The Vitaphone Maserati took a 1-2 on the grid
Courtesy of the FIA GT/DPPI
A beautiful day in the Czech Republic was crowned by a fast, exciting and extremely close qualifying session, which saw Michael Bartels lead a Vitaphone one-two in GT1, while Dirk Müller, currently leading the GT2 Driver classification, set the fastest time in GT2 to take his second pole of the season. The race will start at 13:15 tomorrow afternoon, when the Brno circuit, which has hosted so many great FIA GT races over the past seven years, should see yet another epic race around this 5.403 km track.
The results remain provisional pending technical scrutineering
BARTELS LEADS VITAPHONE ONE-TWO IN GT1 QUALIFYING
With Vitaphone Racing dominating the front row of the grid for tomorrow's eighth round of the 2007 FIA GT Championship, Michael Bartels will start from pole. The German driver set a lap of 1:54.064 in his nr 1 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12, six hundredths ahead of his team-mate Christian Montanari. This is Bartels' fifth FIA GT career pole, and his first of 2007, having missed a number of rounds due to surgery. “I think that if you are on pole position you have not done that much wrong, and I am very happy with this performance, especially with one and two for Vitaphone Racing Team,” he said. “I have to say thank you to Michelin. It was a great pleasure to drive this set of tyres in qualifying today, it was one of most positive experiences in qualifying with such a fantastic car in combination with the tyres.”
An exceptionally close qualifying session saw the top five cars within just over a second - including four different makes. The two Maserati MC12s were followed by the nr 33 Aston Martin DBR9 which was victorious in Adria, Karl Wendlinger setting a time of 1:54.827. “I was very happy with my qualifying lap, there was no traffic, no big mistakes, the car was good, and I think the set-up we found in free practice allows us to be very consistent in tomorrow’s race, which is very important at this track Fourth was Mike Hezemans, who left his flying lap until right at the very end of the session, setting a time of 1:55.053 in his Carsport Holland Corvette C6R. Fifth was Peter Kox in the Reiter Lamborghini Murciélago, followed by the two Scuderia Playteam Sarafree Maserati MC 12 cars.
MULLER GIVES AF CORSE MOTOROLA ITS THIRD POLE OF THE SEASON
In GT2, Dirk Müller set the best lap in his nr 50 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2, with a time of 2:00.614. This is his second pole of the season, after Zhuhai. “It is really just a matter of prestige to get pole position, as you get the points on Sunday, not on Saturday,” Dirk commented. “However, I am very happy for the whole team”.
Second place went to Tim Mullen, driving the nr 62 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 GT2. Tim claimed pole last year in Brno - however, conditions are much faster this year, as his 2006 pole was of 2:02.104. “It’s been a very tough season so far for the team,” he said. “I’d like to thank them for a giving me a great car for qualifying. I’d also like to thank Pirelli, we worked very hard with them in the middle of the season.”
Third place on tomorrow's GT2 grid will go to the second AF Corse Motorola car, Gianmaria Bruni having qualified the car. The nr 59 Advanced Engineering Ferrari was fourth on its FIA GT debut, with Rui Aguas at the wheel. Edil Cris’s nr 52 Ferrari was fifth, driven by Paolo Ruberti. Sixth went to Andrew Kirkaldy in the second Scuderia Ecosse car. The circuit appeared to suit the Ferrari cars today, with the leading Porsche in seventh position, the nr 97 BMS Scuderia Italia car, in the hands of Matteo Malucelli. The nr 53 Racing Team Edil Cris car did not take part in qualifying, due to gearbox problems, and will start from the pit lane tomorrow.
FERTE ON CITATION CUP POLE FOR JMB RACING
Alain Ferté set the best time in the Citation Cup, in the nr 16 Maserati MC 12 he shares with Ben Aucott, ahead of the team's second car, in the hands of Peter Kutemann, and the nr 18 SRT Corvette C5R. “I drove here a number of years ago – I had to get my bearings again this morning, but it’s going well. The car is easy to drive. I am really enjoying being in the Championship – I’m like a kid again.”
The ARC Bratislava team brought a welcome return to the FIA GT for Saleen
Courtesy of the FIA GT/DPPI
G2 AND G3 : ARC BRATISLAVA AND G-PRIVATE RACING
In G2, Miro Konopka led the class in his ARC Bratislava Saleen S7, while the best time in G3 was set by Jorg Peham in the nr 178 G Private Racing Porsche 997 Cup. “This is our first time in the FIA GT Championship after the Total 24 Hours of Spa,” Peham explained. “We had some problems in free practice but now everything is OK. Qualifying was quite good, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow and hope everything will go like today. It’s quite busy out there, but we have good mirrors and we hope not to get in there way !”
A CAKE FOR MIKE HEZEMANS : 100 FIA GT RACES
Adria was Mike Hezemans’ 100th race in the FIA GT Championship, and in Brno, to celebrate, he was presented with a cake. Over the past 11 seasons, the 38-year old from the Netherlands has rarely missed a race, and has accumulated some amazing statistics over the years. He has driven eleven different makes and models of cars, for many different teams, and has scored points every year except for 1997. Furthermore, Mike figures at, or near, the top of most of the statistics tables for the Championship. He has scored 11 overall pole positions - a record - and also has been on the overall podium a total of 32 times. Taking all classes into account, he is second only to Stéphane Ortelli, and is tied with Ortelli and Christophe Bouchut in the total number of poles (all classes). In terms of victories, Mike has won ten races, all in GT or GT1, starting in Brno 2000, wiht the most recent win at the Total 24 Hours of Spa. However, the title has so far eluded him ... Congratulations, Mike - we wish you another 100 races in the FIA GT Championship !
QUOTES
GT1 pole position : Michael Bartels – nr 1 Vitaphone Racing Team :
“I think that if you are on pole position you have not done that much wrong, and I am very happy with this performance, especially with one and two for Vitaphone Racing Team. For the last two years Brno has not been so lucky for me – I won the race in 2004 with Uwe Alzen in the Saleen S7, which was really a dramatic race, as at one stage we were only on three tyres. We pitted, got the fourth tyre, and still won the race ! So I think the base for tomorrow’s race, starting from pole is excellent, we also worked quite hard during the free practices on the race set up and I think we can be quite positive for the race tomorrow. But that will be a different story, because strategy and tactics for the race, which tyres you choose and how long you do your stints will be for sure different from one single lap in qualifying. But I have to say thank you to Michelin. It was a great pleasure to drive this set of tyres in qualifying today, it was one of most positive experiences in qualifying with such a fantastic car in combination with the tyres.”
2nd in GT1 : Christian Montanari – nr 2 Vitaphone Racing Team :
“I think it was a good qualifying session today. I lost the pole position for 6 hundredths of a second, but I am very happy for the team, to be first and second. I think it is very important for Vitaphone to have the front row. We worked a lot this morning in the second free practice, as we lost the first session due to a little problem. We concentrated hard in the second, and pushed a lot with the new tyres this morning and in qualifying. Thank you to the team and to Michelin, as we have fantastic tyres again.”
3rd in GT1 : Karl Wendlinger – nr 33 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 :
“The weekend is very good so far. We have some weight in the car but some others do as well, so I don’t think there is a big difference between the cars. I was very happy with my qualifying lap, there was no traffic, no big mistakes, the car was good, and I think the set-up we found in free practice allows us to be very consistent in tomorrow’s race, which is very important at this track.”
1st in GT2 : Dirk Müller – nr 50 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2 :
„I think it’s very nice for the team to be back on pole position. We knew that the Pirelli tyres might be a bit better than us. It is really just a matter of prestige to get pole position, as you get the points on Sunday, not on Saturday, but I am very happy for the whole team, especially after what happened in qualifying in Adria. It’s good to be back on pole position. I like the circuit – I first raced here in single-seaters, then I raced here in touring cars, and we tested a lot with BMW. I’ve won a lot of races here, and I’d like to have one more for tomorrow. I’d also like to thank the team, as we started the race in Adria, by saving one set of tyres for free practice here. I think that was a big advantage.
2nd in GT2 : Tim Mullen – nr 62 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 GT2 :
„It’s been a very tough season so far for the team, and I’d like to thank them for a giving me a great car for qualifying. It was a good lap. I’d like to thank Pirelli, we worked very hard with them in the middle of the season. We used the hard tyre we are using this weekend at Spa; it was very good at Spa but unfortunately the car crashed out. We thought it would be too hard for Adria, but decided to come here this weekend with nothing but the hard tyre, and so far this weekend it’s been really fast. The team needs a bit of a boost, and hopefully we’ll get a good run tomorrow.”
3rd in GT2 : Gianmaria Bruni – nr 51 AF Corse Motorola Ferrari 430 GT2 :
“It was quite a good qualifying lap, except that there was dust in the first corners, after a Porsche went out. I’m looking forward to the race – it’s going to be fun.”
Citation Cup pole position – Alain Ferté – nr 16 JMB Racing Maserati MC 12 :
« It is good to be back in the Maserati MC 12 at a circuit I know. I drove here a number of years ago – I had to get my bearings again this morning, but it’s going well. The car is going well, it’s easy to drive. In qualifying, I was going for my flying lap and I let some GT1 cars pass me, going on the outside in the second corner so I picked up dirt on my tyres. But we did a good time, Ben is happy in the car, and tomorrow we’ll see how the race goes. I am really enjoying being in the Championship – I’m like a kid again.”
G3 : Jörg Peham – nr 178 G Private Racing Porsche 997 Cup :
“This is our first time after the Total 24 Hours of Spa. We had some problems in free practice but now everything is OK. Qualifying was quite good, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow and hope everything will go like today. It’s quite busy out there, but we have good mirrors and we hope not to get in there way !”
THE GRID
1 1 Vitaphone Racing Team GER Michael Bartels GER Maserati MC 12 GT1
2 2 Vitaphone Racing Team GER Christian Montanari RSM Maserati MC 12 GT1
3 33 Jetalliance Racing AUT Karl Wendlinger AUT Aston Martin DB9 GT1
4 5 Team Carsport Holland NED Mike Hezemans NED Corvette Z06 GT1
5 28 Reiter Lamborghini GER Peter Kox NED Lamborghini Murciélago GT1
6 11 Scuderia Playteam Sarafree ITA Andrea Bertolini ITA Maserati MC 12 GT1
7 12 Scuderia Playteam Sarafree ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi ITA Maserati MC 12 GT1
8 4 PekaRacing nv BEL Anthony Kumpen BEL Corvette C5R GT1
9 23 Aston Martin Racing BMS ITA Jamie Davies GBR Aston Martin DB9 GT1
10 36 Jetalliance Racing AUT Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer AUT Aston Martin DB9 GT1
11 7 All-Inkl.com Racing GER Stefan Mücke GER Lamborghini Murciélago GT1
12 22 Aston Martin Racing BMS ITA Enrico Toccacelo ITA Aston Martin DB9 GT1
13 16 JMB Racing MON Alain Ferté FRA Maserati MC 12 GT1
14 13 Rbimmo-Racing Team AUT Tomas Enge CZE Saleen SR7 GT1
15 50 AF Corse Motorola ITA Dirk Müller GER Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2
16 62 Scuderia Ecosse GBR Tim Mullen GBR Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2
17 51 AF Corse Motorola ITA Gianmaria Bruni ITA Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2
18 15 JMB Racing MON Peter Kutemann NED Maserati MC 12 GT1
19 59 Advanced Engineering ITA Rui Aguas POR Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2
20 18 Selleslagh Racing Team BEL Tom Cloet BEL Corvette C5R GT1
21 52 Racing Team Edil Cris ITA Paolo Ruberti ITA Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2
22 63 Scuderia Ecosse GBR Andrew Kirkaldy GBR Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2
23 108 ARC Bratislava SLO Miro Konopka SLO Saleen SR7 G2
24 97 BMS Scuderia Italia ITA Matteo Malucelli ITA Porsche 997 GT3 RSR GT2
25 74 Ebimotors ITA Marcello Zani ITA Porsche 997 GT3 RSR GT2
26 101 Belgian Racing BEL Bas Leinders BEL Gillet
Vertigo G2
27 99 Tech9 Motorsport GBR Leo Machtski RUS Porsche 997 GT3 RSR GT2
28 177 G Private racing GER Otto Dragoun AUT Porsche 997 CUP G3
29 178 G Private racing GER Jörg Peham AUT Porsche 997 CUP G3
99 53 Racing Team Edil Cris ITA Matteo Cressoni ITA Ferrari 430 GT2 GT2