FeedMeSportscars

The Jetalliance Aston Martin won from pole
Courtesy of the FIA GT/DPPI

After chilly Silverstone and wet Bucharest, the sun shone on Monza for the fourth round of the FIA GT Championship. A close and exciting race, with the top four cars separated by twelve seconds with twelve seconds remaining, saw Jetalliance take its first win of the season, while AF Corse Motorola continued to dominate GT2, although this time victory went to the team’s second car of Ortelli and Bruni.

Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp completed a fine weekend, which included fastest time in first free practice and pole, by giving Jetalliance its first FIA GT win, after a fine race at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. This was not only the fourth different winner of the season, and the third different make, but the first win of 2007 for the Aston Martin DBR9. The car dominated the race, only dropping back briefly after a slight mistake from Sharp, who spun while challenging for the lead after the first pit stop. “It was perfect; the car was handling very well until the end of the race,” Karl said. “Our boss is very happy , and us too. Jetalliance is a very well organised racing team; we have a very good atmosphere in the team and this probably the main reason for our success. “

They finished ahead of the Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC 12 of Christian Montanari and Miguel Ramos, who claimed their second podium in a row. The car put in a fine race, recovering from a long pit stop when they had difficulty restarting the engine. “We pushed hard because I really wanted to take the podium. It’s really important for me, for Miguel, for the team, for Michelin. I’m very happy because this is a very nice present for my birthday,” Montanari said.
Third went to the Carsport Holland Corvette C6R of Deletraz and Hezemans, meaning three different makes on the podium. The Corvette made a tremendous start, putting Hezemans in the lead after the first corner, but they were later unable to keep up with the Aston and Maserati cars. “I think that we’re in a really good position for the future,” Deletraz commented. “We’re really close to the top, which is an important place to be in before Spa. Everyone knows that Spa is the most important race of the season.”

Thomas Biagi and Michael Bartels finished fourth in the nr 1 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12. In the closing stages of the race, Biagi was closing on Wendlinger and challenging for the lead, but went wide two laps before the end, losing two places. However, his points allowed him to retake the lead in the classification.
Fifth went to the PK Carsport Corvette C5 of Kumpen and Longin. The team had previously said that this would be their most difficult track, due to their lack of top speed. This position, maintaining them in second place in the Championship, met their expectations and kept them in contention. Aston Martin Racing BMS finished sixth with Babini and Davies in the nr 23 DBR9; the second car of Monfardini and Toccacelo was 12th, and has a suspended grid penalty of five places due to cutting a chicane.
Jetalliance’s happiness was completed by the first points finish for the nr 36 car of Lechner and Lichtner-Hoyer. “We achieved precisely what we intended to do,” Lechner said. “Luki and I both performed strongly today. Now I’m very proud of having been able to contribute two points for the team championship, and they shouldn’t be the last ones.”
The last point went to Bucharest winners Scuderia Playteam Sarafree, with the nr 11 car of Bertolini and Piccini. The drivers lost ten grid places after an engine change, and recovered to finish eighth.
The Lamborghini Murciélago cars had a difficult weekend, both starting from the back of the grid. They made rapid progress, but the nr 7 car had difficulties and was one of the only two retirements. The nr 8 had clutch issues and lost time after an excursion in the gravel, finishing tenth.

BIAGI REGAINS NARROW GT1 CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

Fourth place today for Biagi and Bartels not only strengthened Vitaphone's Teams lead, but gave Biagi back the lead in the Drivers Classification. However, points are extremely close, with the top 11 drivers separated by just three points ! Biagi, on 21 points, has a one-point lead over second-placed Kumpen/Longin and Wendlinger/Sharp. A further point behind are Vitaphone duo Montanari and Ramos. A further four drivers are on 18 points : Bouchut and Mücke, Deletraz and Hezemans.
In the Teams classification, Vitaphone have an 18-point lead over new second-placed team, Jetalliance. PK Carsport are third, a further two points behind, with All-Inkl.Com and Team Carsport Holland joint fourth.

FOURTH CONSECUTIVE WIN FOR AF CORSE MOTOROLA

After three consecutive wins for Dirk Müller and Toni Vilander, AF Corse conserved its winning ways this weekend, but this time victory went to the nr 51 Ferrari 430 GT2 of Stéphane Ortelli and Gianmaria Bruni. Unlucky in both Silverstone and Bucharest, this might have been double GT champion Ortelli's 15th win in the FIA GT Championship, but it was Bruni's first victory with a roof over his head ! “It’s really important that after Bucharest we didn’t put a foot wrong,” Ortelli said. “I just want to congratulate and dedicate this win to my team mate Gianmaria.”

They were followed by their team-mates Müller and Vilander, despite carrying 78 kg penalty weight, who have conserved their Championship lead. “We were also a bit lucky during the race, we could get all the slip streams and got away with the weight penalty with being slower on the straights, this helped a lot. But with the Michelin tyres, we were like a rocket. The team gave Toni and me a very good car, everything went perfect, no problems at all. A 1-2 finish for AF Corse is perfect,” Dirk Müller said.

Ortelli and Bruni are now lying second. Third place went to Racing Team Edil Cris, with the nr 52 Ferrari of Paolo Ruberti and Damien Pasini. “It’s great to finish on the podium for the team’s home race,” Ruberti commented. “We did a good start, got the first position in the first stint, then we lost a little bit of grip with the car. I think our best position is this one.”

Fourth place went to the nr 74 Ebimotors Porsche of Zani and Busnelli, with the second Racing Team Edil Cris car fifth. Edwards and Machitski finished sixth for Tech9 Motorsport after a strong start. Despite engine problems, Enge and Mullen finished seventh for Scuderia Ecosse, while newcomers Prospeed Competition scored points on their FIA GT debut in eighth.
In the points, AF Corse Motorola has an extremely healthy lead in the Teams classification, with more than twice as many points as second-placed Racing Team Edil Cris. Scuderia Ecosse are third. Müller and Vilander have a 20-point lead over their team-mates Bruni and Ortelli, with Scuderia Ecosse’s Tim Mullen third.

The Ferrari's were competitive in both the Citation Cup and GT2
Courtesy of the FIA GT/DPPI

CLOET STRENGTHENS CITATION CUP LEAD AFTER WIN WITH CASADEI

After three rounds of the Citation Cup, Belgian driver Tom Cloet has claimed three consecutive wins – with three different co-drivers. After Pertti Kuismanen in Silverstone and Gilles Vannelet in Bucharest, he was joined in the nr 18 SRT Corvette by Italian driver Mauro Casadei. Although the car had been trailing behind the Ferrari cars in qualifying and in the early stages of the race, SRT had some luck when the leading car made a mistake. “We might still have been able to make up the difference on the track, but this time luck was on our side,” Cloet said. “ We have clinched the third victory in a row, and have obviously strengthened our position in the championship. Aucott and Macari were second once again and are breathing down our neck. But that makes it all the more exciting...”
Second place in the Citation Cup went to Macari and Aucott in the nr 16 JMB Maserati MC 12, with newcomers PSI third with their Corvette C5, in the hands of Gilles Vannelet and Klaus Engelhorn. Fourth went to Kutemann and Waaijenberg, ahead of Red Racing’s Chrysler Viper of Stepec and Carcone.

G2 GOES TO RED RACING
The sole G2 car this weekend, Red Racing’s Chrysler Viper, finished in 25th position, allowing Thierry Stepec and Sebastien Carcone to win the G2 category. “It was very hot inside the car,” Stepec said. “The good part of today was that we had beautiful weather. To drive with all these people, that we normally watch on TV, but now we have the right to drive with them, it’s an honour, an honour to sit up here with all these good drivers. So far, being first in Monza, it’s a dream come true. Things didn’t go smoothly at all. It was terrible, we had a problem with the clutch, we didn’t have 6th gear after half of the race, so we tried to do the best we could, push the car to the end. That was our aim, and I think we did it very well. “

CLOSING UP THE GT1 MANUFACTURERS CUP
The GT1 Manufacturers Cup is extremely close and interesting this season. Corvette scored the most points in Zhuhai, Maserati dominated in both Silverstone and Bucharest, while Aston Martin took a narrow lead in Monza. This means that currently Maserati leads by nine points ahead of Corvette, with Aston Martin a further 12 points behind and Lamborghini a strong fourth. With up to four cars scoring points at each race, and a large GT1 grid, the competition can only grow closer.
Ferrari, however, has a very strong lead in the GT2 classification, with 101 points ahead of Porsche on 46.

QUOTES
Quotes after the race in Monza

1st in GT1 : Karl Wendlinger - nr 33 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 :
“It can’t come much better than getting pole position and the victory. We had a very good weekend. From the first session on, we were very competitive, and the car was handling very well. The Michelin tyres also gave us very good grip for the whole distance, so we could really play with the tactics as we wanted to. It was perfect; the car was handling very well until the end of the race. The pit stops were very good. We were a little bit off the pace in Zhuhai but we knew why, and then we were a bit unlucky the next two times, we could have already been on the podium in Silverstone or in Bucharest, but we knew that we are competitive and that we could do it. Our boss is very happy for us, and us too. Jetalliance racing is a very well organised racing team; we have a very good atmosphere in the team and this probably the main reason for our success. “

1st in GT1 : Ryan Sharp . - nr 33 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 :
“Karl did a great job to bring the car into the pits in the lead. We decided to do a different strategy to other cars that were in the lead. I had to catch one of the Maseratis, maybe I had a bit of inexperience of endurance races and should have waited to pass at a safer point, but I tried the move and it didn’t work, so we lost a lot of time. But our car was so fantastic for the rest of the race so it didn’t really make a difference. A big thanks to the whole team. GT racing is new to me and Karl’s taught me so much so far this year, and hopefully if I can cut out some of these smaller mistakes maybe I can challenge later on in this season as well. This has been a baptism of fire! I’m getting steadily better and better, I feel comfortable in the car, comfortable with the team, and I’m pretty confident that we can be a tough challenge for the rest of the season. “

2nd in GT1 : Christian Montanari – nr 2 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12 :
“We did really well so far this season. It’s important for me because I am growing in confidence with the car and the team. It’s perfect today. It was a very difficult race because we had a little problem in the pit stop. I think we lost the first position because we lost 10 seconds in the pit stop. But we pushed hard because I really wanted to take the podium. It’s really important for me, for Miguel, for the team, for Michelin. I’m very happy because this is a very nice present for my birthday.”

2nd in GT1 : Miguel Ramos – nr 2 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12:
“I’m quite happy. We’re getting there. I think we’re going step by step, improving. So I think we’ll get first place, I hope, at the next race. I really want to have first place at the next race. I’d like to thank the team, they’ve really done a fantastic job. We were unfortunate on the pit lane with starting our engine, but it only happened once. It has never happened before, but I think we’ll be in good shape for the next race. I’m looking forward to being there, and will try to get another place on the podium. “

3rd in GT1 : Mike Hezemans – nr 5 Carsport Holland Corvette C6R :
“The start was very good. I just took the inside, and I braked late with a lot of grip. But then I wanted to take a gap, down the straight and I was just a bit too late adjusting and to the last point I just braked at the same point, and I just under-steered off. Then for the whole race I was on the limit, and it was just too difficult to keep the pace, the Maseratis are too quick on the straight, and I couldn’t do anything, so he just passed me and that was it. 3rd was the best we could do. It was a very good battle though, but I do think that the other two cars are too fast. We can make up the gap with the braking in the first part, but then it just goes away. I hope something changes for the next race. “

3rd in GT1 : Jean-Denis Deletraz – nr 5 Carsport Holland Corvette C6R :
“It was a really nice fight between us, it was really fair with Michael,[Bartels] and I’ve known him for a very long time. I was sure he would never try to put me off. Because of this, it was possible for us to fight together for 5 or 6 laps. I lost a lot of time at the beginning of my stint because I had problems with the belt and I needed to take off my gloves in the car for two laps to try to fix the problem, and I lost some concentration because of this. I think that we’re in a really good position for the future, we’re really close to the top. I don’t have the new positions yet, but I think we’re really close to the top, which is an important place to be in before Spa. Everyone knows that Spa is the most important race of the season.”

Citation Cup Winners: nr 18 SRT Corvette C5-R

Mauro Casadei: “First of all I wish to thank Mr Lucas Lichtner Hoyer and Stephane Ratel for making this new Citation Cup. And I’ve had the opportunity to drive a fantastic car like this Corvette and I cannot ask for more. I’ve really enjoyed the weekend, fantastic drivers, fantastic weekend sunshine. I’m happy. “

Tom Cloet: “Things are going well. It looks easy but it isn’t. During qualifying we were quite slow compared to the Ferraris. But during the race we worked harder and got to be equal in the lap times, so maybe that’s what made a difference. The traffic wasn’t bad, everybody was experienced and there were no jokers here.”

1st in GT2 : Stephane Ortelli – nr 51 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“First of all, it’s really important that after Bucharest we didn’t put a foot wrong. We also had one of the best cars here on the track. We’ve really been having a hard time this season. During the race I had a big fight with Toni, and Dirk with Gianmaria Bruni, but the three of us, we are used to racing in GT cars. I just want to congratulate and dedicate this win to my team mate Gianmaria. It’s his first season in GT racing, and a first win for him with a roof on top. I’m sure it will be the first of many, this year I hope we will have many many more wins to come. “

1st in GT2 : Gianmaria Bruni – nr 51 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“It’s a great feeling, and winning in Italy makes me very happy. I was a little bit disappointed for the last races, but was is past is past, we’re looking to the future. There are only 6 races left, one being Spa, so we’ll see what we can do for the championship. It was a great challenge with our team-mates, and also with Pasini and Ruberti. I’m very happy to be here and I have to thank the team who did a very good job to give us a perfect race, and we’ve just done the job.”

2nd in GT2 : Dirk Müller – nr 50 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“I wasn’t expecting to be up here on the podium. We knew it was going to be very difficult with 78kg, which is 35 more than our team mates. So, saying what I said yesterday, we were really surprised during qualifying that we could get a good speed over here. We were also a bit lucky during the race, we could get all the slip streams and got away with the weight penalty with being slower on the straights, this helped a lot. But with the Michelin tyres, we were like a rocket. The team gave Toni and me a very good car, everything went perfect, no problems at all. A 1-2 finish for AF Corse is perfect. I felt that it was very sharp in the beginning, if you’re that far in the championship and if you’ve raced in WTCC for a couple of years, I think you have to know how you will drive and how to win championships. So you need to be clever enough not to crash in the beginning, and it was a bit strange to lose so many places, and everything was so sharp in the beginning. I saw so many noses as I was turning into the corner and I decided not to crash the car, and I think in the end it was the smartest way. “

2nd in GT2 : Toni Vilander – nr 50 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“It was a quite easy going race. We didn’t have any major issues. We had the weight penalty and we managed really well since the first practice. I was a bit surprised that our pace was so good, when we were leading some practice sessions and so on. I’m a bit disappointed with my own stint; if I was a little more quick through my stint, it would have been a closer battle between Gimmi and Dirk in the end. Overall I’m happy for the team, 1 and 2 is the best possible result. I’m really happy for our team mates, they had a tough time at the beginning and I think they deserve the win. They’ve been quick and always in the top positions when something has gone wrong. Getting the extra weight is part of the championship. I think, due to the weight there will be some ups and downs, but its part of the game and I think that even being so heavy here, which of one of the quickest tracks, where you feel it probably the most, we were so competitive. So I’m not really concerned about the weight. “

3rd in GT2 : Paolo Ruberti- nr 52 Racing Team Edil Cris Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“It’s a really good result! It’s great to finish on the podium for the team’s home race - the team is based 30 km from here. We did a good start, got the first position in the first stint, then we lost a little bit of grip with the car. I think our best position is this one. The car was good, though it did lose a bit of speed at the end, because the rear wing was a little bit too high up, but the car was good.”

3rd in GT2 : Damien Pasini – nr 52 Racing Team Edil Cris Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“ I’m very happy to be here on the podium now. This weekend was not very easy for us. Only Paolo did a very fast lap in the qualifying, in the last lap. It was terrible. We tried not to change the tyres for the race and it was very difficult towards the end, but we tried, we finished the race. We tried to pass AF Corse, but it was very difficult. I’m very happy to be here, because my example in GT racing is Stephane Ortelli, so I am pleased to be on the podium with him.”

G2
Thierry Stepec – nr 102 Red Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R :
“It was very hot inside the car. The good part of today was that we had beautiful weather. To drive with all these people, that we normally watch on tv, but now we have the right to drive with them, it’s an honour, an honour to sit up here with all these good drivers. So far, being first in Monza, it’s a dream come true. That’s the way life goes, and we have to take the best out of it. For us, it’s a great moment to be here with all of you. Things didn’t go smoothly at all. It was terrible, we had a problem with the clutch, we didn’t have 6th gear after half of the race, so we tried to do the best we could, push the car to the end. That was our aim, and I think we did it very well. “

Sebastien Carcone – nr 102 Red Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R :
“The race for me was very hot, but also very difficult, dealing with some of the problems. But we are very happy to finish the race. I hope I’ll be back for Spa.”

5th in GT1 : Anthony Kumpen – nr 4 PK Carsport
“We could see immediately in the start of the race that we could not fight for the win today. I was 6th at the start, I tried to follow but we just lacked top speed. We were pretty sure that we had to try to maintain that position, which we were able to do. We had the right strategy with one tyre change. It was the best we could do, we didn’t have problems and we maintained position, which was the objective. Now we are one point from the lead, so we are happy, and we have no more penalty weight which is also good.”

8th in GT1 : Andrea Bertolini – nr 11 Scuderia Playteam Sarafree : “It was a difficult weekend. We had 40 kg ballast, which is too much for Monza. We worked hard, and we will be staying here in Monza for tyre testing. It was not easy. I want to really thank all the guys in the team. After the warm-up I heard a little strange noise in the engine, and I asked for the engine to be changed. The guys, in this heat, changed the engine in two hours, which was not easy. It was very impressive. “

10th in GT1 : Jos Menten – nr 8 All-Inkl.com Lamborghini Murciélago :
“Peter Kox started really well then I got in the car. After three laps the coupling was not working and I couldn’t push the pedal. I tried to shift down without the pedal but went in the gravel. I tried to get a good pace, came in and then Peter did an excellent job to recover.”

THE RESULTS
1. Wendlinger/Sharp Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 2hrs 00mins 19.905secs GT1
2. Ramos/Montanari Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 +5.619secs GT1
3. Deletraz/Hezemans Carsport Holland Corvette C6R +8.519secs GT1
4. Bartels/Biagi Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 +15.175secs GT1
5. Kumpen/Longin PK Carsport Corvette C5R +28.294secs GT1

6. Babini/Davies Aston Martin BMS Aston Martin DBR9 +46.509secs GT1
7. Lichtner-Hoyer/Lechner Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 +1min 45.263secs GT1
8. Bertolini/Piccini Scuderia Playteam Sarafree Maserati MC12 +1min 46.347secs GT1
9. Giannoccaro/Guidi Scuderia Playteam Sarafree Maserati MC12 +1 lap GT1
10. Menten/Kox All-Inkl.com Racing Lamborghini Murcielago +1 lap GT1

11. Peter/Hines PSI Experience Corvette C6R +1 lap GT1
12. Toccacelo/Monfardini Aston Martin BMS Aston Martin DBR9 +2 laps GT1
13. Cloet/Casadei SRT Corvette C5R +3 laps GT1 CC
14. Macari/Aucott JMB Racing Maserati MC12 +3 laps GT1 CC
15. Bruni/Ortelli AF Corse Ferrari 430 +3 laps GT2

16. Vilander/Muller AF Corse Ferrari 430 +3 laps GT2
17. Ruberti/Pasini Racing Team Edil Cris Ferrari 430 +3 laps GT2
18. Busnelli/Zani Ebimotors Porsche 997 RSR +4 laps GT2
19. Vannalet/Engelhorn SRT Corvette C5R +4 laps GT1 CC
20. Cressoni/Rugolo Racing Team Edil Cris Ferrari 430 +4 laps GT2

21. Machitski/Edwards Tech 9 Porsche 997 RSR +4 laps GT2
22. Mullen/Enge Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 +4 laps GT2
23. Penders/Lamot BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 RSR +6 laps GT2
24. Waaijenberg/Kutemann JMB Racing Maserati MC12 +6 laps GT1
25. Carcone/Stepec Red Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R +11 laps G2

26. Mullen/Niarchos Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 +20 laps GT2

Not Classified

27. Collard/Malucelli BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 RSR 28 laps completed GT2
28. Mucke/Bouchut All-Inkl.com Racing Lamborghini Murcielago 22 laps completed GT1
29.Case/Kessel Kessel Ferrari 575 Maranello Did Not Start GT1 CC
30. Jakubowski/Labhardt Solution F Ferrari 550 Maranello Did Not Start GT1 CC

CC denotes eligible for Citation Cup
Do you want to write about the sport you love? Well FeedMeSportsCars are looking for volunteer writers. You can get experience, exposure and add to your portfolio.

You can write any length articles from short ‘tidbits’ through to feature length articles. If this interests you, email us at feedmesportscars@yahoo.co.uk!