FIA GT1 2011

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Oh...and teh Swiss Racing Lambos are STILL out...

GT1 WORLD

Swiss Racing Team Staying Home Once Again

BY TEAM UPDATE ⋅ JUNE 30, 2011 ⋅

This weekend the teams competing in the FIA GT1 World Championship will come together at the Spanish circuit in Navarra, starting the second half of the 2011 season. It will also be the second to last racing weekend in Europe before the teams travel to Asia. (Woohoo...asian hookers!)

After being unable to start in Silverstone (GBR) four weeks ago Swiss Racing Team will have to bite the bullet again. Both Lamborghini Murcielagos LP 670 R-SV will not compete in Navarra. The team is facing a situation that was suspected even before the start of the championship. The availability of spare parts for the racing cars is precarious and so far it was impossible to repair the cars and get them ready for the race after they had been severely damaged at the Sachenring in May. Facing similar problems, the Lambo sister team ALL INKL asked their Swiss colleagues for help in order to be able to compete with both cars in next weekend’s race.

Team principal, Othmar Welti:

“The situation is rather dramatic. We were not able to compete in Silverstone and intended to use the time to repair the damage and to get the cars back in top shape. However, this is impossible without the necessary parts. ALL INKL actually asked us to help them out with spare parts. We were happy to do that after it had become clear that we would not compete in Spain. Needless to say that we were unable to provide new parts, in fact we took them from one of our damaged cars.

Now it looks like the cars will start at the last European race in the south of France again. We cannot wait to compete in motorsports again. After all, that is why we participate in the GT1 World Championship.”

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Car No. Team Car Drivers

3 Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9 Clivio Piccione (MCO) Stef Dusseldorp (NLD)

4 Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9 Andrea Piccini (ITA) Christian Hohenadel (DEU)

7 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DB9 Tomas Enge (CZE) Alex Muller (DEU)

8 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DB9 Stefan Mucke (DEU) Darren Turner (GBR)

9 Belgian Racing Ford GT Matech Vanina Ickx (BEL) Christopher Nygaard (DNK)

10 Belgian Racing Ford GT Matech Yann Clairay (FRA) Antoine Leclerc (FRA)

11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06 Mike Hezemans (NLD) Nico Verdonck (BEL) - Who??? I guess Dawg was busy.

20 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R Enrique Bernoldi (BRA) Nicky Catsburg (NED)

21 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R Jamie Campbell-Walter (GBR) David Brabham (AUS)

22 JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R Peter Dumbreck (GBR) Richard Westbrook (GBR)

23 JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R Michael Krumm (DEU) Lucas Luhr (DEU)

37 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV

Nicky Pastorelli (ITA) Dominik Schwager (DEU)

38 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV

Marc Basseng (DEU) Markus Winkelhock (DEU)

40 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT Matech Bas Leinders (BEL) Marc Hennerici (DEU)

41 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT Matech Maxime Martin (BEL) Bertrand Baguette (BEL)

47 DKR Engineering Corvette Z06 Michael Rossi (FRA) Dimitri Enjalbert (FRA)

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Lamborghini stays on top

Lamborghini continued to dominate the track action at Navarra by topping the time sheets in Pre-Qualifying.

The All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport No.37 of Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli set the fastest time of 1:36.743.

It was an eventful afternoon for the the stablemate - the No.38 of Mac Basseng and Marcus Winkelhock. Having been the pace-setter in the morning's Free Practice, it had an excursion into the gravel at Turn 12 with Marcus Winkelhock at the wheel.

Having been towed out and returned to the pits, the car was able to complete the remainder of the 1 hour 20 minute session. The German pair finished second in 1:36.817.

Third fastest was the Exim Bank Team China Corvette of Mike Hezemans and GT1 returnee Nico Verdonck with a time of 1:37.210. Verdonck was back in the series after having done a stint with the Triple H Hegersport Maserati team in 2010. Verdonckulous!

Fourth fastest was the Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 of Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici with the No.22 JRM Nissan GT-R of Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck, third this morning, was fifth.

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Navarra Pre-Qualifying: What the drivers say ...

Bertrand Baguette, Marc VDS Racing Ford GT No.41

"Today went quite well actually considering it is my first time in a GT car since 2008. It’s good to be back in these cars as they are a lot of fun to drive. Obviously they are much different to the single seater cars I have driven in the past. For this weekend we will see how the car performs on new tyres tomorrow but overall I am happy. We will aim to make it into Q3 tomorrow and hope we can maintain a good showing."

Dominik Schwager, All-Inkl Lamborghini No.37

"I am very happy with our position today but tomorrow is the important day where we will have to make sure we get it together for Qualifying. Last year we were quick but had some issues – it was also a bit cooler. I am really looking forward to the race."

Markus Winkelhock, All-Inkl Lamborghini No.38

"I haven’t driven this track before so the most important thing for me today was to learn the track. We are not in bad shape and the car is pretty quick as was Marc (Basseng) so we should aim for the front end of the field tomorrow in Qualifying – maybe the first and second row should be possible."

Andrea Piccini, Hexis Aston Martin Racing No.4

"I think the sessions went well today and we showed we have some decent pace which I hope we can take into the rest of the weekend. I would say we are well prepared for tomorrow’s Qualifying session. Navarra Circuit is definitely not the best suited track for our car but we must try to do our best and hope we can finish on the podium on Sunday and score some good points."

Clivio Piccione, Hexis Aston Martin Racing No.3

"We tried a few different set ups on the car today and used different sets of tyres to see what the pace of the car is. I’m pretty confident and the balance of the car is good. It is really warm here so we were looking at how the tyres will behave so we are prepared for the rest of the weekend. The aim for tomorrow’s Qualifying session is for sure to get into Q3 and to be as far forward as we can and get as many points as possible. It’s very important for us to score a lot of points here this weekend for the championship fight."

Nick Catsburg, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.20

"Today was my very first race sessions in the Nissan at a race weekend and also this circuit is new for me as well so I was learning everything from new. I am quite satisfied but to be honest we need to find some more pace because the car was difficult to drive. We’ll continue to work hard for the rest of the weekend – my hope is we can make the top five in tomorrow’s Qualifying session."

Richard Westbrook, JR Motorsport Nissan GT-R No.22

“We were actually quite pleased with Pre-Qualifying today. This is a track that you wouldn’t associate with the Nissan running well on but we are making the best of what we have. The GT-R is performing well considering it is a slow and twisty circuit. The Lamborghini’s and Ford’s look quick but we are confortable with our race pace. Tomorrow, we hope to get to Q3.”

Mike Hezemans, Exim Bank Corvette No.11

"The two practice sessions today went OK – the track is pretty straight forward and fairly slow to drive. The car is running fine but we lose a lot of traction so we have to find a way to keep on going in the race. We will try to get as close as possible to the front of the field but first we’ll see how Qualifying goes for us tomorrow."

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Lamborghini lands pole

Lamborghini continued to dominate the battle of the brands at Navarra by securing a one-two finish in Qualifying.

The All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport No.38 car of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock grabbed pole position with the No.37 car of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager, from the same stable, second.

The Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11 of Mike Hezemans and Nico Verdonck was third.

The drivers' championship leaders, Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 were fourth ahead of the Sumo Power Nissan of David Brabham and Jamie Campbell-Walter.

The Young Driver Aston Martin of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke, already nursing a 10-place grid drop from Silverstone, was bottom of the pile in 16th place.

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Navarra Qualifying: What the drivers say...

Markus Winkelhock, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38

“The car has felt really good all weekend. I didn’t know the track, so the first few laps I needed just to learn it. For sure it’s a Lamborghini track. Last year, both races were won by Lamborghini, so we were really looking forward to this weekend because it was a good chance for us to score a lot of points, and with the pole, I think we’re in a good position to do so. Now I’m just looking forward to the race today and tomorrow. I didn’t expect to get a better lap time at the end, but I was pushing quite hard and I could squeeze a bit out of the car and managed to improve the lap time.”

Marc Basseng, Markus Winkelhock, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38

“It’s a great team effort. We had a lot of work to do after Silverstone with two engine failures. The team worked really hard overnight to get the cars ready for Qualifying, and I’m really happy to see both All Inkl Lamborghinis on the first row. It’s important for us this weekend to get a lot of points if we still want to be contenders in the Championship.”

Dominik Schwager, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37

“We just lost out on the pole, we definitely had it in our hands. But I had some problems in one specific corner, and that’s why it didn’t come together. It’s a bit of a pity, but in the end, the front row is still good. The car is still good and it was a great team effort. We were pretty strong here last year and I think the car has improved. The only thing that’s different I think is the temperature, so we’ll see how that goes. I think everyone will struggle a bit towards the end of the stint, so I just we hope we do it a bit better, and it’ll be OK.”

Nicky Pastorelli, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport No.37

“In the end I’m always happy with the first row. It’s too bad that Dominik had the problem with the brake in Q3, so we lost some time there, but it’s more important to do it later or tomorrow than now in Qualifying. The car was really good, the track suits the Lamborghini really well. It’s not like that at every track. For example at Silverstone, we were 1,5 seconds off the pace, and Portimao was totally dominated by the Nissans. Every car has some tracks where they are stronger and some where they are slower. Obviously this is a track for us.”

Mike Hezemans, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11

"It’s a good result. The most important was Q2, so Nico (Verdonck) did a good job to get through. I wanted to do it on my first lap, but couldn’t get it together, so I did it on my second lap, 1:37.1 I think, which was OK. I’m happy that we’re best of the rest; there was no way we could catch up the Lambos. I was a bit lucky that I had to do it second, and it was still good for P3. The car is getting better. Still, this is a very hard track and race for us. I think we will see that everybody struggles here. I think we have to fear the Ford the most; I think the rest of the cars, the Astons and Nissans, have the same problems as us.”

Nico Verdonck, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11

“It’s my first experience with the car. I know the track. I must say I felt pretty comfortable in the car straight away, in my first outing in it. I’m really happy to be here, third. My goal was to get through Q2, which I did, and Mike finished in third. Now we have to focus on the race. With the start, seeing what has happened in the past, we’ll have to be careful, but nevertheless you have to push. We have the car to do it, and we’ll have to see how that develops in the race.”

Michael Krumm, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.23

"We had a Qualifying session much better than expected and Lucas did a fantastic run in Q3 to put the car in fourth place. He did an absolutely amazing job. We are really happy to be starting the race from the second row. The race will be a different story considering we have the success ballast on the car but we’ll do our best."

Stef Dusseldorp, Hexis Aston Martin No.3

"Qualifying went OK after the difficult day we had yesterday. We changed a few things today and the car was fairly good to drive. I think sixth place is OK for us but we’ll aim to make some places in the Qualifying Race. We must first survive the start and do a good pit stop and hope we can take some points."

Tomas Enge, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7

"Our session was not too bad but we have the success ballast we gained from Silverstone. This circuit does not help the performance of our car. We were not quick enough to make it through to Q3 so we will have to focus on doing well in the race. Making a good start is the most important thing and get ourselves in a good position for tomorrow’s Championship Race."

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Racing Ford GT No.40

"I drove Q1 but I didn’t drive a perfect lap, however it was good enough to get us into Q2. We had a clean run but not able to make it into Q3. It was a little disappointing but we know that the car has the pace so we should have a good Qualifying Race. I hope we can be on the podium on Sunday."

Vanina Ickx, Belgian Racing Ford GT No.9

"Christoffer (Nygaard) did a very good job in taking us to Q2 but I didn’t have much running time this morning so I am still getting my confidence with the car around this circuit. I did a disappointing lap time in Q2 but I am looking forward to a good race this afternoon. I hope we can score some good points this weekend."

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Lamborghinis lord it at Navarra

The All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini team gave an excellent display of formation flying to complete a one-two finish in the Qualifying Race at Navarra.

Marc Basseng and Marcus Winkelhock took the chequered flag in the No.38 car from pole position with the sister car, the Lamborghini No.37 of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager, close behind in second.

With the Lamborghinis so dominant, the rest of the field was left to scrap over the final place on the podium. After an eventful squabble it was the Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 of Maxime Martin and new boy Bertrand Baguette which took the honours.

Having topped the time sheets in Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying and locked out the front row for the Qualifying Race, the German squad must now be strong favourites for victory in tomorrow’s Championship Race. The No.37 will take a five-place grid drop for the main event for an engine-related penalty after both cars suffered engine issues at the previous round at Silverstone.

The eight points for Basseng and Winkelhock took them to the top of the drivers' points table. It also enabled All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport to close the gap to Hexis Aston Martin in the teams' standings.

Qualifying Race Results

Pos.Cl. Team / Drivers Nat Car Time Laps Gap

1 38 Markus Winkelhock / Marc Basseng Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:00:33.245 36

2 37 Dominik Schwager / Nicky Pastorelli Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:00:36.549 36 3.304

3 41 Bertrand Baguette / Maxime Martin Ford GT Matech 1:00:53.635 36 20.390

4 21 Jamie Campbell-Walter / David Brabham Nissan GT-R 1:01:00.956 36 27.711

5 4 Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini Aston Martin DB9 1:01:01.606 36 28.361

6 8 Darren Turner / Stefan Mücke Aston Martin DB9 1:01:12.725 36 39.480

7 22 Peter Dumbreck / Richard Westbrook Nissan GT-R 1:01:13.252 36 40.007

8 47 Dimitri Enjalbert / Michael Rossi Corvette Z06 1:01:15.641 36 42.396

9 23 Lucas Luhr / Michael Krumm Nissan GT-R 1:01:17.496 36 44.251

10 3 Clivio Piccione / Stef Dusseldorp Aston Martin DB9 1:01:19.580 36 46.335

11 9 Christoffer Nygaard / Vanina Ickx Ford GT Matech 1:01:29.012 35 55.767

12 40 Bas Leinders / Marc Hennerici Ford GT Matech 53:07.390 31 7:25.855

13 20 Enrique Bernoldi / Nicky Catsburg Nissan GT-R 41:09.607 24 19:23.638

14 7 Tomas Enge / Alex Müller Aston Martin DB9 38:23.890 22 22:09.355

15 11 Mike Hezemans / Nico Verdonck Corvette Z06 31:04.315 18 29:28.930

16 10 Yann Clairay / Antoine Leclerc Ford GT Matech 22:09.567 13 38:23.678

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Freshly vadered pix!

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Lamborghini's domination is complete

The bull well and truly roared in Navarra this afternoon when the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghinis underlined their total domination of the sixth round with a one-two finish in the Championship Race.

Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli, starting from the fourth row of the grid due to an engine change penalty carried over from Silverstone, worked their way through the field in the No.37 car to claim victory.

The sister car of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelock, starting from pole, had controlled the race from the start but was forced to take a drive-through penalty with 15 minutes remaining. The No.37 car which was running second at the time swept into the lead as the No.38 rejoined and tucked in behind.

Third place went to the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.21 of Jamie Campbell Walter and David Brabham. The pair had held second place but a problem at the pit stop dropped them down a place.

It was a clean sweep for the Lamborghinis. They were fastest in Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying, secured a front row lockout in Qualifying and were first and second in the Qualifying Race on Saturday. They also set fastest laps in both races.

The German team were elevated to the top of the teams’ standings as a result of their weekend’s work. Basseng and Winkelhock consolidated their lead of the drivers’ table.

Championship Race

Pos.Cl. Team / Drivers Nat Car Time Laps Gap

1 37 Dominik Schwager / Nicky Pastorelli Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:00:35.244 36

2 38 Markus Winkelhock / Marc Basseng Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S 1:00:37.572 36 2.328

3 21 Jamie Campbell-Walter / David Brabham Nissan GT-R 1:00:38.979 36 3.735

4 41 Bertrand Baguette / Maxime Martin Ford GT Matech 1:00:42.732 36 7.488

5 4 Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini Aston Martin DB9 1:00:59.348 36 24.104

6 23 Lucas Luhr / Michael Krumm Nissan GT-R 1:01:00.236 36 24.992

7 47 Dimitri Enjalbert / Michael Rossi Corvette Z06 1:01:05.717 36 30.473

8 3 Clivio Piccione / Stef Dusseldorp Aston Martin DB9 1:01:07.017 36 31.773

9 22 Peter Dumbreck / Richard Westbrook Nissan GT-R 1:01:10.817 36 35.573

10 40 Bas Leinders / Marc Hennerici Ford GT Matech 1:01:11.218 36 35.974

11 9 Christoffer Nygaard / Vanina Ickx Ford GT Matech 1:01:28.421 36 53.177

12 20 Enrique Bernoldi / Nicky Catsburg Nissan GT-R 1:01:34.543 36 59.299

13 7 Tomas Enge / Alex Müller Aston Martin DB9 1:01:09.343 35 34.099

14 10 Yann Clairay / Antoine Leclerc Ford GT Matech 35:26.735 20 25:08.509

15 8 Darren Turner / Stefan Mücke Aston Martin DB9 32:44.753 19 27:50.491

16 11 Mike Hezemans / Nico Verdonck Corvette Z06 5:17.112 3 55:18.132

Paul Ricard is next, July 15th.

[MOTV8]

Teh FIA GT1 boys are in France at teh fabulous Paul Ricard circuit. Enjoy this monster post.

Nissan on top at Paul Ricard

Nissan set the pace in this morning’s Free Practice session at Paul Ricard Circuit as the action got under way in the seventh round of the championship.

Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck in the JR Motorsports No. 22 car set the fastest time of 2.04.335 around the visually striking circuit located in Castellet, South of France.

Second fastest was the Sumo Power Nissan No.21 car of Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Brabham with a time of 2.04.840.

Third quickest was the Hexis Aston Martin of Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini with a lap of 2.04.863.

Nissan faired particularly well here in 2010 and will be looking for a repeat performance as they aim to close the gap to All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini in the championship battle.

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Aston Martin leads the way in Pre-Qualifying

Aston Martin finished top of the heap in the build-up to the serious business of the Paul Ricard race weekend with the Young Driver Aston No.8 of Darren and Stefan Mucke setting the fastest time of 2:03.897 in Pre-Qualifying.

The JRM Racing GT-R of Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm was second with 2:04.136. Third quickest was the Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11 of Mike Hezemans and Andreas Zuber with a 2:04.267.

Fourth was Jame Campbell-Walter and David Brabham in the Sumo Power GT No.21 in 2:04.460.

The Nissans will present a strong challenge this weekend. In the Free Practice session earlier in the day, it was the sister JRM car of Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck which topped the time sheets with a 2:04.335. And four Nissans featured in the top five.

Conditions are extremely hot in the south of France with air temperature in the high 20s and a track temperature of 36+.

As is customary, most teams spent Friday evaluating set-up ahead of tomorrow's Qualifying and Qualifying Race.

Situated on the French Riviera near the small town of Le Castellet, the 5.809km Paul Ricard circuit was opened in 1970 and hosted the French Grand Prix 14 times between 1971 and 1990.

It was developed into a high tech test track (HTTT) in 1999 and is famous for its blue and red-striped run-off areas.

The All-Inkl Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini team go into the seventh round of the series leading both the drivers and teams championship standings.

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Paul Ricard Pre-Qualifying: What the drivers say ...

Stefan Mucke, Young Driver Aston Martin No.8

"We know that the hot conditions are not ideal for our car. We concentrated on a good Quali set-up and we seem to have found it. I'm also quite optimistic for the race as we know what to change and which way to go, we understand how the car works on this track quite well. We are really hoping that its not getting any hotter as that will affect our performance quite a lot.

"In general the Aston is an aerodynamic car which is quite strong on aero circuits. But as soon as you have a higher air temperature you lose downforce and also engine power. We love the cold conditions but we have to make the best of it. The Nissans are strong in the straights so they are going to be hard to beat. So far, so good, I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Richard Westbrook, JRM Nissan GT-R, No.22

"It's been a good days' work. We were first in Free Practice, not quite top three in Pre-Qualifying but we are very close. We stayed in the window of the car on set-up. This is a good track for Nissan. It's definitely not as good for us as it was in the Algarve where it was really good but here it is going to very close.

"Obviously you have the Aston which is strong, the Ford is very quick, particularly in the last sector, the Lamborghini is quick as is the Corvette. It is going to be very tight during the race."

Mike Hezemans, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11

"We can't seem to get three good sectors together. We are both strong in the middle sector, but if you put my first sector together the last sector of Andreas (Zuber) then I think we can go for pole. It's very easy to lock up the fronts. If we can get it together and we get a good overall lap, then who knows.

"This track for us is better for the tyres for sure. At least we have the speed. If you don't have the speed then you really want to go home and cry. It was another good Friday for us. So far this season we are competitive - starting with Friday but we just need to get it right for the race and stay out of trouble."

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40

"In the morning it was OK but we have lost our way a bit on set-up with the No.40 car. We don't know exactly what went from this morning (Free Practice) to this afternoon (Pre-Qualifying), but all of a sudden the car was undriveable. We changed some small things but it was completely the wrong direction.

"The No.41 seems to be doing a lot better so maybe we will copy their set-up which will not be ideal for us but that is the only alternative we have at the moment."

Nicky Pastorelli, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37

"We are not too bad. We weren't able to run with new tyres at the end because we had some technical issues with the engine which we can solve pretty easily for tomorrow. We are looking OK considering the weight we have with the success ballast added.

"It's too difficult to say on a Friday where we will end up for the race but we hope we can finish in the top five. That would be a great result for us. That is what we are aiming for."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.21

"We had a good day today. We did all we needed to do and I’m happy with the car. I was a bit surprised as to how much the wind is affecting things on the long straight, you can really feel it pushing you into the corners, but overall I think we’re in a good position for tomorrow."

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Nissan on Paul Ricard pole

Nissan continued to dominate the track action at Paul Ricard with Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck in the JRM Racing No.22 GT-R taking pole position for the Qualifying Race.

The British pair with a best lap of 2:03.419 narrowly edged out their German stablemates Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm in the No.23 GT-R. Their best lap was 2:03.503.

Third fastest, against the pre-event form guide, was the Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller with a best time of 2:03.772.

The big casualty of the session was the championship leaders Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38. The German pair were eliminated in Q2.

The sister car, the No.37 of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager scraped through in eighth place their eventual finishing position in the Q3 shootout.

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Paul Ricard Qualifying: What the drivers say ...

Richard Westbrook, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.22

“Thanks to Peter (Drumbreck) and the team, it has been all pretty comfortable Qualifying, probably the most stressless Qualifying we have had all year. We quietly got on with our job this weekend and we have had a good car. When I did the time I was a little bit surprised in Q3, I thought the Astons and the Corvette maybe had a little bit more than us, particularly over one lap but it wasn’t to be.

"When I did the time I was surprised that it was good enough for pole but I think the track was getting a little bit slower by the end. The track was warming up and maybe it paid off for us going out immediately as the track temperature was rising all the time.

"Moving forward going onto the race, we just need some luck this year as it’s been a really frustrating year for me and Peter. We have been quick everywhere, even at tracks that don’t necessarily suit our car, we just can’t buy a result at the moment. Hopefully we have qualified in a position that will keep us out of trouble and we can have a good weekend.”

Peter Dumbreck, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.22

“It’s great to see Nissan in the front row. Theoretically we should always be quick here anyway because of the long straights, but there are also some twiddly sections as well and tight corners, which we are not so strong at, so I’m really happy as my Qualifying went well. I’d probably hadn’t have made it through on Richard’s set so I used two sets of tyres, but I’m pretty happy with the car and looking forward to the race.

"I think this track is probably the worst for us, not just us but everyone as we saw last year with degradation of the tyres so we have got to be sure to look after them. But this year is a different year as the tyres are that bit different, that bit stronger and we are not running quite as hard as we were last year. Last year we probably would do 10 to 15 laps before the race and we really found trouble, so this year we are in a much stronger position as everyone is so I don’t think it will be as bad as last year.”

Michael Krumm, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.23

“I’m really happy that we have a Nissan GT-R front row lockout that is absolutely fantastic, even though it doesn’t guarantee us to make it through turn one as there are other cars behind us. The car was really great, I had a good lap in Q1. We made some changes to the car in Q2 for Luca (Luhr) and it didn’t turn out to be that perfect anymore. I made a couple of small mistakes, twice in my lap because I know it was very close and I just overdrove it a little bit. The cars are basically doing the same lap times and it has been fantastic.

"I almost got a heart attack in Q2, I’m really glad Lucas made it through. He did a fantastic job as always in the last second. Everyone ages about 10 years when we watch Qualify but he pulled it out in the last minute and thanks to him we are here.”

Lucas Luhr, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.23

“Honestly on the first set of tyres, I tried a slightly different Qualifying strategy than I normally do. Actually I read Micheal’s (Krumm) book last night. The thing about it, he talks about driving techniques and how to use the new set of tyres and I tried to do it but obviously I am not as good as him, so I didn’t make it with the first set. I went back to my old style on the second set.

"I was on a good lap until I came up behind Andrea (Piccini) in the chicane on the back straight. I don’t know what he was doing, maybe he was reading Michael’s book while driving. I got close to him in the chicane and that’s the first time this year my heart rate went up a little bit and I thought that was close, but when I crossed the line I thought thank you God.

"It was an exciting Qualifying, I think both of our cars are really well prepared for the race. The circuit, like at Algarve or Silverstone really suits our car, so we need to finish in a good strong position in terms of keeping the championship alive. The eighth car is quite far back so it doesn’t look so bad at the moment.”

Tomas Enge, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.7

“The Nissans were strong, and we knew they had a strong car before the weekend. Stefan (Mucke) was the fastest last year on new tyres in the race. He did the fastest lap and was pretty consistent also during the race, so we analysed that and we obviously built up on this speed and carried this speed throughout the weekend. We were not sure if we could succeed but at this moment it looks pretty good.

"Definitely our car does not like warm conditions but it doesn’t like even more stop and go corners. Here we have more flowing and much more fast corners which is definitely a bit of help for our car. We have done pretty well and I have made a few mistakes in my last round but congratulations to the Nissan guys. Let’s have a nice clean race and be on the podium, all three of us at the end of the race."

Alex Muller, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.7

“We arrived here and we thought we were in a bit of trouble because of the heat. As Tomas said we thought we are not really competitive here but for the moment it looks quite good. We analysed the race from last year. The car has been quite consistent and we hope we can be on the podium this weekend. If all six guys are sitting here tomorrow and after the Qualifying Race today then we can all be happy.”

Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41

"We struggled a little bit with the set up of the car so it wasn't easy to make a good lap. We hope that we can do better in the race. The Nissans are very quick and the Astons as well. We are not so good on the straights and the quick corners. It we make finish top five today and start fifth tomorrow and try to get as many points as possible. That's what we are aiming for."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.21

“I’m very pleased with the way the session went, especially as we finished in fourth place. The team has made some changes since yesterday and they’ve really made a difference. The car has been great throughout qualifying and I think we’ve got a very good chance of a podium in both the this weekend’s.”

Mike Hezemans, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11

“We should have been in the top three. I pushed too hard and made mistakes so I abandoned the lap so then I tried on my second lap and I made a mistake again. A big mistake in the last sector so that was it, then I was P7 as it was just so close but it was completely my own fault. I think I could have been P3, at least P4 but not first I don’t think as the track was a little bit slower at the end. I should have been third but I was too eager."

Nicky Catsburg, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.20

“The car has been really good to drive today. It felt really balanced during qualifying, which. In fact I think I could improve a few tenths more when I go out again. I’m happy - even with 12th place as Enrique has been very sick and he did a great job in Q2 to get where we are. We’re looking forward to the race.”

Enrique Bernoldi, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.20

"I have a throat infection. In have had temperatures during the night and the day of over 39 degress so I am not feeling so good. Yesterday I did only a couple of laps trying to save myself. I have been taking antibiotics. Inside the car is tough because of the heat. It has been a difficult weekend."

Markus Winkelhock, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38

"We had some problems with the fuel pressure when I was driving so I was losing quite a lot speed. It a long time to fix the problem. Then Marc didn't really have a lot of time to set a good lap. It could have been a little bit better as you can see from our team-mates. The race won't be easy from where we are but maybe we can move forward. The objective is to have a good result today and set ourselves up for the Championship Race. We will be aiming for the top 10 today and hope to make the top six and score some points tomorrow."

-and-

Nissan takes Qualifying Race spoils

Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 won the Qualifying Race at a scorching hot Paul Ricard.

The German pair led home Tomas Enge and Alex Muller in the Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 with Enge pulling off an audacious last-lap move on the pole-sitting No.22 JRM car of British duo Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck.

The Young Driver Aston Martin No.8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke was third as Mucke also got passed Westbrook at the wheel of the No.22 Nissan GT-R to take the final place on the podium.

In temperatures above 30C in the south of France as the first race of the seventh round of the championship produced another absorbing contest.

Dumbreck, starting from pole, had led the early stages of the race, hotly pursued by the sister car, but lost out in the pit stop battle.

The crew of the No.23 car got the job done a full three seconds faster than the No.22 and resumed at the head of the pack. In the dramatic closing stages of the one-hour contest, the Westbrook/Dumbreck car was relegated to fourth place as tyre wear told.

The winner of the Championship Race last time out at Navarra, the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37 of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager retired when the engine lost power 20 minutes from the end.

The German team took the decision to garage the car and assess the problem in an effort to save the engine for tomorrow's main event.

The No.38 of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock, the drivers' championship leaders, was similarly affected and finished seventh.

The Marc VDS No.41 of Fred Makowiecki was the sole surviving Ford runner in fifth with the No.47 DKR of Dimitri Enjalbert and Michael Rossi the highest-placed of the two Corvettes in eighth.

*Also, just so you know, teh #47 black DKR vette is now wearing the same red Exim/China livery that Sean's patriotism objected to, and I'm sure I'll find out how that happened sometime next year.

-and teh pix-

[Desertdawg]

You know all Corvettes are red or tinted slightly orange, the rest are mistakes.... I got my fingers crossed for the commi colored GM's, maybe they'll get lucky and not get hit.

[MOTV8]

You know all Corvettes are red or tinted slightly orange, the rest are mistakes....

I got my fingers crossed for the commi colored GM's, maybe they'll get lucky and not get hit.

You had to go there. I was gonna say teh Frenchies were scared by teh menacing black vette, but honestly I can't find out why they switched. I'm guessing DKR either lost their primary sponsor or Exim ponied up for two, or maybe since neither team could secure another C6.R (they're not just laying around) teh Frenchies combined the teams since everyone else is running two-car efforts. Sad to see the black vette go though....bring back Mad Croc!

Paul Ricard Qualifying Race: What the drivers say ...

Lucas Luhr, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.23 (1st)

“I just hope it’s not a bad omen for the Championship Race for tomorrow. I stayed behind Peter (Dumbreck) until the pit stop. I stayed out one lap longer and our boys did a good stop and Michael (Krumm) came out in front so all in all it’s a good day.”

Michael Krumm, JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R No.23 (1st)

“It was an incredible turnaround, the boys did an amazing job in the pits. The target for us was to come out in the lead and stay there. It proved a lot more difficult than I expected as I struggled to get my tyre pressures up and Richard (Westbrook) caught me up and was almost past me two or three times.

“It was a hard battle but no contact was made. Once the tyres were up to pressure I could gain a bit of a gap. Then his (Westbrook’s) tyres went down and I was able to pull a gap. It was great to win but for the championship tomorrow is the main focus.”

Alex Muller, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.7 (2nd)

“I had a good start and stayed in third place until the pit stop. With the safety car, think it was easier for the first (stint) drivers than the second drivers in this race. Tomas (Enge) drove a good race. His passing manoeuvre was great.”

Tomas Enge, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.7 (2nd)

“At the beginning of my stint, I thought we had a good enough pit stop to get ahead of one of the Nissans but they had fast stops as well. I was fighting hard to catch Richard (Westbrook). He pulled away in the middle of the stint but then it looks like his tyres went away faster than mine.

“In the last three of four laps he had quite a big drop off. I was thinking about the place to overtake. The Nissan is hard to pass, they have the power on the straight but we are slightly better under braking. I was thinking that the Mistral chicane was the only opportunity I could brake a bit later, dive in and try my best and it happened. Luckily I could keep him behind. Three corners later I saw Stefan in the mirror. It’s great to have both cars on the podium for the first time in the championship. We need to make sure we have both cars on the podium again tomorrow.”

Darren Turner, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.7 (3rd)

“I was surprised by the move Tomas (Enge) made and even more surprised to see Stefan (Mucke) in third place. I didn’t see it on TV as I was already walking out of the garage. I had good battles with the Nissan and the Corvette in the early stages and thankfully got to the pit stop in P4. Stefan had a race on his own for a while then it was only on the last lap that it all started to kick off. It was good result for the team.”

Stefan Mucke, Young Driver AMR Aston Martin No.7 (3rd)

“For most of the race I was on my own because the gap to Tomas was quite big. I had a bit of understeer so I was able to save my tyres which was good for the last lap. Tomas did a brilliant move – I was in the first row to see that, well done to him. I think Richard had some pick-up on the tyres. In the last sector he tried to block me and went wide and for the second last left-hander he left the door open and I was able to outbrake him. It was a clean move so I was happy with that and happy to finish third.”

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT No.40 (Retired)

“What exactly happened I am not sure, I watched the replay on the television and I saw that Marc (Hennerici) tried to go on the inside of turn seven. So there were three abreast into the corner, which is at least one too many and then they hit each other. It is not exactly clear who hit who first or who is in fault but there was damage to the front and there was also a radiator leak, which is not good.

"For tomorrow we will try to repair the car but there are some parts which we don’t have. We are hoping the Ford GT3 in the European Championship will have the spare part otherwise we have a problem for tomorrow.”

Michael Rossi, DKR Engineering Corvette No.47 (8th place)

“We are on target with P8 for again points tomorrow and we will have new tyres for each of us tomorrow. It was a difficult start, as it was very close between all the cars and it is difficult to overtake. But I think we are on target so let’s see what happens tomorrow. I will not take the stand but the lap time was good comparing to the other Corvettes, so we will aim for top five.”

Markus Winkelhock, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38 (7th place)

“We started from P14 and finished P7, which I think is okay. The lap times were really good at the end of the race. I had a problem with the gearbox, as the third and fourth gear was almost lost and I couldn’t shift down. I can say though balance-wise the car was not bad so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Nicky Pastorelli, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37 (Retired)

“I don’t feel so good about the race of course with the engine failure. We were actually pretty strong in the first stint, and we were looking pretty strong for the second stint but then the engine failed. We decided to come in to not completely blow up the engine and hopefully we can fix it for tomorrow.

"It will be hard because we have to start at the back and it is not easy overtaking here especially because we are not so fast on the straight, but we will do our best and we will see where we end up. Hopefully we can score some points.”

[MOTV8]

Lamborghini fastest in Warm-up

Lamborghini was at the top of the timesheets for the first time this weekend when the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport No.38 of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock set the fastest time of 2:05.158 in morning Warm-up.

Second in the pecking order, behind the championship leaders, was the No.11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette of Mike Hezemans and Andreas Zuber in 2:05.349 with the No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT of Maxime Martin and Fred Makowiecki a further three tenths adrift in third.

Under cloudy skies, in contrast to the brilliant sunshine of yesterday, the teams set about the final preparations fo this afternoon's Championship Race (15:15 local time).

Misfortune continued to hound the Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 of Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici.

The car was retired from yesterday's Qualifying Race with a damaged radiator after a first-lap incident with two other cars.

This morning it was a driveshaft problem which curtailed their interest in the session after just two laps.

The Hexis Aston Martin No.3 of Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp did not make it out of the garage. The crew worked all night to repair extensive damage after Dusseldorp had hit a barrier during yesterday's race.

Team boss Philippe Dumas is confident the car will be ready in time for the Championship Race though there were still a few items on the job list.

There was an improvement in the health and the performance of Enrique Bernoldi in the Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R. The Brazilian had been suffering from a throat infection for the past few days but was feeling a little brighter today.

The No.20 car he shares with Nicky Catsburg was fourth fastest and the leading Nissan. For the Championship Race, their counterparts in the JRM Nissan GT-Rs will lock horns at the sharp end of the grid with the Young Driver Aston Martins for the main prize.

-and-

Nissan completes the double at Paul Ricard

Nissan completed the double in the seventh round of the championship at Paul Ricard with the JRM Motorsports No.23 GT-R of Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr taking the win in the Championship Race to add to yesterday's Qualifying Race victory.

The German pair were able to control the race from pole, complete a rapid pit stop and take their fourth chequered flag of the season.

In overcast conditions suited to the Aston Martins, the Young Driver cars were second and third. The No.8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke led home the sister car of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller - a reversal of the placings from the Qualifying Race for the Astons.

David Brabham and Jamie Campbell-Walter, starting from 11th position, produced a spirited performance to claim fourth place. The Hexis Aston No.4 of Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini took fifth while Maxime Martin and Fred Makowiecki flew the flag for Ford with sixth place in the Marc VDS Ford GT No.41.

The unluckiest of the Nissans was the No.22 JRM car of Peter Dumbreck and Richard Westbrook which limped back to the pits with a suspenion problem with five minutes remaining.

The British duo were fourth in the Qualifying Race and were threatening a podium position in the main event when fate conspired against them once again.

The All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport No.38 of Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng was running strongly in the top four, before being handicapped by a slow pit stop and finished eighth.

It was a torrid race for the Corvettes. The Exim Bank Team China No.11 of Mike Hezemans and Andreas Zuber retired on the opening lap after running wide and bounced over the kerb on the exit of turn two and sustaining front tyre and under body damage. It was the second retirement of the weekend for the pair.

The DKR No.47 of Michael Rossi and Dimitri Enjalbert made a solid start from the seventh row on the grid but eventually finished 10th.

The result puts a completely different complexion on the drivers' standings. Krumm and Luhr take over at the top with 111 points.

Basseng and Winkelhock, the leaders prior to the Paul Ricard weekend, drop to second on 97 while Hohenadel and Piccini remain third on 84.

JRM (166) also closed the gap on All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport (169) in the teams' championship. Young Driver moved to third on 159.

Garcon! More weight for teh Nissans, chop chop!

[MOTV8]

Two off-weekend fluffer blurbs spat out....[/ptewie]

Experience counts in GT1

"F___ all you noobs and kiss my vette's big red ass." - MH

Hexis Aston Martin driver Andrea Piccini was quoted during the Navarra race weekend as saying he is one of the most experienced drivers in the GT1 field. Having had a glance through the record books, the 32-year-old’s claim appears to be true.

Piccini burst onto the GT1 scene in 2002 with the BMS Scuderia Italia team, driving a Ferrari 550 Maranello with Jean-Denis Deletraz. That year the Italian was awarded the Bob Wollek Trophy as the youngest finisher in the race at Magny-Cours, crossing the line in sixth.

Since then he has competed in every season of the FIA GT and GT1 World Championship, with the sole exception of 2009. A total of nine seasons, 71 races, five pole positions and seven wins make him the third most experienced driver in this year’s field.

Also amongst the top end of the most experienced is Austrian driver Karl Wendlinger who currently races for Swiss Racing Lamborghini. Wendlinger was crowned FIA GT champion in 1999 alongside Oliver Beretta in a Chrysler Viper. (Oliver? Really? You're fired. It's Olivier.) He has competed in 87 races since 1998, making him the second most experienced GT driver, and has accumulated a record breaking 17 victories.

Jamie Campbell-Walter and Bas Leinders are the fourth and fifth most experienced of the current drivers, respectively. Campbell-Walter, who drives for the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R team, has entered a total of 68 races to date and has earned 12 wins and seven pole positions.

Glancing further down the table, Leinders has racked up an ever growing tally of 59 entries, now racing for the Belgian Marc VDS Racing team in a Ford GT.

However, it is Dutch driver Mike Hezemans who holds years over the rest when it comes to experience in GT racing. The 41-year-old has competed in 15 seasons, having made his debut in the FIA GT Championship in 1997.

Starting with a Lotus Elise, Hezemans has driven wide variety of racing cars including Bitter, Marcos, Lister, Porsche and Chrysler Viper.

After a number of years challenging for the title in a Viper, he had a brief spell in a Ferrari 575 before switching to a Corvette where he has remained since. Along the way, Hezemans has competed in a record 132 races, claimed 12 poles (his most recent at Silverstone this year) and clinched 14 wins.

There's a joke in here about old men and corvettes, but I can't think of it.

-and-

Maximum points prove a challenge

Since the FIA GT1 World Championship launched last year, not a single team had managed to score maximum points at a race weekend.

That was until the battle of the brands descended on the Navarra Circuit in Spain this year where one team single handedly dominated the entire race weekend.

Every team showcases its competitiveness and desire to win from the weekend’s first turn of the wheel until the drop of the chequered flag on Sunday afternoon. Their aim is to score the maximum 57 championship points available per race weekend. The only way a team can achieve that is to scoop the jackpot and have both cars finish first and second in the Qualifying Race and Championship Race.

Until now, 57 has been something of a mythical number as no-one has come close to scoring the maximum point’s total.

Earlier this season Young Driver Aston Martin scored a total of 45 points in the cold and wet at the Nurburgring, while JR Motorsports Nissan managed a one-two in the Qualifying Race plus a victory in the Championship Race in Portimao, awarding them 39 points.

Hexis Aston Martin held the record for most points in a race weekend until it was broken at Navarra. The French outfit claimed 48 points during the San Luis weekend last season where Frederic Makowiecki and Yann Clairay won the Qualifying Race, followed by a 1-3 finish for the team in Sunday’s main race.

However, Hexis Aston Martin remain top of the list when it comes to high-scoring weekends, claiming four out of the top ten highest scores from 16 GT1 World Championship races to date.

But it was in fact All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini who blew their opponents away at Navarra this year to become the first GT1 team to take the coveted 57 points.

The No.37 and 38 Lamborghini Murcielago’s finished first and second in both the weekend’s races to take the lead in the Teams and Drivers Championships. In fact, the German team scored twice as many points in the Spanish race than their entire championship campaign in 2010.

Hezeman's once scored maximum points with Markus Winkelhock's mom.

Just sayin'.

[MOTV8]

GT1: Seven Teams Confirmed For 2012

Restructured FIA GT(1) World Championship is a go for next year...

FIA GT1 World Championship

Stephane Ratel, the CEO of the Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO), officially announced today that seven teams had confirmed their solid commitment to the 2012 GT World project.

The teams confirmed are Young Driver AMR (Aston Martin), Team WRT (Audi), Marc VDS (BMW), Vita4One Racing (Ferrari), Belgian Racing (Ford), All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport (Lamborghini), JRM Motorsport (Nissan).

Additionally, talks are advanced with teams to run Mercedes, Corvette and Alpina entries.

Ratel made the announcement prior to the start of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the third round of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

Under the revised format, there would be between 9 and 11 two-car single-brand teams racing in the global series.

The timeline for the 2012 season has been established by SRO and the teams. The grid will be finalized by early September and the calendar released in October.

“We are fully in line with our declared objective to have nine, 10 teams – 11 in an ideal world – representing nine, 10, 11, different makes in the ultimate GT world championship,” Ratel said.

“To welcome Audi, BMW and Ferrari cars in addition to the brands we had already – Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Nissan – is a major achievement. We are convinced that other teams around the world will recognise the potential of this unique opportunity to become the exclusive representative of a given brand in an exciting and truly global series for GT cars.

“This has been a joint effort between SRO as the promoter and the teams who are fully committed to making this championship a success. The 2012 concept will be an evolution of the current FIA GT1 World Championship building on the qualified success of the exciting one-hour sprint format. We are all in agreement about this.

“In the defined schedule of events, we need first to finalize the grid. We are 70 per cent of the way there and we are very confident that we will finalise it by early September. We will then have a full month to confirm dates with the many contacts we have around the world for the 2012 calendar and to be active in the sponsorship and broadcasting market in November/December.”

In reference to the calendar for 2012, Ratel said: “A number of our 2011 events will continue, but to further underline the global status of the championship we need to expand into other territories like we have done with China in 2011.

“Europe Argentina, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates will be on the 2012 calendar. We have had very good discussions on four corners of the globe including Australasia, North America and Russia.

“The FIA GT1 World Championship has proven its ability to provide teams and sponsors with global reach and the capacity to provide teams with total support – financial and logistical – on overseas events.”

Ratel also underlined the success of the Blancpain Endurance Series, in its inaugural year by pointing to the impressive entry list of over 35 entries for the races in Monza and Navarra in addition to the 62 cars for the Total 24 Hours of Spa. In addition to Blancpain Endurance Series regulars, the line-up for Spa also features a host of leading brands, teams and drivers including three cars from the McLaren GT stable.

The FIA GT3 European Championship, run by SRO, continues to flourish alongside the Blancpain Endurance Series.

“The Blancpain is the most outstanding instant success since the launch of the BPR in 1994 as witnessed by this marvellous Spa race weekend,” he said. “The Total 24 Hours of Spa is more than ever the crown jewel of GT endurance around the world. There is no doubt by the number of teams that have indicate this weekend their intention to do Spa and the series next year that it is going to be a growing success.”

“The FIA GT3 European Championship has proven this year with a strong and very competitive grid that it definitely has its position in the GT racing landscape. With the appearance on the calendar in 2011 of Zandvoort, the first event in the Netherlands for FIA GT3, and Slovakia Ring near Bratislava, it offers a very spectacular show for a number of markets. We always said that our objective was to manage the success of both the Blancpain Endurance Series and the FIA GT3 European Championship under their respective formats and we have managed that.”

As for the remainder of the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship, Ratel confirmed that the intention was to have two races in China in September. Besides the race weekend in Ordos on September 3-4, plans a race at Goldenport in Beijing was close to being finalized.

“We are all set now for a second race in China which is only pending an FIA homologation of the Goldenport Circuit which will take place next week,” he said.

The 2011 season will conclude at San Luis in Argentina 5-6 November. A further update on the 2012 season would be provided by SRO around the time of the 2011 Chinese events.

Euros....

[MOTV8]

FYI, Ordos is one of these "ghost cities" I've been reading about in regards to the Chinese economy, meant as home for over one million people, the Kangbashi district remains nearly empty years after construction began. Google it.

Ordos breaks new ground

With the championship entering its final stages, it’s all to play for in both the drivers’ and teams’ standings, as the series heads to new territory.

The eighth round of the 2011 season will be held at the Ordos International Circuit, China. Located in Inner Mongolia, the 2.33-mile circuit was only completed last year and will provide an exciting challenge for the teams.

The brand-new track – located around 475 miles west of Beijing – has hosted the China Touring Car Championship, the Scirocco Cup China and Superleague Formula races, but this is the first time the circuit will echo to the sound of iconic sports car racing engines.

Ordos’ 18 corners feature a mix of high-speed sweepers and some tight, technical bends - but with a long pit straight the GT1 cars will have a chance to flex their muscles during the run from the final hairpin to the long right-hander at the end of the straight.

Ordos also features a distinctive ‘horse’s head’ section in the midfield, culminating in a kinked left-right-left chicane to put both drivers and machines to the test.

As the 2011 season builds to a climax, just 14 points separate the top four teams, while any of the top six driver pairings are still in with a chance of winning the drivers’ title.

At the final European round of 2011 at Paul Ricard, Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr completed the double by winning both races in the JRM Racing No.23 Nissan GT-R, taking them to 111 points in the standings.

It enabled the German pair to overtake previous leaders Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng at the top of the drivers’ championship, and also saw JRM narrow the gap on the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghinis in the teams' standings with a total of 164 points.

However, it wasn’t such a good meet for the JRM sister car, as British duo Peter Dumbreck and Richard Westbrook were forced to retire five minutes from the end of the Championship Race with suspension issues. They were in the running for a podium position at the time, following a strong fourth-place finish in the Qualifying Race.

For the All-Inkl Lamborghinis, it was a change in fortunes from their utterly dominant display at Navarra where they recorded the championship’s first-ever maximum (57) points haul.

Winkelhock and Basseng ceded their position at the top of the drivers’ championship by finishing seventh and eighth in the Qualifying and Championship Races respectively, a slow pit stop denying them what looked like a top-four finish in the main event. They sit 14 points behind Krumm and Luhr on 97 in the drivers’ points.

Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager in the No.37 Murcielago 670 R-S retired in the first race after a loss of power from the V12 engine, before finishing ninth in the second to take them to 67 points, delivering a blow to their hopes of securing the drivers’ title. Despite this, the All-Inkl.com team maintain their lead at the top of the teams' standings by a slender five points, with a total of 169.

Overcast conditions at the French circuit suited the Aston Martins, as the Young Driver AMR cars took second and third in both races, Tomas Enge and Alex Muller in the No.7 car leading home Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner in the Qualifying Race before the pairings were reversed for the Championship Race.

Mucke and Turner (79 points) and Enge and Muller (74 points) will all still harbour ambitions of lifting the drivers’ crown after the final race at San Luis, Argentina, in November, while Young Driver consolidated third place in the teams’ championship with 157 points.

The Hexis AMR team are breathing down Young Driver’s necks with 155 points, despite a mixed weekend for their two cars at their home venue. The DB9 of Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini was steered to strong sixth- and fifth-placed finishes in the Qualifying and Championship Races respectively to keep the pairing’s drivers’ title dream alive; they sit third in the overall standings with 84 points.

However, the No.3 car of Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp did not finish in the Qualifying Race after Dusseldorp’s error leading onto the Mistral Straight saw the car heavily damaged, before a gritty performance in the quickly-repaired Aston saw them come home 11th in the Championship Race; all but ending the duo’s dreams of the drivers’ crown for this season.

Elsewhere, Frederic Makowiecki’s return to the Marc VDS Racing Ford GT Matech saw excellent fifth- and sixth-placed finishes alongside Maxime Martin, but Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici experienced a DNF and then a disappointing 12th after a collision with the Belgian Racing No.9 car on the first lap of the Championship Race. The team have now amassed 78 points for the season.

The Sumo Power GT team had a good race weekend as they moved to 103 points, having an indifferent Qualifying Race – the Nissan GT-R 20 of Nicky Catsburg/Enrique Bernoldi leading Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Brabham in No.21 home in ninth and tenth – before Campbell-Walter and Brabham excelled to finish fourth in the Championship Race, car No.20 crossing the line a solid seventh.

The Corvettes had a torrid race meet at Paul Ricard, with the Exim Bank Team China No.11 car of Mike Hezemans and Andreas Zuber retiring in both races, while the DKR No.47 Z06 driven by Dimitri Enjalbert and Michael Rossi posted eighth-place and tenth-place finishes.

Belgian Racing had a weekend to forget, as both their Ford GT Matechs retired in separate first-lap incidents during the Qualifying Race, before further collisions in the Championship Race saw Vanina Ickx and Christoffer Nygaard in car No.9 lapped in a 13th-place finish, with car No.10 forced to retire in the second stint under Yann Clairay after an incident with Antoine Leclerc at the wheel saw the steering deteriorate over the course of the race.

With both drivers’ and teams’ championships finely poised, anything could happen as drivers attempt to familiarise themselves with the new Ordos circuit while battling for those crucial points during the run-in to the season.

-and-

Q&A: Michael Rossi, Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06 No.12

Frenchman Michael Rossi is currently paired with Mike Hezemans in the No.12 Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06 and is heading to Ordos for the team’s home race – where he is hoping for a strong performance in front of Chinese fans. Here’s what he got up to during the summer break in the series...

Q. How have you spent your time in the seven weeks since the last race at Paul Ricard?

A. At the start of the summer break, I stayed at home and did a lot of sport sessions for a week. Then I went to the South of France. I travel a lot throughout the year, so during August I prefer not to spend energy.

To sum up this month: sea, sport and sun! I also kept in contact with the engineers and the team, to ensure I am aware of all the latest developments.

Q. Are you looking forward to the challenge of Ordos, an unknown circuit for GT1?

A. I don’t know this track, but racing there is the best way to show how this championship has become truly global – and we will also see how interested the Chinese people are in the series.

I’m hoping we can be challenging near the front, to build upon our recent good results with the car.

Q. What are your hopes for the remainder of the 2011 season?

A. The target is clear: keep working and really try to score good points before the last race in San Luis.

[MOTV8]

This shit's in China, so it's already goin' off over there.

But first, teh catfish face Aston is now officially ghey:

Young Driver to race in legendary colours

Young Driver AMR have announced a partnership with Gulf Oil which will see the No.7 Aston Martin DB9 of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller compete in the iconic powder blue and orange Gulf livery.

The pairing’s car will wear the stunning colours – most famously used on the 1966 Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 and also on Porsche 917 racers – for the final three rounds of the season, starting at Ordos this weekend and progressing through Beijing and San Luis, Argentina.

Hardy Fischer, team principal of Young Driver, said: “I’m really happy about our partnership in the FIA GT1 World Championship with such an iconic brand as Gulf.

“The Aston Martin DB9 is one of the most beautiful GT cars and the Gulf livery is a true legend, so this is a natural fit. It’s the first time a Gulf-livered car has competed in GT1 and I hope that will bring us big success!”

Young Driver are heading to China with one of the best results in the team’s history under their belt. In the last round in France, Young Driver finished second and third, which moved them up to third place in the team championship, only ten points behind the leaders with three races remaining.

-and-

Nissan fastest in Ordos Free Practice

The Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.21 of Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Brabham was the quickest car in Free Practice as GT1's Chinese 'triple-header' began in earnest in Ordos today.

The pair set a fastest time of 1:38.486 around the 3.7km Ordos International Circuit. The No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT of Maxime Martin and Fred Makowiecki was 0.5 seconds adrift of the Sumo Nissan, with Martin setting a best time of 1:40.044, just five thousandths quicker than the No.37 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini of Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli in third.

Championship leaders Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm in the No.23 JRM Nissan GT-R only completed four laps during the 80-minute session and finished in 17th overall.

There was a new look to the grid in Ordos with the return of the Lamborghinis which previously ran in Swiss Racing colours but have been sidelined since the fourth round at Sachsenring after extensive damage to both cars in a coming together in the Championship Race.

For Ordos, the two Murcielago 670 R-SVs are sporting the livery of DKR www-discount.de, a soon to be launched German web hosting service provider. There is also a change of number and driver-line-up for the cars with the No.47 being shared by Benjamin Leuenberger (CHE) and Manuel Lauck (DEU) and the No.48 in the hands of Jonathan Kennard (GBR) and Christopher Bruck (DEU).

Both Corvettes are running as Exim Bank Team China entries. Ho-Pin Tung is flying the national flag of China in the No.11 car alongside Jeroen Den Boer. In the No.12 France's Michael Rossi is joined by the Brazilian Sergio Jiminez.

In the Belgian Racing Ford GT Matech No.9, Christoffer Nygaard partners Jonathan Hirschi.

And there is a shiny new livery for the Young Driver Aston Martin No.7. The Tomas Enge/Alex Muller car features the legendary duck egg blue and orange colours of Gulf Oil.

The race weekend in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, will be followed by the 9th round of the championship at Goldenport Circuit in Beijing on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. (Wait, what???)

The climax of GT1's visit to China will be a spectacular street demonstration at Olympic Park, Beijing, scene of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The circuit layout for the event passes by the spectacular Water Cube aquatic centre and the Bird's Nest, the iconic Beijing Olympic Stadium on Sunday 11th September.

Wait. WTF?

Now, you may be asking what happened to Hezemans, and who is this Chinese guy driving the vette?

I would tell you I have no idea.

[MOTV8]

Confucius say: "Ghey paint job may make you faster in qualifying, but is still ghey."

Aston Martin tops Ordos Pre-Qualifying

The Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller, resplendent in its iconic Gulf Oil livery topped the time sheets in the Pre-Qualifying session at Ordos.

Muller's time of 1:39.393 was set towards the end of the session as the weather closed in and the forecasted rain began to fall.

"The track isn't that difficult and the time was good, the secret with this track is to put all three sectors together. It is very easy to make a mistake with the low grip, so you are always fighting with the car," Muller said.

"You are happy if you bring three green sectors together and I think that is the secret for the weekend. Having the Gulf colours on the car certainly gives some extra motivation."

The Young Driver duo finished just 0.015s ahead of the Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 of Maxime Martin and Fred Makowiecki with the JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 of Peter Dumbreck and Richard Westbrook third fastest.

Westbrook was pleased with third place overall. "After seeing what the track was like this morning, this afternoon’s Pre-Qualifying times were way above expectations," he said.

"It’s meant we’ve had to work hard during and after the earlier practice session. It’s been a great all-round team effort. But, at the end of the day, it is all down to what happens tomorrow and Sunday."

Championship leaders Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.23 were languishing at the bottom of the time sheets for most of the 80-minute session before Krumm set a 1:39.778 in the last 10-minutes, good enough for fifth overall.

"Considering we are carrying 60 kilos of success ballast, I’m fairly happy with where we are today," Krumm said. "We had to push quite hard to get the times and having new tyres appears to make such a big difference. I’m therefore a bit concerned what will happen if the tyres drop off early in the race."

Krumm and Winkelhock's main championship rivals Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock could only manage ninth fastest, but only 0.5 seconds behind the No.7 Aston.

“It didn’t go so well for us today. With only 10kg (ballast) in the car I thought we would be higher but in fact Michael (Krumm) and Lucas (Luhr) are in front of us with 60kg so that’s not a good sign," Basseng said.

"But it’s really nice to be here. China is a very nice country there is no question about it. Ordos is really cool, the people are really friendly. I think if they get a bit more used to us and we get to know them a bit more, we will have a nice future with GT1 in China.”

As for the 'home' team, Exim Bank Team China Corvette, they finished down the order but Frenchman Michael Rossi, in the No.12 car he shares with Sergio Jimenez, is confident of a good performance tomorrow. (Vettes 7th and 12th)

The only car not to set a time was the No.48 DKR www-discount.de Lamborghini of Jonathan Kennard and Christopher Bruck. After an encouraging performance in the earlier Free Practice session, Kennard completed less than a lap before returning to the pitlane with a broken fly wheel, which sidelined the duo for the rest of Pre-Qualifying.

[MOTV8]

Ford GT on pole in Ordos

Maxime Martin and Fred Makowiecki in the Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 secured pole position with a last-gasp effort in Qualifying at the Ordos International Circuit

In overcast conditions and with the temperature at 22C, Martin set the fastest time of 1:38.535 on his very last lap of the session. He had crossed the line seconds before the chequered flag and was able to complete his final flying lap.

The Ford pair pipped Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck in the JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 who posted a 1:38.669.

Third was the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini of Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng with 1:38.768. Next came the No.20 and No.21 Sumo Power GT Nissans.

The pace-setter in yesterday's Pre-Qualifying, the Young Driver Aston Martin of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller, sporting the famous Gulf Oil colours, was sixth.

Championship leaders Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm in the JRM Nissan GT-R were seventh with the second All-Inkl Lamborgini taking the eighth and final spot in the Qualifying shootout.

Local hero Ho-Pin Tung in the Exim Bank Team China Corvette he shares with Jeroen Den Boer was a notable casualty in Q1. The red Corvette finished 15th and missed the passage to Q2.

The Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 of Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici finished one place behind after Hennerici clipped the kerb and went cross country through the gravel at Turn 10.

The www-discount.de Lamborghinis filled the last two places on the grid for this afternoon's Qualifying Race which starts at 15:15 local time 09:15 CET.

-and then-

Ford takes dominant Qualifying Race win

Fred Makowiecki and Maxime Martin underlined the Ford GT's liking for the tight confines of the Ordos International Circuit to record a lights-to-flag victory in the Qualifying Race.

Starting from pole, the Marc VDS No.41 driver pair led home the JRM Racing No.22 Nissan GT-R of Peter Dumbreck and Richard Westbrook with the Sumo Power GT No.21 of David Brabham and Jamie Campbell-Walter third.

It was the third Qualifying Race win for Makowiecki and Martin after victories in Abu Dhabi and Sachsenring.

The Hexis Aston Martin No.3 pairing of Stef Dusseldorp and Clivio Piccione produced one of the drives of the race to take fourth from 10th on the grid.

In the battle at the head of the drivers' championship standings, the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini pair of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock (98) narrowed the gap by a single point to leaders Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm (111) in the No.23 JRM Racing Nissan GT-R.

The Lamborghini duo finished sixth while the Nissan pair, carrying 60kg of success ballast from their double win at Paul Ricard in the previous round, and hampered by a slow pit stop, were 12th.

JRM drew level with All-Inkl in the teams' table on 170 points courtesy of the six points earned by the No.22 car for second place.

It was a disappointing day for the Team China Corvettes. Home town hero Ho-Pin Tung did not have a turn at the wheel after the No.11, with co-driver Jeroen Den Boer doing the first stint, retired on the second lap with severe front bodywork damage after a clash with the Belgian Racing Ford GT No.10.

The Corvette had started from a lowly 16th position after a disappointing Qualifying session. Tung will get his chance tomorrow when he starts the Championship Race in the No.11 car.

The sister Team China Corvette of Michael Rossi and Sergio Jimenez had a stirring start with Rossi making up four places on the first lap from 12th place on the grid. During his stint Jimenez was running strongly in the top 10 but was forced to retire three minutes from the end with a mechanical problem. x 2

The No.7 Young Driver Aston Martin of Alex Muller and Tomas Enge was forced to start from the pit lane after an engine change. An unscheduled second pit stop to assess a technical issue relegated them to 17th at the flag.

-and then-

Ordos Qualifying Race: What the drivers say ...

Frederic Makowiecki, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (1st)

"I was in the best position and it was important to exit the first corner in the lead as it is very difficult to overtake here. I was very pleased with my stint, I wanted to give Maxime (Martin) a good car at the pit stop. I'm very happy to win another Qualifying Race, which is good for the whole team, who did a great job, and be in pole position for tomorrow's race."

Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (1st)

"The car was very good, Fred did a very good job in the first part of the race. After the pitstop I had a little gap to Richard (Westbrook), who was very quick in the beginning but after a while the gap was pretty constant. He was pushing quite hard and it was difficult sometimes to keep a constant pace but we had a good race and we're in a good place for tomorrow."

Peter Dumbreck, JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 (2nd)

"Even starting from P2 it was very important to get through the first corner and round the first lap without a problem, so I was relieved to do that and then get on with the racing. I was able to pull a gap on the rest of the field and then it was a case of trying to stay with the Ford GT ahead of me. Our GT-R was running really well, but I just couldn’t make an impression on the leader.”

Richard Westbrook, JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 (2nd)

"Peter (Dumbreck) handed over a good car, it was running perfectly. At first I thought I could catch the Ford (No.41), but he was able to maintain the gap between us. It was a really tough pace and both of us were on the limit, so I was making sure I could stay in contention in case he made a mistake. It’s great to be back on the podium again and to have another front row start tomorrow.”

David Brabham, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.21 (3rd)

“I had a good start and ended up with no cars near me through the first few corners – which was quite a surprise – so I was able to stay out of trouble and start pushing from the first lap onwards. I felt I was able to go quicker than the cars ahead of me. First I passed the Lamborghini and then my team mate Enrique, so I was very pleased that the car was so strong and I’m delighted to be back in the top three.”

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R (3rd)

“We had a great car, a great pit stop and it was a great race. My thanks go to the lads in the team for another quick tyre change. It’s good to score a top three finish again and we are therefore in a great position for tomorrow’s race, when it would be great to be battling for an even higher place. And, if we can find just a little more speed, then I think that’s more than possible.”

Stef Dusseldorp, Hexis Aston Martin No.3 (4th)

"It was an exciting race, Clivio (Piccione) gave me the car in P5. I told him to give me the car in the top five and he delivered! For a long time I was driving on my own. I could see (Nicky) Catsburg in front of me having some trouble and I caught him 10 minutes before the end and I found a gap just before the finish and squeezed through to take fourth position from 12th which was great. We are hoping for a podium tomorrow."

Enrique Bernoldi, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.20 (5th)

“The car felt different in the race than it did in qualifying and, after five laps I started to feel some degradation in the tyres. Added to this, the car was locking its front brakes, which obviously didn’t help. As I felt the lap times become inconsistent, I could see David catching me and in the end he got past. I wasn’t able to do be able to do anything about it. We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow.”

Nick Catsburg, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.20 (5th)

“The car was excellent, but then I kept locking a wheel as I braked for one of the corners. This was slowing me down of course and in the end I got caught by an Aston Martin. I defended as best I could, but my tyres did not have much grip left. In the end I ran wide and he got past. I was disappointed because this was on the last lap, but I’m very happy that we finished fifth.”

Dominik Schwager, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37 (7th)

"We didn't really get it together in Qualifying and we paid for it today in the race. We were behind the No.38 and there was not much we could do. We weren't so bad on tyres today if I look at the other cars. Anyway, we are looking forward to tomorrow's race scoring some good points."

Christoffer Nygaard, Belgian Racing Ford GT No.9 (10th)

"I had some good battles with Marc (Hennerici) but after I got passed the Corvette I was unable to catch the guys in front of me. I was just trying to keep a good pace and run a clean race and find out what we can change on the car for tomorrow. We have seen from Maxime (Martin) and Fred (Makowiecki) that the Ford can be good here. From 10th we have a chance for a good finish."

Michael Krumm, JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 (12th)

“It was not the result we were looking for today, but we have to deal with that. We were running well in ninth and then lost about 10 seconds in the pit stop. I think it was a problem with a wheel nut. Without that, I think we could have finished sixth. Starting from P12 is going to make things difficult tomorrow, but we can only do our best and see what happens.”

Lucas Luhr, JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 (12th)

"No comment. Well, none I can repeat anyway!"

Ho-Pin Tung, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11 (DNF, accident)

"It's really a pity the race finished like it did for us today when we damaged the front of the car in the accident. We are finding that the tyre management is very important for the Corvette on this circuit. I hope I can do better in the Championship Race tomorrow for the Chinese race fans."

Sergio Jimenez, Exim Bank Team China No.12 (DNF, transmission)

"We had a problem with the driveshaft. I was in Turn 6 in second gear and I hit the throttle and nothing happened. We have a problem all weekend in the slow corners. It is very difficult to set up the Corvette here because some of the slow turns are very long and the car rolls a lot. Let's hope we find something for tomorrow."

[MOTV8]

Double joy for Ford GT

Fred Makowiecki and Maxime Martin in the No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT completed the double at Ordos International Circuit with victory in the Championship Race to add to their Qualifying Race success the previous day.

Over 15,000 spectators packed the main straight grandstand and lined the grass banks of the Inner Mongolian circuit to witness the first instalment of GT1's Chinese triple-header. The total weekend attendance was put at over 20,000, marking an impressive debut for the championship in China.

It was another commanding performance from the Ford GT pair. They had held the upper hand since Qualifying to take a maximum of 33 points from the weekend.

They withstood a sustained pursuit from the JRM Racing Nissan GT-R No.22 of Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck for the second consecutive race.

Stef Dusseldorp and Clivio Piccione in the Hexis Aston Martin No.3 were true to their promise of finishing on the podium by claiming third place.

Fourth were Hexis stablemates Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini in the No.4 Aston Martin.

The drivers' championship leaders Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm in the JRM Racing No.23 Nissan GT-R had an eventful race. Starting from the sixth row, Luhr had worked his way up to eighth at the driver change.

However, just as in the Qualifying Race the previous day, the duo were plagued by wheel nut problems at the pit stop and rejoined in 13th. By the end Krumm had taken the Nissan to ninth place and two points.

Their nearest challengers, Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motosport No.38, started from 15th, following a stewards' ruling which relegated them from sixth place.

Winkelhock produced a stunning opening stint to bring the No.38 through the field before handing over to Basseng who rejoined in eighth place. The German pair eventually finished eighth (4 points).

Despite their troubles, Basseng and Winkelhock (101) were able to close the gap to Luhr and Krumm (113) in the overall drivers' standings.

The result shook up the chase for the teams' title. All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport (182) dropped from joint first to third behind JRM (190) and Hexis (185).

Home soil did not prove to be a happy hunting ground for China's Ho-Pin Tung in the Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11. Having been deprived of a chance to drive in the Qualifying Race after co-driver Jeroen den Boer damaged the car into retirement, Tung started the main event from the last row.

Tung gained four places by the time of the driver change and den Boer brought the Corvette home in 12th place.

There was further disappointment for the other Team China Corvette No.12 in the hands of Sergio Jimenez and Michael Rossi. Jimenez ran strongly in the midfield before handing over to Rossi who spun the car at Turn 17 by getting on the gas a little early. The pairing finished last as a result.

The race was mostly incident-free on the tight Ordos layout but Christoffer Nygaard in the No.9 Belgian Racing Ford GT triggered a three-car clash at Turn Three just before the pit window opened and was forced to retire.

The first casualty was Nicky Catsburg whose race ended when he beached the No.20 Sumo Power GT Nissan at Turn Seven on lap three, the incident prompting the first of two safety cars.

The next stop on the China trail is Beijing next weekend.

Ah so.

[MOTV8]

Gird your loins...megapost! There'll be a quiz later.

GT1 cars to star in demo street race at Beijing Olympic Park

The iconic Olympic Park in Beijing will reverberate to the glorious sound of GT1 racing cars when the Beijing GT1 World Supercars event takes place this Sunday evening, September 11.

The event will feature a demonstration street race by the cars competing in the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship. Race cars such as Aston Martin DB9, Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV and Nissan GT-R will compete in the event.

The Olympic Park spectacular, jointly promoted by SRO Motorsports Group, Team China and Inter Sports, will be the climax to GT1 World's two-week stay in China following round eight at Ordos Inner Mongolia and round nine at Goldenport circuit in Beijing.

During the street race, the track layout will take the GT cars between the Bird's Nest, the dramatic Olympic Stadium and the Water Cube aquatic centre - the two spectacular landmark structures of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Bird's Nest and Water Cube are on either side of a 375 metre main straight.

Beijing GT1 World Supercars will be styled on a traditional race weekend format with free practice, qualifying and the main event under floodlights.

There will be a pit lane, full starting grid, complete with grid girls and VIP walkabout, and a GT1 paddock which will feature tyre change challenge among the pit crews, driver autograph signing sessions, a fashion show and music and entertainment provided by local Chinese artists.

As a prelude to the GT1 World demonstration race, the Supercar Club of Beijing will stage a parade featuring of over 40 cars.

It is envisaged that the event will be a forerunner to an official night race around the Olympic Park as a Beijing round on the 2012 race calendar.

Looking ahead to what promises to be a high point of GT1 World’s first foray into China, SRO Motorsports Group CEO Stephane Ratel said: "I can't think of a more spectacular way to bring to a close what has been a highly successful visit to China for the FIA GT1 World Championship.

"To be part of the crowd witnessing the world's most exotic, high performance GT race cars blasting along the streets of Beijing Olympic Park with the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube as a backdrop will be a truly momentous chapter in the history of SRO, GT1World and GT racing in general.

"Our longer-term objective is to include a round of the 2012 championship as a night street race at Olympic Park. This event will be a stunning dress-rehearsal."

Mr. Hai Feng Xia, Chairman of Inter Sports, said: “Thanks for all the efforts from FASC, Beijing Sports Bureau, SRO and other partners for the first GT1 World event in Beijing. The first Night Street Demo in Olympic Park will bring GT1 and China together, this demo will remind everyone around the world about the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Hopefully the FIA GT1 World Championship will stay in Beijing in the future.”

Mr. Yu Liu, Chairman of Team China Racing, added: “Team China in the FIA GT1 World Championship represents the new era of Chinese motorsports development, especially with this home race in Beijing in the first season. Thanks for Inter Sports to host this fantastic event in Beijing, so everyone can get more understanding of GT1 and support their own team and drivers.

“I cannot wait to watch the Team China car in the light of Olympic Park. We will use this opportunity to let people understand street racing, which happens everywhere around the world. We look forward to giving the people of Beijing a chance on Sunday to feel the passion of GT1 racing. Meanwhile, we hope you have a great Chinese Mid-Autumn festival.”

Whatevah, Tojo...teh Team China car is an American made Corvette. Being in fraudville China, I fully expect them to "arrange" for teh vette with the chinky driver to do well for teh home crowd. Meh.

-and-

Lamborghinis top the pile in Beijing Free Practice

GT1 World sprang to life in Beijing this morning as the 36 drivers had their first taste of the challenging Goldenport circuit in Free Practice.

It was the Lamborghinis which set the pace on the tight and twisty 2.4km layout. The No.48 DKR www-discount.com Lamborghini of Chris Bruck and Jonathan Kennard was the quickest car at the end of the session, which was cut short by three minutes when the No.8 Young Driver Aston Martin of Stefan Mucke stopped at T4.

Bruck set a time of 1:01.131, 0.071s ahead of the No.38 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini of Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng. The No.41 Marc VDS Ford of Marc Hennerici and Bas Leinders was third fastest just 0.056s ahead of the No.37 All-Inkl Lamborghini of Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli.

The No.21 Sumo Power Nissan did not take part in the session due to a fuel leak the team discovered while pushing the car out of the garage at the start of Free Practice.

The car will take part in Pre-Qualifying, which is due to start at 12:00 (local) / 6:00 (CET).

Two drivers rejoin the GT1 World grid in Beijing. Nico Verdonck replaces Sergio Jimenez in the No.12 Exim Bank Team China Corvette, the Brazilian driver is committed to driving in his home country this weekend.

The Belgian driver raced wth Mike Hezemans in the No.11 Corvette in Spain.

Bertrand Baguette replaces Fred Makowiecki in the Ordos race winning No.41 Marc VDS Ford, with Makowiecki racing in the UK this weekend. Baguette raced for the team in Spain, finishing third and fourth with Maxime Martin in the two races.

Despite gloomy predictions for the weather in Beijing yesterday, the circuit was bathed in glorious sunshine for the start of track action.

The air temperature reached 24.7 degrees and the track temperature was 40.6. The forecast for this afternoon is for sunshine and 25 and sunny. Saturday is a different story, with the forecast predicting light rain and 17 degrees.

-and then-

Ford GTs set pace in Beijing Pre-Qualifying

The No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT of Maxime Martin and Betrand Baguette set the Pre-Qualifying pace around the Goldenport Park Circuit in Beijing.

The car which won both races in Ordos is carrying 40kg of success ballast but Martin seemed unhindered as he posted a lap of 1:00.424, 0.253s ahead of his stable-mate Bas Leinders (Marc Hennerici) in the No.40 Ford GT.

Aston Martins filled third and fourth places with the No.3 Hexis AMR car of Stef Dusseldorp and Clivio Piccione just 0.025s in front of the No.8 Young Driver DB9 of Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner.

The session was red flagged early on when Nick Catsburg's Sumo Power Nissan GT-R speared into the tyre wall at T3, spreading debris across the track. The session was red flagged for 20 minutes while the car was removed. Catsburg was unhurt but the car suffered extensive front end damage.

The No.37 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini missed the session as the mechanics worked to replace the engine in time for this afternoon's Qualifying session.

-and then-

Marc VDS Ford GT takes Beijing pole

Maxime Martin continued his stunning form in the Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 by taking pole in an eventful Qualifying in Beijing.

The Belgian, a double race winner at Ordos last weekend with Frenchman Fred Makowiewcki sharing the driving, was partnered at Goldenport circuit this afternoon by fellow-Belgian Bertrand Baguette.

The duo set a best time of 1:00.344. The Young Driver Aston Martins of Darren Turner/Stefan Mucke (No.8, 1:00.441)) and Tomas Enge/Alex Muller (No.7, 1:00.465) were second and third.

Fourth were the drivers' championship contenders Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the No.38 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini (1:00.588).

The session was red-flagged twice to allow stricken cars to be dragged from the unforgiving Goldenport gravel traps. The tight layout tested the mettle of the GT1 pack.

All five GT1 brands were represented in the top eight. There were mixed results for the Team China Corvettes. The No.12 car of Michael Rossi and the returning Nico Verdonck wowed the home fans by qualifying a splendid fifth.

Ho-Pin Tung and Jeroen Den Boer in the No.11 were eliminated in Q2 and could only manage 11th place.

The nimble Ford GT's liking for the challenging Goldenport circuit was underlined with sixth place for the second Marc VDS Ford GT of Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici and seventh for the Belgian Racing entry of Jonathan Hirschi and Christoffer Nygaard. It was the first appearance of 2011 in Q3 for Belgian Racing.

Jamie Campbell-Walter and David Brabham in the Sumo Power No.21 were the best of the Nissans in 8th.

It was not a good day for the other GT-Rs, particularly the Championship leaders Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm. Qualifying ended abruptly for pair after 12 minutes when Luhr dropped the No.23 JRM car in the gravel at the end of turn 1.

The Germans were classified 16th while the No.22 JRM Nissan of Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck was 9th having just missed the cut for Q3.

The No.20 Sumo Power Nissan GT-R of Nicky Catsburg and Enrique Bernoldi did not make it out for Qualifying after Catsburg damaged the front end of the car in an off-track excursion in Free Practice. The team is hopeful of making tomorrow's Qualifying Race.

Hexis Aston Martin's Stef Dusseldorp (Clivio Piccione), third in the Championship Race in Ordos, also ended in the gravel at T13 in Q1 and took no further part in proceedings. The No.3 car finished last of the 17 runners.

-and lastly-

Beijing Qualifying: What the drivers say ...

Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (1st)

"This performance is really great for the whole team. We knew the track would be quite good for the Fords. For sure, with 40 kilos it is not so easy, but we are proud to be on pole here in Beijing and it will be great for the race tomorrow. It's great to work with Bertrand (Baguette) again, he is a very professional driver so it is great for us to continue with him after our race together in Spain."

Bertrand Baguette, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (1st)

"I think that pole position here is 50 per cent of the job as it is very difficult to overtake here. It's a very twisty track, with very few opportunities to overtake. Maxime did a very good job in Q3 to put us at the front of the grid tomorrow. I don't think the 40 kilos ballast will harm the tyre wear. We do feel the weight in the car but we have to deal with it. From what we've seen today in Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying, the car was quite good so it should be OK for tomorrow."

Stefan Mucke, Young Driver Aston Martin No.8 (2nd)

"We are very pleased with result and starting on the front row tomorrow, which is going to be very important here as overtaking is quite difficult. So we are very happy to be where we are, even though we have to start on the outside but fingers crossed everything will be OK.

"We also have 20 kilos of ballast in the car, which doesn't make life very easy, but the car is running well and I think we did quite a good job this morning in Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying to find a good set-up."

Darren Turner, Young Driver Aston Martin No.8 (2nd)

"It is a very difficult circuit, but it is a good circuit and is fun to drive. Although it is very short, it just means we do more of the same with the laps. It is very good and very challenging; one small mistake and it could be a big trip into the gravel."

Tomas Enge, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 (3rd)

"Before the weekend we thought this wasn't going to be the track for us. But when we walked around on Tuesday I started to like this circuit and thought things might not be as bad as we thought. Here we are, second and third in qualifying, and we are really happy with this and a very good start for the weekend. We just need to keep this going in the two races tomorrow."

Alex Muller, Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 (3rd)

"Thanks to Young Driver AMR, the car's running fine after the problems last weekend in Ordos. As Tomas said, the circuit isn't that bad and we are looking forward to tomorrow's race."

Nico Verdonck, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.12 (5th)

"It's not been too bad today for my first time in China. I think for most drivers it is a new track. So far it is going pretty well, I am getting to know Michael (Rossi) and we are getting on well together. I think Michael did a good performance and I think he could've gone better than P5 but he made a mistake at the last corner and so he came in. P5 is his best qualifying performance so we are being positive about it."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.21 (8th)

“It was good that we made it into Q3. Brabs (David Brabham) did a great job in Q2, and missing one of this morning’s warm-up sessions meant that our crew also did a fantastic job to get the car set up for Qualifying and for us to be the fastest of the Nissans.

"We may have even finished higher if my last flying lap hadn’t been red-flagged because of another car going off. If we can make up a few places in the first race tomorrow then, in the second, we can aim for the podium that we should have had in the Championship Race in Ordos.”

David Brabham, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.21 (8th)

“For these sorts of tracks, I find you have to think of them as street circuits, with no run-offs. It is a difficult track for us, but I was really pleased to get us into Q3. We are still making adjustments to the car and I think we can still achieve a good result tomorrow from P8.”

Richard Westbrook, JRM Nissan GT-R No.22 (9th)

“The car was going better lap-by-lap, so if Peter hadn’t got stuck in traffic I think we could have got through to the final eight in Q3, as there was only 0.03 second separating us in P9 and the next competitor in P8. In fact it’s been very close all day, so with a bit of good luck there’s no reason why a good result shouldn’t come our way.”

Peter Dumbreck, JRM Nissan GT-R No.22 (9th)

"It’s always frustrating being one place away from Q3, but it was a hard qualifying session. On a circuit like this you have to use every last bit of track that’s available, but you also can’t afford any mistakes. It’s certainly going to be an interesting race.”

Lucas Luhr, JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 (16th)

“I was struggling for grip in some places on the track, but decided to go for a fast lap. The car then got loose under braking for Turn One, I lost traction and then I ended up in the gravel. It wasn’t what we wanted and I’m sorry to the boys in the pits we couldn’t get into Q1 this time. I think tomorrow’s races are going to be very exciting for the spectators, that’s for sure.”

Nicky Catsburg, Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R No.20 (DNS)

“I was on new tyres and, like normal, I was feeling what kind of grip I had. The car stepped out – not that much really – and I corrected it, only to find that in the next second I had run out of road, then I was on the grass and then in the tyres. From where I was sitting the accident looked bigger than it felt, so I’m fine. I just hope the car is not too bad and the guys can get it fixed. I feel most sorry for them that this has happened.”

Quiz:

How many chinese people does it take to change a light bulb?

A: One to change it and 1000 to spread propaganda claiming it never

burnt out.

or

A: One to change it and one to shoot him after to protect state secrets.

[MOTV8]

Nissan GT-R quickest in wet warm-up

The rain that had threatened for the past few days duly arrive overnight and this morning in Beijing making conditions even trickier at Goldenport circuit for the Warm-up session.

The light showers look set to be around for this afternoon's two races.

In keeping with the red-flag theme of yesterday, the session was ended with 12 minutes remaining after the No.10 Beligan Racing Ford GT of Yann Clairay needed to be retrieved from the gravel at T10.

The drivers' championship leaders Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm in the JRM Nissan GT-R were fastest on the wet track with a time of 1:09.986. Second was the No.7 Young Driver Aston Martin of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller (1:10.032) from the pole-sitters Maxime Martin and Bertrand Baguette in the Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (1:10.184).

There will be several changes to the grid positions for the Qualifying and Championship Races after engine changes for three cars. The Team China Corvette No.11 (Ho-Pin Tung and Jeroen Den Boer) will drop five places for both of today's races as will the No.48 DKR www-discount.de Lamborghini of Jonathan Kennard and Christopher Buck.

The No.37 All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager will drop five places for the Qualifying Race and 10 for the Championship Race.

-and-

Aston Martins dominate Beijing Qualifying Race

Aston Martin romped to a podium clean sweep in a rain-soaked Qualifying Race in Beijing.

The No.7 Young Driver DB9 of Tomas Enge and Alex Muller took the race victory at Goldenport circuit from their stablemates Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke in the No.8. Third was the Hexis AMR No.4 of Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel from 10th position.

The race finished under the safety car after local boy Ho-Pin Tung spun off at T8 and beached the Exim Bank Team China No.11 Corvette with eight minutes remaining. The car was towed from the scene as the clocked ticked down to the chequered flag.

The No.23 Nissan JRM GT-R of Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm finished fourth to add three points to their advantage over their closest rivals in the drivers' championship Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock.

The All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport pair had been running strongly in second place behind the No.7 Aston until a drive-through penalty for a pit lane infringement. The time lost in the pit lane dropped them down to 12th place and out of the points.

The Nissan duo now have 116 points to the Lamborghini pair's 101. Hohenadel and Piccini are third on 100.

It was an impressive all-round display from Aston Martin with all four cars finishing in the top five.

The final point went to the No.9 Belgian Racing Ford GT of Christoffer Nygaard and Jonathan Hirschi.

The pole-sitter, the No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT of Bertrand Baguette and Maxime Martin was first to visit the famed Goldenport gravel at T7 after just five laps.

The safety car, a common sight over the past two days, was deployed while the car was towed out and Baguette brought it back to the pits and into retirement.

In the teams' standings, Hexis AMR (190) gained ground on leaders JRM (193) while Young Driver (181) moved to within a point of third-placed All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport (182).

The Championship Race starts at 15:45 local time (07:45 CET).

-and then-

Double delight for Young Driver AMR

The Young Driver Aston Martin team completed a stunning double in a dramatic ninth round of the championship in Beijing.

The combination of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke in the No.8 car took the chequered flag in the Championship Race to record their first victory of the 2011 season.

The result crowned a perfect two days for the German squad after Tomas Enge and Alex Muller in the No.7 car had taken the honours in the Qualifying Race earlier in the day.

It meant that Young Driver took the maximum 43 points in Beijing to climb to the top of the teams' standings. Turner and Mucke also move to second in the drivers' table.

Third place for Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm in the No.23 JRM Nissan GT-R consolidated their lead of the drivers' championship.

The race started and ended under the safety after a heavy downpour before the start made for treacherous conditions at the Goldenport circuit. The rate of attriition was high with only nine of the 18 starters running at the chequered flag.

It was looking like an Aston Martin 1-2-3 for the second consecutive race. The No.4 Hexis car of Andrea Piccini (Christian Hohenadel) was leading the race with six minutes left but like so many before him, Piccini pirouetted the car into the gravel at T7.

Enge in the No.7 had started the Championship Race from pole but there was a three-way shuffle at the pit stop. Turner in the No.8 got out ahead of Enge's co-driver Muller while Piccini in the Hexis No.4 leapfrogged them both to grab the lead before his mishap.

The No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT (Maxime Martin and Bertrand Baguette), the Qualifying Race pole-sitter, staged a great fightback through the field from 14th place to finish fifth (10 points).

Marc Basseng (Markus Winkelhock) in the No.38 car spun into the gravel at T1 soon after the start while Dominik Schwager parked the sister No.37 All-Inkl car at T13 under the same safety car just 15 minutes into the race.

The driver title ambitions of Basseng and Winkelhock took a big blow. Luhr and Krumm now head the standings on 131 points from Turner and Mucke on 120. The All-Inkl pair slipped to third on 101. Eleven drivers have a mathematical chance of taking the crown at the season-ending round 10 in San Luis.

In the teams' championship, the German Lamborghini squad dropped to fourth (182) behind Young Driver (224), JRM Racing (216) and Hexis (195).

Nico Verdonck (Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.12) and Enrique Bernoldi (Sumo Power No.20 Nissan GT-R) provided great entertainment in a heated squabble over fifth place in the closing stages.

The honours eventually went to Verdonck even though Bernoldi crossed ahead of him af the flag. The stewards ruled Bernoldi's overtaking move under the safety car was illegal and relegated him to sixth.

Bernoldi's demotion handed the Team China car fifth place - welcome cheer for home fans.

Ho-Pin Tung and Jeroen Den Boer in the No.11 Team China Corvette were running 11th, just out of the points, before Den Boer became yet another casualty with eight minutes left.

Tomorrow the spotlight shifts to Beijing's iconic Olympic Park where the Beijing GT1 World Supercars event takes place.

The GT1 race cars will take part in a demonstration street race on a street circuit layout that runs between the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. It promises to be a spectacular climax to GT1 World's successful tour of China.

He he hm, ...he said climax.

[MOTV8]

Fluffer-blurbage, in case we forgot there was one more round to go in this circus series.

Ratel: '2012 championship will be unique mix of brands'

Plans for the 2012 FIA GT World project, first announced at Spa in July, are nearing completion after a week of key meetings in Brussels.

The gathering, which featured current, returning and prospective GT1 team owners, the FIA and Championship organiser SRO, saw the 2012 championship take a significant step towards the ultimate goal of bringing together 10 teams, representing 10 different brands, with two cars each.

Such a diversity of prestigious brands in a single category would make the 2012 championship unique in international motorsport.

During the Brussels summit it was jointly agreed that the 2012 world championship would use regulations adapted from the GT3 category, with current GT3 cars being upgraded to a newly-defined GT World specification. Current GT1 cars would also be eligible, with their performance aligned to that of the GT World specification. (i.e. detuned C6.R's)

The most recent GT3 cars, including the BMW Z4, Ferrari 458, McLaren MP4-12C and Mercedes SLS, and the 2012 evolutions of the Audi R8 and the Porsche 911, would allow for a higher level of Balance of Performance (BOP), which would be specific to the FIA GT World Championship.

GT World specifications will include:

- 2012 GT3 homologation forms

- Carbon brakes

- No ABS

- GT1 noise level

- Specific GT World Balance of Performance

In summarising the positive outcome of the talks, CEO of SRO, Stephane Ratel said: “The meetings held over the past week have been extremely encouraging, and today we have a clear goal of what we can achieve in 2012.

"Using regulations adapted from the ultra-successful GT3 category is the correct way to go. It has been agreed with the teams and manufacturers that rather than bringing GT3 cars up to GT1 levels of performance, we will adopt a GT World level, to which the current GT1 cars will adhere, reducing development costs significantly.

“GT3 is the most successful GT category in the world and almost all of the major manufacturers are building cars to these specifications.

“This allows us to have a grid of 10 two-car teams, each representing a different model, while keeping costs under control."

Using the FIA Balance of Performance, the current GT1 cars would be able to race with restrictions on their performance to bring them into line with the 2012 GT World specification.

It has also been decided that GTE cars will not be eligible, as every manufacturer currently involved in GTE also makes a GT3 model.

Ratel added: “2012 will be a transition year, with the current GT1 cars able to compete alongside the new cars. In 2013, every car on the grid will be a GT World car, which will reflect the growing demand for GT3 cars in national and international motorsport around the world. In light of the current economic climate, this GT World specification is the correct solution to secure the future of the FIA GT1 World Championship.”

Pre-entries to the 2012 Championship will close in October, while work will continue on an exciting calendar for next season.

As for 2011, the season will conclude in San Luis, Argentina, on November 4-6 with 10 drivers and four teams still in contention for championship titles.

I have no idea what this means for aging GT1 C6.R's...there are quite a few kick ass GT3 vettes pillaging Europe however. Like Delahaye's Z06 GT3 for instance:

-and-

Title rivals set for the last tango

For the second consecutive year the picturesque San Luis circuit in Argentina will play host to the championship-deciding race for both the drivers' and teams' world tites.

Maserati pair Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini took the championship spoils at last year’s event. Heading to the final round on 5-6 November, five driver pairings remain in contention for the crown.

In what has been an enthralling season, JRM Nissan's Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr currently lead the drivers’ standings by 11 points ahead of Young Driver AMR’s Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke.

The leading German pair, who pilot the No.23 Nissan GT-R, claimed victories at the Algarve, Silverstone and Paul Ricard while the Turner/Mucke No.8 Aston Martin scored a win last time out in Beijing.

Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng were the early-season pacesetters in their All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini by taking a double win at Zolder followed by two podiums at Navarra. They tie on 101 points, 30 behind the championship leaders, with the Hexis Aston Martin duo Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel.

Alex Muller and Tomas Enge trail the leaders by 31 points and even though there are 33 points up for grabs at San Luis, it will be a tough task for them to steal the crown.

Meanwhile, the fight for the teams' championship is just as fierce with Young Driver holding an eight-point lead over JRM. Hexis trail by 29 points while All-Inkl sit 42 points adrift. The team's two indifferent rounds in China saw their title hopes fade away though they still have a mathematical chance of snaring the trophy if their rivals slip up.

The 6.27km semi-permanent Lago Potrero de los Funes circuit in San Luis is described by drivers as one of the most thrilling and unique driving challenges in the world.

Built in the confines of an extinct volcano crater which encircles a lake, the circuit is renowned for its substantial undulations and high-speed corners. It sets the perfect scene for the championship showdown which takes place on 4-6 November.

-and-

Stunning venue for GT1’s grand finale

Few race tracks in the world can provide the same breathtaking combination of a challenging layout and stunning scenery as the final venue for GT1 in 2011 – the San Luis circuit, in Argentina.

The semi-permanent track, created from a public ring road around the Potrero de los Funes lake, is 6.27km in length and features an adrenaline-pumping mix of high-speed corners, minimal run-off areas and an undulating profile that sees the track climb 25 metres, or 82 feet, across its length.

San Luis circuit is approximately 255km east of Mendoza and 751km west of Buenos Aires in central Argentina. It is situated in the crater of an extinct volcano around 1,210m (3,970ft) above sea level in the Sierras Grandes mountains, a dramatic bowl location which offers superb spectator viewing from almost any point on the circuit. Thinner air will sap power from the cars’ engines at this altitude, providing a real test for the drivers and teams.

Potrero de los Funes – a favourite with the drivers for the incredible challenge it represents – will once again have the honour of deciding where the major honours for the 2011 GT1 season will end up, with both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships still being contested by a number of crews and outfits.

Five driver pairings are mathematically still in with a chance of lifting the crown after the Championship Race on Sunday, November 6th, while the four teams which have contested the teams’ standings during the crucial run-in phase are still tussling for the title.

Of course, it would take an unlikely set of results to deny either of the top two pairings and teams the honours, and as a result they remain firm favourites – JRM Racing’s duo of Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr (No.23 Nissan GT-R) with 131 points vying with the Young Driver AMR crew of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke in the No.8 DB9 (120 points) for the drivers’ title.

However, Young Driver have the advantage in the teams’ standings, on 224 points to JRM’s 216 – but with a maximum 33 points available to a driver crew and 57 points for an outfit, the margins for the leaders in both championships are very tight; and it also means the outcome can only be finally decided after the main Championship Race event.

Potrero de los Funes was constructed in 1987 for touring car racing but an accident in its first race saw no more competition there until 2008. The circuit was rebuilt and modified in 2007/08 in preparation for the 2008 FIA GT Championship two-hour race, won by Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen in a Saleen S7-R.

As Longin and Kumpen took the flag, the stunning surroundings provided the perfect setting for an exciting conclusion to that season which saw Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels crowned as champions in the Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12, just managing to hold off Mike Hezemans and Fabrizio Gollin’s late-season charge in the Phoenix Carsport Corvette C6.R. (Ah, the good old days.)

Resurfacing work saw the 2009 season skip San Luis, but the Argentine street circuit proved to be a happy hunting ground for Bertolini and Bartels in 2010, as they once again sealed the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships of the inaugural GT1 World season in the Vitaphone Maserati MC12.

The question is: who will emerge triumphant from the final race in the current GT1 World format, and take the coveted titles at the culmination of an enthralling season?

Now that's rich, even for a marketing hack like myself.

Maybe they can ditch the Chinese sponsorship next year, I hear China's not doing so hot....

[MOTV8]

Going out with a double bang at San Luis...

Aston Martin fastest in San Luis Pre-Qualifying

The Hexis Aston Martin No.4 of Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel topped the time sheets in Friday's Pre-Qualifying session at the final GT1 round in San Luis.

The Aston duo saved their best until the closing minutes of the session with Piccini producing a time of 2:14.739.

Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck in the JRM Nissan GT-R No.22 were second with 2:15.052 with the second Hexis car of Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp third in a time of 2:15.092.

Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38 were sixth in 2:15.524 with the leading title contenders Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 in 11th place with 2:15.838.

The Young Driver Aston Martin pair of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke, currently second in the drivers' standings, behind Krumm and Luhr, finished a lowly 17th with a fastest lap of 2:16.899.

The session ended prematurely for the No.8 car when Mucke struck the wall at Turn 21. The team reported that the damage was superficial.

-and-

Nissan title leaders grab pole

Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Nissan No.23 moved a step closer to the drivers' championship title by claiming pole position for this afternoon's Qualifying Race in San Luis.

Second was the No.11 Team China Corvette of GT1 debutants Francesco Pastorelli and Yelmer Buurman with the Sumo Power GT No.21 of David Brabham and Jamie Campbell-Walter.

Marc Basseng and Makus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38, also among the title contenders, failed to progress beyond Q2 and will start this afternoon's Qualifying Race from 10th position.

The sister car of Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli will start fifth while the Hexis Aston Martins line up in sixth and eighth.

The big news of the day was the retirement overnight of the Young Driver Aston Martin No.8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke, the closest challengers to Krumm and Luhr for the drivers' title.

The car sustained a broken chassis after Mucke struck the wall at T21 in yesterday's Pre-Qualifying thus ending the championship hopes of the pair.

-and-

Corvette wins, Nissan pair celebrate title

Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 wrapped up the 2011 drivers' title with second place in the Qualifying Race at San Luis.

The race was won by the No.11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette of Yelmer Buurman and Francesco Pastorelli - Corvette's first win of the season - on their maiden GT1 outing.

In a typically frantic start, Buurman got the jump on Krumm and had opened up a gap of over five seconds by the time the pit window opened. Luhr had managed to reduce the defecit to just a car length in the closing laps but Pastorelli held his nerve to secure victory.

Third was the All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport No.37 Lamborghini of Franceso's elder brother Nicky and Dominik Schwager. The No.38 Lamborghini of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock was sixth to add to the German squad's claims on the teams' championship.

Fourth place went to the Sumo Power GT No.20 Nissan GT-R of Nicky Catsburg and Enrique Bernoldi with Tomas Enge and Alex Muller in the No.7 Aston Martin fifth to keep their teams' chances ticking over.

A major problem with the right rear wheel nut on the Sumo Power GT No.21 cost them any chance of a podium place after a strong first stint by Jamie Campbell-Walter. When the wheel was eventually secured, David Brabham rejoined and fought back to finish seventh.

An early clash between Peter Dumbreck in the JRM Nissan GT-R No.22 and Ricardo Rissatti in the Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 resulted in both cars limping into the pits. The Nissan rejoined 17 laps adrift after a lengthy repair to the right rear suspension, while the Ford remained in the garage with front structural damage.

The sister Ford of Maxime Martine came to a halt with 8 minutes remaining to complete a disappointing race for the Marc VDS team. The best of the Fords was the No.10 Belgian Racing entry of Markus Palttala and Antoine Leclerc in 10th. The other Belgian car was 12th.

The are still several permutations for second and third in the drivers' title while the battle for the teams' championship will be decided tomorrow. As it stands, Young Driver lead the chase on 227 points from JRM (224), Hexis (195) and All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport (190).

-and-

Double for Corvette as Hexis takes team crown

Francesco Pastorelli and Yelmer Buurman in the Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11 completed the double by winning the Championship Race in an incident-filled finale to the 2011 season in San Luis.

The victory for the GT1 debutants was the second of the weekend after taking the honours in the Qualifying Race the previous day.

Second was the DKR www-discount.de Lamborghini No.47 of Manuel Lauck and Christopher Haase and third were Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp in the Hexis Aston Martin No.3.

The 15 points for the French squad enabled them to secure the 2011 teams' championship with 235 points in a tense battle which went to the wire. Second overall was the JRM Nissan team on 232 points and third was Young Driver Aston Martin on 231.

A six-car pile-up on the main straight soon after the lights went green claimed the JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 of the drivers' championship winners Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm.

Both All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghinis, the No.21 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R of David Brabham were also casualties.

The No.7 Young Driver Aston Martin of Alex Muller and the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.20 of Enrique Bernoldi were also involved but were able to continue.

The Aston actually led the race after the incident but was deemed to have overtaken under the Safety Car procedures and was handed a drive-through penalty.

Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck in the JRM Racing No.22 Nissan GT-R which had assumed the lead with 15 minutes remaining were given a similar penalty and finished eighth thus denying the Nissan squad of adding the teams' championship to the drivers' title won by Krumm and Luhr for second place in the Qualifying Race on Saturday.

In the final drivers' standings, Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke finished second (120 points) despite not making the start line due to extensive damage to the No.7 Young Driver Aston Martin in the Qualifying Race.

Third went to Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini in the Hexis Aston Martin No.4 with 113 points.

-and-

What the drivers say ...

06/11/2011

What the drivers say ...

Francesco Pastorelli, Exim Bank Team Corvette No.11 (1st)

"I made a good start and then I saw a lot smoke in my mirrors from the accident. There was a long period of the Safety Car before I brought the car in for the stop. We had a small issue at the pit stop when one of the wheel nuts took a while to go on but in the end we are both happy with the job we did this weekend."

Yelmer Buurman, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No.11 (1st)

"I am very happy, I didn't expect this, I was hoping for a top five finish because I know the level of drivers in this GT1 category is high. Just to come here, first time in GT1, new track, new car, new team and to win both races and also get the fastest lap is a good feeling. It's nice to be able to produce a great finish to the season for the team - they were fantastic. Hopefully I can come back next year."

Manuel Lauck, DKR www-discount.de Lamborghini No.47 (2nd)

"The start was quite good for us. I couldn't really see what happened with the crash. We were struggling on tyres so it was good for us to have the Safety Car time. In the end Christopher did a perfect job and the team worked really well all weekend. We got the car just 10 days before the China event so it's amazing for us to be on the podium."

Christopher Haase, DKR www-discount.de Lamborghini No.47 (2nd)

"It was a pleasure for me to come back into GT1 and to come back to San Luis a track I like very much. It is true that I know the car from last year but it has improved a lot. We also improved the car further during the weekend so I have to thank the team for their efforts. The mechanics and the engineers were great. I'm really happy with the result."

Clivio Piccione, Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9 No.3 (3rd)

“I tried to keep my line at the start and avoid all the crashes happening in front of me. I went through all the smoke, I was lucky to go through without hitting anything and I found myself in 3rd position. OK that was a great start, then we had the long safety car and we had problems keeping the engine cool, but everything went well. I handed the car over to Stef and he had to finish the job. For the whole team this is a great moment, winning a world title is very special."

Stef Dusseldorp, Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9 No.3 (3rd)

“This is the best day of my life so far, being World Champions feels great. We started the year with victory in Abu Dhabi, then we had some problems but the team kept pushing. We been fighting with Young Driver and the Nissans but we did it today and that’s the most important thing.”

Christian Hohenadel, Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9 No.4 (5th) – 3rd Overall in the Drivers' Championship

"It has been a really hard season but a successful one. It was a big step for me moving up from GT3 to GT1. It is a different car and a different world, with tough competition all the way. I had a good teammate in Andrea (Piccini) and I learned a lot from him and to finish 3rd overall in the championship is very good. My thanks go to the team, Hexis have done a fantastic job all year and they deserve to become World Champions."

Bas Leinders, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 (9th)

"I drove the first stint and I was lucky not to be involved in the big crash at the start. I couldn't see what was happening because of all the smoke and dust, but I just stayed over to the right and managed to escape unscathed. The crash brought out the Safety Car, but not all the cars respected the flags and that caused some confusion.

"I only managed one race lap before handing over, but then we lost time at the pit stop after an injury to one of the crew. At the end there was a coming together between our car and the No.41 Ford GT, but we managed to finish inside the top 10, which was some consolation. With the No.40 Ford GT we have had problems and bad luck from the first race until the last, so this is a season I'm happy to finally have finished."

Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (11th)

"It's been a tough weekend because we just haven't been able to match the outright speed of the other cars. I took the start and there was a big crash, like there has been at almost every single race this season, and I ended up sat behind the Safety Car for most of my stint.

"Yann (Clairay) drove a good stint after the pit stop to move us up to 7th, but then a collision with our sister car dropped us back to 11th at the chequered flag. Sixth isn't where I was aiming to finish in the championship and it's frustrating that what has been a successful season for us, with wins in GT1, Blancpain Endurance and GT3, has ended in such a disappointing fashion. But, it happens, so now we need to go away, recharge our batteries and come back even stronger next season."

Lucas Luhr, JRM Nissan GT-R No.23 (DNF, accident) - 2011 World Champion

“It’s been a great year this year, we’ve taken four wins, more than anyone else and that was the key to the championship. Some tracks really suits the Nissan GT-R and we always delivered a very good result and some tracks we struggled we still managed to get a decent result. I very happy and proud to be the GT1 World Champion and my thanks to Michael, it’s been a fantastic year.”

Darren Turner, Young Driver Aston Martin DB9 No.8 (DNS) – 2nd Overall in the Drivers' Championship

“My congratulations go to Lucas and Michael on winning the championship, it is an incredibly hard championship to win and they kept everyone else on their toes all season. It’s been a difficult weekend after the problem on Friday and it’s very strange to be sat here in the press conference in a race suits when I haven’t turned a wheel for two days. At least we could go out and enjoy the local wine and have a nice, juicy steak. It’s been a great year, the team have done a great job and despite all the difficulties we are here in second place and underlines the tremendous effort by the whole team.”

David Brabham, Sumo Power GT No.21 (DNF, accident)

"I was going down the left-hand side and the accident was happening on my right and I saw the Lamborghini (No.37) go sidewards then hit Lucas (Nissan No.23). Looking at the replay, it looked like (Enrique) Bernoldi (Nissan No.20) touched the Lambo and then obviously there was a big crash around me and unfortunately I had nowhere to go so I ended up in the middle of the whole thing. I'm just disappointed for everybody who was involved in that accident. To end the season like that is not good. But is is racing and it happens."

Dominik Schwager, All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37 (DNF, accident)

"I got a clean start, I was going OK and I was settling for third, I was beside the Nissan No.23 and then I felt the hit (from the Nissan No.20) and I just couldn't believe it. I spun into the No.23 and if you have that sort of incident at the front it's going to be a big mess. I feel sorry for everyone involved. It's a disappointing end to the race and not a nice end to the season. It's a real shame."

Nicky Pastorelli, All-Inkl Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.37 (DNF, accident)

“I am happy for my brother (Francesco). But it was such an uncessary end to the season. It is only the second year we all worked together and everybody worked so hard and did such a great job. This year we had a couple of did not finishes due to accidents and some technical failures but also four podium finishes. I think we lacked some luck but you can’t do anything about that. All in all I look back on a good season with my thanks to everybody in the team.”

Arrivederci Euros....

[Desertdawg]

How cool is that? teh Corvette takes a double

and

Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 (11th)

"It's been a tough weekend because we just haven't been able to match the outright speed of the other cars. I took the start and there was a big crash, like there has been at almost every single race this season, and I ended up sat behind the Safety Car for most of my stint.

It's been a fun season, maybe they need to adopt the nascar saying... "Rubbing is Racing!"

[MOTV8]

Teh vette taking two from these a-holes was stunning indeed and I lol'd at the fact that it was by two completely NEW drivers in the car. That series is a circus. I figgered you'd be bummed about Nissan taking the title, like I was when Maserati (re-bodied Enzos, REAL fair) won it last year.

[Desertdawg]

Well nissan taking the title here is different the the ALMS series, at least here they let everyone run without adding weight or restricters to try to keep it even, if you win you had the better car or drivers.... Maybe if they run the Corvette next year it will be just that little bit better and they can take a few more wins. One thing is for sure, it sure was fun watching them hash it out with bumpers in the first laps on some of those races.

[MOTV8]

Well nissan taking the title here is different the the ALMS series, at least here they let everyone run without adding weight or restricters to try to keep it even, if you win you had the better car or drivers....

Maybe if they run the Corvette next year it will be just that little bit better and they can take a few more wins.

One thing is for sure, it sure was fun watching them hash it out with bumpers in the first laps on some of those races.

They still have "performance equalizers" in FIA GT1, namely the penalty weights added for winning race! Who knows how they'll "work" it next year. They don't even know for certain yet themselves I bet! Ratel is a hustla.

And for the schadenfreudist in you, teh opening lap melee in stills...