The Carsport Holland Team celebrates a last hour win
Courtesy of the FIA GT/DPPI
GT1
Joy for Hezemans, Deletraz, Fässler and Gollin at Spa
The nr 5 Carsport Holland Corvette C6R, shared by Jean-Denis Deletraz, Mike Hezemans, Marcel Fässler and Fabrizio Gollin, run with technical assistance from Phoenix Racing, claimed a fine win at Spa today.
The team ran a faultless race, and the Corvette C6-R was perfectly placed to make the most of the situation when the leading Vitaphone Maserati landed in the gravel at the end of the 23rd hour. With Marcel Fässler of Switzerland putting in a majestic performance in the treacherous conditions, the nr 5 Corvette took the chequered flag one minute and 17 seconds ahead of the recovering Vitaphone Maserati.
“Last year we had an incredible race; we stayed in front for around 22 hours, but then we lost the race. This year we came to get our revenge, and we decided to push right from the beginning. Marcel Fässler did a tremendous job this time, especially during the rain. We won, it is beautiful,” Jean-Denis Deletraz explained.
2007 turned into almost a mirror reflection of the epic 2006 battle, with the only difference being that this time, the Vitaphone Maserati of Bartels, Biagi, Van de Poele and Lamy had to be content with second. However, the German team is still in the lead in both the Team and Drivers classifications, with Biagi now enjoying a lead of nine points over Deletraz and Hezemans, now in second.
“This race was unbelievable, we were all so close, it was a fantastic show,” Bartels said afterwards. “GT races are fascinating, the cars are great to look at, and this year the competition was stronger than ever before, so that is why we tried to be as prepared as we could. We should be happy with this second position; victory is one thing, but to score points is even more important for the Championship.”
GT2
BMS Scuderia Italia wins - all Porsche podium in GT2
This time last year, the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR had a difficult first race, running in the G2 category at Spa. Although it won the class, it also had more than its fair share of teething troubles. The car has definitely grown up, and proved its potential by claiming its first FIA GT2 victory and an all-Porsche one-two-three. BMS Scuderia Italia’s line-up of Collard, Malucelli and Lieb put in a faultless performance, scoring the full 20 points and closing to within two points of AF Corse Motorola’s Müller and Vilander.
“It’s a really good result, especially for the team, and for Porsche. To have three Porsches in the first three is a really good result,” Collard said. “It is also good for us and for the team, as we’re coming back up in the championship. We were really pleased that the car had no problems at all during the race. I don’t really have much to say, because everything just went so well!”
Second was the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche of Lietz, Long and Narac, while third went to Tech9 Motorsport and the line-up of regular drivers Edwards and Machinski, along with former FIA GT Champion Sascha Maassen.
“I’m really really happy,” 2006 FIA GT3 Champion Sean Edwards said. “Leo did a great job, the team did not make any mistakes, and Sascha gave us plenty of experience. We did not have any problems, the Porsche was perfect.”
Fourth went to another Porsche, the Ebimotors car of Zani, Busnelli, Pompidou and Ceccato. Racing Team Edil Cris, in its first 24 Hours, was fifth and the first of the Ferrari 430 GT2 cars. They finished just ahead of the nr 63 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari, with FIA GT newcomers Easy Race and JWA taking the final points.
It was a miserable race for five-times winners AF Corse, who lost their first car early on, after an accident punctured the radiator and caused the engine to overheat. The second car went out violently at the impressive Radillon corner. The nr 62 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari also crashed, this time at Blanchimont.
G2
G&A Mosler wins G2
G&A Racing’s Mosler MT 900R of Kenis, De Keersmaecker, Smets and Mattheus was victorious in G2 – the first Mosler G2 win in the FIA GT since 2005 ! “At the start of the race, we already had a little accident, but for the rest of the race, the car did a terrific job, we had no problems and everything went very well. The Mosler is already a very good car, and the car doesn’t need much fuel either, and we also need less pit stops,” Guido Kenis explained. Initially the class was led by the updated Gillet Vertigo, which unfortunately crashed heavily after 64 laps. The nr 103 Gravity Racing Mosler also led for some time, but dropped back with problems. The G&A car survived the sometimes treacherous conditions to cross the line in 19th position.
It was a 1-2-3 for Porsche in the G3 catagory
Courtesy of the FIA GT/DPPI
G3
Mühlner Motorsport victorious in G3
Mühlner Motorsport has been a frequent category winner at Spa, and this year was no exception. The team’s nr 124 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of van Splunteren, Khan, Frederiks and Gosse claimed the win, finishing in 14th position overall, after a close battle with the nr 174 Sport Garage Ferrari, which had started from pole. After the nr 174 retired, the nr 124 went on to win the category. “We’re very happy that we won our class,” said Paul van Splunteren. “The battle with the Ferrari for the first 20 hours was fantastic. It was sad when he crashed out because we had been basically fighting with them for the whole event, it was fantastic to have this battle and to really race someone; after they were gone, we just had to survive the rain.”
Coupe du Roi
JMB Racing wins the Coupe du Roi
One team, three cars, six drivers – and only one car on the track at the time, handing over to the next car in the pits. This was the principal behind the innovative Coupe du Roi formula at Spa, designed to suit the three-car FIA GT3 European Championship teams. S-Berg and JMB Racing competed, and it was the JMB Racing Ferrari team which came out victorious. “I enjoyed the race very much,” said one of JMB’s six drivers, Peter Kutemann of the Netherlands. “I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for gentlemen drivers to share cars with six people, it makes a 24 hour race like this attainable for people with a smaller budget, and I think that’s what we all want. Finishing this race was a great thing, but with a professional team like JMB and the good drivers that we had, it was not that difficult.“
The Results
1. Deletraz/Hezemans/Gollin/Fassler Carsport Holland Corvette C6-R 532 laps GT1
2. Bartels/Biagi/van de Poele/Lamy Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 532 laps GT1
3. Kumpen/Longin/Mollekens/Bouvy Peka Racing Corvette C5.R 529 laps GT1
4. Ramos/Montanari/Lemeret/Bobbi Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 529 laps GT1
5. Bertolini/Piccini/De Simone/Guidi Scuderia Playteam Sarafree Maserati MC12 527 laps GT1
6. Vosse/Franchi/Beretta/Gavin Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6-R 521 laps GT1
7. Macari/Aucott/Peter/Franchitti JMB Racing Maserati MC12 515 laps GT1
8. Collard/Malucelli/Lieb BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 511 laps GT2
9. Lietz/Long/Narac IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 507 laps GT2
10. Coens/Duez/Soulet/van Bellingen Selleslagh Racing Team Corvette C5.R 502 laps GT1
11. Edwards/Machitski/Maassen Tech 9 Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 501 laps GT2
12. Busnelli/Zani/Pompidou/Ceccato Ebimotors Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 495 laps GT2
13. Ruberti/Pasini/Cressoni/TBA Racing Team Edit Cris Ferrari 430 483 laps GT2
14. van Splunteren/Khan/Frederiks/van Riet Muehlner Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 475 laps G3
15. Niarchos/Kirkaldy/Sugden Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 474 laps GT2
16. Tenchini/Basso/Plati/McCormick Easy Race Ferrari 430 474 laps GT2
17. Kelders/Kerkhove/Greisch/Lefort Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 459 laps G3
18. Giannoccaro/Busnelli/Muller/Lambert Scuderia Playteam Sarafree Maserati MC12 458 laps GT1
19. Kenis/De Keersmaecker/Smets/Mattheus G&A Racing Mosler MT900R 455 laps G2
20. Rauturaeu/Lemonnier/Herbert/Lahaye Emeraude Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 453 laps G3
21. Daniels/Cox/Camathias James Watt Automotive Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 450 laps GT2
22. Radermecker/Dermont/Muytjens/Tung Gravity International Mosler MT900 448 laps G2
23. Kutemann/Haane/Comar/Rambeaud/Ballay JMB Racing Ferrari 430 GT3 439 laps C.du Roi #
24. Baron/Pasquali/Lancorpel Emeraude Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 437 laps G3
25. Broodcooren/Grouwels/Heyer/Thomas GS Motorsport Dodge Viper 411 laps G3
26. Ortlieb/Pfefferkorn/Sagmeister/Zurnstein G Private Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 399 laps G3
27. Dragun/Warth/Peham/Schmitter G Private Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 382 laps G3
28. Lesoudier/Jakubowski/Vannelet Sport Garage Ferrari 430 GT3 381 laps G3
29. de Pauw/van den Hove/De Radigues/Belmondo JMB Racing Ferrari 430 369 laps GT2
30. Bruni/Ortelli/Aguas AF Corse Ferrari 430 365 laps GT2
31. Brandela/Carcone/Beroujon/Stepec Sport Garage Ferrari 430 GT3 354 laps G3
32. Noziere/Brouard/Roussaud/Ferreira Champion Racing Porsche 996 GT3 Cup 348 laps G2
33. Ashburn/Rich/Lang/Hines Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 341 laps G3
Not Classified:
34. Babini/Davies/Mondini/Alessi Aston Martin Racing BMS Aston Martin DBR9 330 laps GT1
35. Menten/Kox/Bleekemolen All-Inkl.com Racing Lamborghini Murcielago 268 laps GT1
36. Charouz/Jirik/Kuzminykh/Leclerc/Urban S-Berg Racing Lamborghini Gallardo 232 laps C.du Roi #
37. Wendlinger/Sharp/Lichtner-Hoyer/Lechner JetAlliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 158 laps GT1
38. Chaillet/Nef/Geoffroy Signa Motorsport Dodge Viper 153 laps G3
39. Mullen/Enge/Janis/Kane Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 136 laps GT2
40. Bouchut/Mucke/Stippler All-Inkl.com Racing Lamborghini Murcielago 83 laps GT1
41. Leinders/Kuppens/Bouvy Belgian Racing Gillet Vertigo 64 laps G2
42. de Castro/Premoli/Barbaro AB Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3 Cup 63 laps G2
43. Vilander/Muller/Salo AF Corse Ferrari 430 58 laps GT2
44. Penders/Lamot/Couwberghs/Duval Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 57 laps GT2
45. Guiod/Mitieus/Levy/Levy Pilotage Passion Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 45 laps G3
46. Toccacelo/Frassinetti/Lancieri/Ragazzi Aston Martin Racing BMS Aston Martin DBR9 13 laps GT1