Another podium for Simonsen and Peter keeps them high in the standings
Gillet
Allan Simonsen
Davide Rigon
Michelin
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Gillet
Pole Position and victory for the Gillet Vertigo in Monza
Belgian Racing has won it's first race of the season by winning the G2 class in the FIA GT Championship.
Renaud Kuppens: "From the very first laps this weekend we were faster then the two Moslers, in the rain as well as on a dry track. I would like to thank Pirelli for the excellent service and wonderful tires this weekend."
The Gillet Vertigo .5 with Maserati engine started the race in 21st position just in front of a Saleen with two other Belgians, Greg Franchi and Vincent Vosse.
Bas Leinders: "Thanks to the new Maserati engine we were able to keep a lot of cars behind us in qualifying. After we made a reasonable gap with our most important opponents we slowed down the pace and were able to control the race.
Nice to know, a Belgian team won in GT1, GT2, G2 as well as in the GT4 class this weekend. Who dares to say that Belgium is a small country...
Next race in Adria on the 21st of June 2008
Allan Simonsen
Three weeks ago Allan Simonsen stood on the podium at Italy's famous Monza circuit after winning the GT2 class of the 2008 Le Mans Series event. It was brilliant sunshine and the crowds turned up.
Fast forward to last Sunday and there was Allan, once again, on the Monza podium. This time the stakes were more serious as was the ugly weather. And the crowds returned. So did the Dane, grabbing his second chance to spray the champagne in as many meetings.
Paired with Austrian Phillip Peter aboard the Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR-9 GT1, Simonsen was keen to capitalise on their 3rd place at the opening Silverstone round.
Practice was extermely wet but still the team made excellent progress putting the Aston Martin in P3 during the first session, following with a P5 in P2.
Qualifying was a tricky affair.
"There was a dry line appearing for the GT2 cars, said Allan recalling qualifying.
"They only had 20 mins but by then it had drizzled on the back of the circuit and it was tricky approaching the second chicane. It was patchy all around the track and a few cars got caught out and ended in the wall.
The track however continued to dry...
"I was sure the fastest time would be done on the last lap. But I couldn't get a clear lap and the double yellows were out so we had to settle for 7th. I don't think its a true representation of our car speed but thats where we are.
Seventh in Q was like a red rag to a bull for Simonsen, who prompty silenced everyone with the fastest warm up time, in terrible conditions.
Allan started the race, making an awesome getaway, splitting the field.
At the end of lap two he was 3rd and catching Christophe Bouchut in the Corvette C6R. Simonsen was really trying...
"After about 15 minutes I caught Bouchut and passed him into turn 1. I really felt like it was a good passing move. Then I set off after the leader but things got a bit untidy. At the end of the back straight I was coming into the Parabolica and had to pass at GT2 Porsche. As I went inside him for the turn he also switched position forcing me to the outside but because I was so close to him I suddenly lost downforce and run a touch wide. I think a wheel got on the grass and with weather like this thats a no-no. Suddenly I'm accelerating like you do on wet grass and there are rocks and gravel going everywhere!
Simonsen suddenly found himself summoning up the very same skills he'd used to win Rally Tasmania last year...
"I kept the car in a long slide and ended up touching the tyres only slightly and there was virtually no damage."
Being aware of just how wet things were, off track, Simonsen kept the momentum up, rejoining the race with almost no penalty. Shortly he would pit and hand over to Phillip Peter, who would drive an exceptional middle stint.
After the second compulsory pitstop, Simonsen climbed back onboard, returning to hunt down the second placed car only to be called in for a drive through penalty. Allegedly, an earthing strap was not used, at the last refuelling stop.
Like Silverstone, Peter and Simonsen finished third. The entire Gigawave team was jubilant having shown such excellent team work, car speed and racecraft over the weekend. Both Simonsen and Peter are now equal second in the chmapionship with 12 points.
Next FIA GT round is Adria - 50km outside of Venice, June 20-22
But there's no rest for the wicked. Its back to the UK for a British GT round at Rockingham this weekend.
And then comes Le Mans 24 Hour testing...
Gillet took the G2 class honours
Davide Rigon
also on the track of Monza Davide Rigon, at the conclusion of 2 hours of the race behind the wheel of his Ferrari F430 BMS Scuderia Italia, manages to win important points for the standings, thanks to the fifth place finish.
Contrary to every prediction the race track with one runs dry: the Eighth party ranks ahead immediately able to recover many taking positions behind the former. In subsequent rounds but was forced to leave room for more powerful cars of the group GT1. Passed the first hour, and then came the moment of pause and pass the baton to his companion team, Rigon occupies the fifth position among the GT2 cars.
For the third stint, and for the last 25 minutes, Vicenza back again behind the wheel of yellow-red F430, managing to climb from week to sixth place, cutting the goal behind the second crew BMS Scuderia Italia formed by Ruberti / Malucelli.
"I'm very happy with this result and so like me also the team BMS Scuderia Italia" starts to comment Davide Rigon. "At the start I managed to make a big departure portandomi in the group of first. The rhythm of my race was very high. Too bad for a GT! "I did lose a little 'time. At the time of "exchange pilot" I was fifth and, when I resumed in the hands of the car for the last 25 minutes, I managed to climb up to sixth place. Now let's go at Adria knowing that we have a good package-car tyres with the objective of pointing to the podium "
Following the disqualification of the Porsche 997 of Collard, Davide Rigon conquer the fifth positions and four points worldwide. Thanks to this result Rigon occupies the fourth position in overall standings with 6 points.
Next appointment on the track of Adria next 21giugno, the Rigon race home
Michelin
Corvette/Michelin and Porsche/Michelin hit back
Victory in the second round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship at Monza went to Christophe Bouchut and Xavier Maassen (Corvette/Michelin) who finished ahead of the Maserati/Michelin of Negrao/Ramos and the Aston Martin/Michelin of Peter/Simonsen. Michelin runners monopolised the top-five places in the GT1 category and also dominated the GT2 standings which saw the success of Collard/Westbrook (Porsche/Michelin) ahead of the two AF Corse-run Ferrari/Michelins.
Qualifying was troubled by rain as Collard topped the timesheets with his Porsche/Michelin GT2 for much of the session before being toppled by Alex Muller and his Aston Ma rtin/Michelin in the dying moments. The track remained predominantly dry for today's race, however, despite the threatening clouds that gathered over the celebrated Italian venue. A few drops did fall close to the finish but all of Michelin's partners stayed out on slicks.
Pole-winner Alex Muller dominated the race's first hour with his Jetalliance Aston Martin/Michelin before handing over to his team-mate Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer who fell back a long way down the order.
That handed the lead to Xavier Maassen - who had succeeded from Christophe Bouchut in the SRT-run Corvette/Michelin on Lap 23 - ahead of the N2 Maserati/Michelin of Ramos. Meanwhile, the second Vitaphone Racing Maserati of Bartels/Bertolini was forced to pit early in the race after driving over some debris left by another competitor.
Also on an offset pit-stop strategy was the Gigawave Aston Martin (Peter/Simonsen) which had secured the fastest time in the wet during the morning's warm -up session. The car was third when Allan Simonsen took over at the helm after one and a quarter hours of racing. Following a virile scrap with Mike Hezemans's Corvette/Michelin, Simonsen overcame a couple of setbacks- accident, stop and go - to collect his second consecutive podium finish.
The second round of pit-stops with the final half-hour fast approaching did nothing to change the situation at the sharp end of the race. After dominating the official FIA GT tests here at Monza in April, the Corvette C6.R/Michelin of Bouchut/Maassen picked up its first win of the year, while last month's winners at Silverstone, Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp (Aston Martin/Michelin), finished back in seventh place.
Michelin runners were in dominating form in the GT2 category, too, and its tyres were put to the test during a thrilling scrap between the Porsche of Collard/Westbrook - which qualified on the second row! - and the Ferrari 430 of Vilander/Bruni. The two Michelin-shod GT2 cars were split by less than one second at the halfway point, but the Prospeed Porsche put off its second pit-stop until a quarter of an hour before the flag, which gave Manu Collard time to pull out a gap before handing over to his team-mate.
The FIA GT series stays in Italy for the year's third encounter at Adria on June 21-22.
Gerard Bombled (Manager of Michelin's Endurance and FIA GT Programmes):
"It's been an extremely positive weekend for Michelin. Our tyres were competitive in all the conditions we encountered, which ranged from half damp and half dry in qualifying to heavy rain for the warm-up and then dry again for the race itself. I don't think I've ever seen such deep water on a track as there was during this morning's warm-up, but we set the fastest time with the Gigawave Aston Martin. In the GT1 category, the Corvette/Michelin once again showed its speed at Monza, while the Maserati MC12 of Bertolini/Bartels could perhaps have won had it not been for a tyre strategy error during qualifying (intermediate tyres) and, above all, a puncture early in the race after running over some debris on the track. The same can be said of the Aston Martin of Peter/Simonsen who could have scored a better result if they hadn't gone off and then taken a stop and go penalty. The GT2 Prospeed Porsche put in an assertive display in all the different conditions it came across, while the AF Corse Ferraris both finished on the podium after spending the entire race on the same set of tyres."