Grey or dark, the FIA GT have yet to run under sunny skies for an entire race in 2008
For the third round of the 2008 season, the FIA GT Championship remains in Italy, but moves southwards, to a track which is diametrically opposed to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza Short, tight and twisting, the Adria International Raceway, built in 2002, is on the FIA GT calendar for the third time. The race will be held on Saturday evening, racing into the sunset and beyond.
Despite the differences between the tracks, 2007 saw remarkable similarity between the results from the FIA GT races. Karl Wendlinger took pole on both occasions, as did Paolo Ruberti in GT2. Jetalliance was victorious in 2007 at both Monza and Adria, with the Aston Martin DBR9 of Wendlinger and Sharp, while AF Corse won the GT2 category – although Bruni and Ortelli won in Monza, while Müller and Vilander crossed the line first in Adria.
So will this pattern be repeated in 2008 ?
Monza saw one of the strangest qualifying sessions ever, as rain fell on one section of the track between the GT2 and GT1 qualifying sessions, mixing the grid totally. But pole position went to Alex Müller in the Jetalliance Aston Martin, while Emmanuel Collard took the GT2 pole, in fourth place overall, for Prospeed Competition.
For the race, conditions were dry after wet practice and qualifying. Belgian team SRT claim its first-ever FIA GT win, with the Corvette C6R of triple Champion Christophe Bouchut and his rookie team-mate, Xavier Maassen. They led the Vitaphone Maserati of Xandi Negrão and Miguel Ramos, with the Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9 of Simonsen and Peter third, making three different brands in the top three, and showing once again the diversity in this year’s close Championship. In the GT1 teams, Vitaphone has taken an early lead, and is currently lying seven points ahead of Jetalliance and SRT, both tied on 15 points.
Scuderia Ecosse will hope for an upturn in fortune at Adria
In GT2, the Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3 RSR took the chequered flag in Monza. However, the car was later excluded for a pitlane infringement, giving AF Corse its second consecutive victory and a massive lead of 16 points in the Teams classification. The results remain provisional pending a appeal by Prospeed, and the International Court of Appeal should publish its result before Adria.
Variety and close competition are the watchwords of the 2008 season, and after one win for the Aston Martin DBR9 and one for the Corvette C6R, could Adria see victory go to the Maserati MC 12, the Saleen S7R or the Ferrari 550 Maranello ? Vitaphone won the three-hour race at Adria in 2006, when a one-two for the German team allowed Bertolini and Bartels to seal the GT1 Drivers title, while the Zakspeed Saleen set the best-yet lap time around Adria for a GT1 car, in 2006.
29 cars are due to line up on the grid on Saturday evening. Among driver changes, José Maria Lopez will join Esteban Tuero in the nr 37 ACA Argentina Ferrari 550 Maranello. A winner of the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup with DAMS, he was part of the team’s line-up in the Lamborghini Murciélago at Dubai in 2004, although he did not actually drive during the race. A extremely experienced single-seater driver from F3000 and GP2, he also has experience from the American Le Mans Series. Chris Niarchos will be back alongside Tim Mullen in the nr 55 CR Scuderia Ferrari 430 GT2, while Alain Ferté rejoins the Championship, alongside Ben Aucott in the JMB Maserati MC 12.
The 2007 race was a good race for the title contenders
Unlike both previous races, held later in the season, the cars will be lighter this year, with only the Monza podium finishers carrying success ballast in GT1. And as the weight is usually an issue on the short, tight track, this could be a factor this coming weekend.
A month may have passed since the second round, but many of the teams and drivers have been busy. June is traditionally the month for endurance, and both the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and Le Mans take place between the Monza and Adria races, and plenty of the FIA GT regulars were present. Due to an agreement with the ACO, the top two teams in the GT1 and GT2 Teams Championships were awarded automatic entry to the legendary race in the Sarthe region of France. This means that Vitaphone Racing Team, AF Corse and BMS Scuderia Italia are all in action this weekend, and we wish them, and all our other regular competitors, such as Larbre Competition and IPK Spartak, the very best of luck.