow Corvette and he tried to escape, Pastorelli straddling the kerb before the inevitable happened. Contact, a spinning Corvette and a leaping Hennerici in the Phoenix/Carsport garage where he was waiting to take over the car.

Margaritis was able to recover, but the incident dropped them down to seventh and out of the points giving podium places in the Qualifying Race.

The championship leaders – the No.1 Vitaphone Maserati crew of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini had started from 19th on the grid – presenting an opportunity to their rivals. Thomas Mutsch had started brightly in the ballast free Matech Competition Ford GT. However, his race came to a very premature end on the beginning of the third lap. Mutsch had pulled out of the slipstream of Frank Kechele’s Reiter Engineering Lamborghini – the standard overtake at Interlagos – and was most of the way alongside before Kechele tried any form of defense.

The move to the left only succeeded in clipping Mutsch, the Ford flicked into the air before sliding into turn one with a trail of smoke. Mutsch retiring the car almost as soon as it came to a halt.

“When you have someone turning in at the braking zone like that there is not much chance,” blasted Mutsch. “I am happy to hold my hands up and say that Navarra was all my fault but here I had my race ended by something that I had no control over. I am really very annoyed to have my race ended like that and our championship chances badly affected. I am disgusted to be honest.”

At the head of the field Negrao held the lead from Turner – the two allowed to break away by the Pastorelli-Margaritis incident earlier. Turner ould later say he believed the Maserati had more pace, but he was still able to stay close behind the leader throughout the first 25 minutes. And when both cars came into the pits for the their driver change at the first opportunity Turner was almost attached to rear of Negrao’s Maserati.

With Enge strapped into the Aston and Enrique Bernoldi in the MC12 the two exited the pitlane, with the Aston ahead and enjoying a larger margin than Negrao had even had in the race’s opening stint.

At that moment the race was decided, Enge had a two second lead once the ten-minute pit window had closed, and the lead only increased from there. There was further setback for the erstwhile leaders, when they were given a drive through penalty for the mechanic throwing the car’s old tyres into the garage during their pitstop. The penalty dropped them back to fifth, though they climbed back to fourth in the remaining laps when Bernoldi passed a struggling Dominic Schwager. Schwager had taken over from Pastorelli in third place, but had lost place to first Peter Dumbreck in the Sumo Power Nissan, then Clivio Piccione in the no.10 Hexis AMR entry – who went on to complete the podium positions.

“The guys did a fantastic pit stop and got us out two seconds ahead of the Maserati,” said Turner. “I tried to close the gap to the lead as much as I could before the stop. The team has done a great job in setting up the car and it really shows. The most important thing is that we are in a good position for tomorrow’s race.”

Hennerici took the Corvette back up to sixth ahead of the other Matech Ford GT – the pair of Neel Jani and Nicolas Armindo also recovering from an earlier punt off the track.

The points leading Maserati had a quiet but effective race to climb steadily up the other to finish eighth – firmly within striking distance of securing the championship after the Championship Race, especially after Mutsch’s early retirement.

There was also a retirement for the no.41 Marc VDS Ford. On the last lap, with Matteo Bobbi at the wheel the car suffered a rear suspension failure on the exit of the long turn three, which pitched the car into a series of pirouettes before striking the barrier hard on driver’s left.

They will start the Championship Race – the weekend’s second 60-minute – race from 20th.

AND then...

FIA GT1 Interlagos: Championship Race Report

In front of a enthusiastic crowd it was one of the three all Brazilian squads who took the checkered flag in the FIA GT1 World Championship race at Interlagos. Meanwhile, as one title challenger bowed out of race for the title, others redoubled their efforts with good results in the penultimate race of the year.

After regular driver Enrique Bernoldi has completed the opening stint of the race in the no.2 Vitaphone Maserati was left to Xandi Negrao to finish the race, taking the lead with a forceful move, then using the car’s better speed to pull away.

“I have no words to describe how I’m feeling. It was an amazing weekend. Since the day that Michael [bartels] called me to do this race. I’m glad that after two years Michael remembered me!” said an emotional Negrao. “Today we had a good strategy saving the new tyres for the end. Towards the end I saw that the Aston was struggling a bit more with the tyres than me so I was waiting for the time to go ahead. Unfortunately we don’t have the same engine as them so I had to overtake a bit too aggressively but sometimes you have to go for it. I’m glad we were able to help the team to maybe win the team championship and help Michael and Andrea to win again the championship of drivers.”

Former F1 driver Bernoldi had started from fourth on the grid after copping a drive through penalty in Saturday’s Qualifying Race and remained there for much of the first half of the race, part of the lead battle which saw the top six cars closely bunched, Bernoldi swapping places with the no.10 Hexis AMR entry of Clivio Piccione.

The Monegasque too had held onto the same position – third – from the grid after his adventurous attempt to take the lead into turn one on the opening lap, by almost hugging the pit wall, had been seen off by pole sitter and now leader Darren Turner.

Completing the top four was Peter Dumbreck in the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R, but the no.23 car dropped back to fifth after the mandatory pitstops. With four of the top five pitting on the same it was Negrao – this time after a problem and penalty free pitstop for the Vitaphone team who claimed the provisional second place, a position he made sure of after fending off the Hexis car – now with Jonathan Hirschi at the wheel – as the Aston rejoined after its own stop one lap later.

The two ran side-by-side down the back straight, Hirschi maintaining the inside line the pit exit had delivered him into. He looked to have secured the place as Negrao yielded into turn four, only from the Brazilian to cut back inside and take the place.

The pitstops had also left the main championship rivals on the track together, with the no.1 Vitaphone car – Michael Bartels in the car after the pitstop and Thomas Mutsch in the Matech Competition Ford both bottled up behind the second Hexis Aston Martin, Yann Clairay the man at the wheel.

With Alex Muller in the no.33 Hegersport Maserati joining the battle the quartet swapped places – Mutsch and Muller swapping 11th place back and forth over a number of laps, the best of the moves being a brave (and slightly foolish given the championship challenge at stake) move by Mutsch around the outside of T1, placing faith in Muller to give space to allow both cars through the Senna S untroubled.

With it blatantly obvious that Clairay was holding up those behind – the evidence the images of a very tail happy Aston captured from the camera in Bartels’ car – when Bartels finally found an opening those behind were eager to follow, Muller being the first car in line at that time, while Mutsch was able to make it three places lost for Clairay within a lap. But while the pair of Maseratis were able to pull away Mutsch ran wide only a handful of corners later, allowing Clairay to repass and frustrate the German for the rest of the race, backing him into another battle – between Stefan Mucke’s Young Driver Aston and Christopher Haase’s Reiter Lamborghini. Both would get past Mutsch and Clairay by the checkered flag, another non-scoring race ruling Mutsch out of the championship battle.

“Our car wasn’t quite quick enough today so we couldn’t really fight for the positions where we wanted to be,” said Richard Westbrook, Mutsch’s co-driver. “It was just too hot for us today. We struggled with engine and gearbox temperatures. It was the same for all the Fords. It’s a disappointing end to a very frustrating weekend.”

There was also a technical problem for the Frank Kechele/Ricardo Zonta Reiter car. Starting from the back after retiring shortly after the incident which took out Mutsch in the Qualifying Race Zonta initially made progress before dropping back, Kechele describing an unexplained lack of speed down the straights once Zonta had pulled the car into the garage.

That left the title challenge in the hands of Tomas Enge in the leading Young Driver AMR. Negrao was in close attention to the rear of the red and white DB9 and when the slightest of opportunities presented itself at turn 10 with 11 minutes the Brazilian wasn’t going to settle for second in what looks like his only GT1 outing of the year.

There was contact, but both cars continued with little more than a rubber donut on a door, and once ahead Negrao easily pulled away, justifying Turner’s assertion on Saturday that the Maserati had the greater speed.

He took the no.2 car’s first win of the season by 2.5 seconds to cheers from the assembled crowd. Second place was enough to keep Turner and Enge in with a chance of the title – 28 points down with 33 available from the final round at San Luis next weekend (December 5).

Marc Hennerici and Alex Margaritis completed the podium in the Phoenix/Carsport Corvette. Hirschi was flagged home fourth ahead of the no.40 Marc VDS Ford and Michael Krumm in the Nissan started so well by Dumbreck.

[Desertdawg]

Well at least the Corvette team got a line at the end of the article, hell they finished 4th but I guess it was just more exciting to write about the euro crap first! Is it me or do we still get crapped on over all of the other brands? And that now includes the lesser piece of shit nissan.....

[LastC3]

Thats what happens when your so good for so long ........ it just ain't news any more ..... when you're good ... you're just damn good !!! very much