SRT take a deserved win
FIRST VICTORY FOR SRT; BOUCHUT AND MAASSEN LEAD OVERALL
The second round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship saw victory go to Belgian team SRT, with their Corvette C6-R. Second in qualifying in the wet, triple FIA GT Champion Christophe Bouchut and his team-mate Xavier Maassen, from the Netherlands, took a fine win in Monza today.
The conditions finally improved, meaning a dry race when practice and qualifying had been in the wet, giving some problems with set-up for some. However, Bouchut and Maassen put in a fine performance, following pole-man Alex Müller in the Jetalliance Aston Martin in the first stint, then taking the lead after the driver changes and maintaining that position until the end of the race. This first victory for SRT and young rookie Maassen is also Bouchut’s 14th win in the Championship, his eighth overall victory, in four different cars.
After Vitaphone finished second in Silverstone with Bertolini and Bartels, it was the turn of the team’s second Maserati MC 12 to claim a podium finish today. Miguel Ramos, already second in Monza in 2007, gave a repeat performance, while newcomer Xandi Negrão put in a fine race to bring the car home in second place.
Simonsen and Peter, in the nr 10 Gigawave Aston Martin DBR9, finished third, just as they did in Silverstone. However, the circumstances were quite different, as in the first round they had been defending the lead before the safety car saw them finish third, while today a fine drive saw the duo recover from an early off-track excursion, while fighting in the top group, in order to take the podium.
With three different makes in the top three, fourth place was taken by the nr 6 Phoenix Racing Corvette of Gollin and Hezemans; the sister car of Deletraz and Fässler spun out after an incident with the nr 36 Jetalliance Aston Martin, which had started from pole and led for much of the first hour. Bertolini and Bartels were fifth, having suffered a puncture after recovering quickly from their 16th starting position on the grid.
The leading Saleen S7R was the PK Carsport car of Kumpen and Longin, who were delighted with the improved performance. Starting right at the back after a first-lap problem in the wet qualifying session, they recovered well to finish sixth. The Larbre Competition Saleen also finished in the points, Vosse and Franchi finishing eighth on a very good day for Belgium.
Last year’s Monza winners, Wendlinger and Sharp, started from the back of the grid after a tyre failure in qualifying. They climbed up to fourth after a fine performance, but in the final pit stop, the ECU unit failed and the car would not restart. They lost three minutes, dropping back and finishing 7th.
In the points, Bouchut and Maassen are now in the lead, with 15 points. Six drivers are tied on 12 points : Wendlinger/Sharp, Bertolini/Bartels and Peter/Simonsen. In the Teams classification, Vitaphone now have a seven-point lead over Jetalliance.
Scuderia Ecosse racing through the Italian trees
DOUBLE WIN FOR AF CORSE - GT2 RESULTS PROVISIONAL AFTER PROSPEED EXCLUDED
It looked as if it was a perfect day for Belgium today, with Prospeed Competition crossing the line in first position with the nr 61 Porsche 997 GT3 RSR of Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook. The Porsche was followed by the two AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT2 cars, Silverstone winners Bruni and Vilander ahead of Biagi and Montanari – the two former GT1 drivers claiming their first podium in GT2.
However, the Porsche was later excluded due to a pitlane infringement. The team has appealed and the GT2 results remain provisional pending that appeal.
Provisionally, therefore, AF Corse claimed its first double of the year, to increase their lead in the GT2 Teams and Drivers classifications.
The nr 62 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 GT2 moved up to provisional third to take their first points of the season, followed by the two BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari cars. The two CR Scuderia cars came in sixth and seventh, with Argentine drivers Russo and Perez Companc claiming their first point for Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team.
BELGIAN RACING WINS G2
The Belgian theme continued in G2, with the nr 101 Gillet Vertigo being the only car in that class to be classified. The nr 111 ARC Bratislava Saleen S7R, which had a big lead in the class, had a fuel problem, while the two Mosler MT900R cars entered by GTO Charouz failed to finish.
AT RACING DO THE DOUBLE IN CITATION CUP
Austrian team AT Racing claimed its second successive Citation Cup victory today, with Wolfgang Kaufmann and Aliaksandr Talkanitsa finishing 18th overall in the Corvette C5-R.
The Gillet raced well and took the G2 class
RESULTS
1. 3 GT1 Bouchut, Maassen Corvette Z06 66 190.10
2. 2 GT1 Negrao, Ramos Maserati MC 12 66 24.552
3. 10 GT1 Simonsen, Peter Aston Martin DB9 66 52.567
4. 6 GT1 Gollin, Hezemans Corvette Z06 66 54.245
5. 1 GT1 Bertolini, Bartels Maserati MC 12 66 1:14.192
6. 4 GT1 Kumpen, Longin Saleen S7 65 1 lap
7. 33 GT1 Wendlinger, Sharp Aston Martin DB9 65 1 lap
8. 7 GT1 Franchi, Vosse Saleen S7 65 1 lap
9. 15 GT1 Daoudi, Aucott Maserati MC 12 64 2 laps
10. 61 GT2 Westbrook, Collard Porsche 911 GT3 RS 64 2 laps *** Disqualified, under appeal
11. 50 GT2 Vilander, Bruni Ferrari F430 64 2 laps
12. 51 GT2 Montanari, Biagi Ferrari F430 64 2 laps
13. 62 GT2 Babini, Davies Ferrari F430 64 2 laps
14. 37 GT1 Tuero, Mazzacane Ferrari 550 Maranello 64 2 laps
15. 77 GT2 Ruberti, Malucelli Ferrari F430 63 3 laps
16. 78 GT2 Rigon, Camathias Ferrari F430 63 3 laps
17. 56 GT2 Kirkaldy, Bell Ferrari F430 63 3 laps
18. 55 GT2 Mullen, Sugden Ferrari F430 63 3 laps
19. 12 GT1 Kaufmann, Talkanitsa Corvette C5-R 63 3 laps
20. 95 GT2 Russo, Perez Companc Ferrari F430 63 3 laps
21. 57 GT2 Del Monte, Moser Ferrari F430 63 3 laps
22. 60 GT2 Forsten, Palttala Porsche 911 GT3 RS 61 5 laps
23. 59 GT2 Williams, Ashburn Porsche 911 GT3 RS 61 5 laps
24. 101 G2 Kuppens, Leinders Gillet Vertigo 61 5 laps
25. 99 GT2 Coggiola, Coggiola, Coggiola Porsche 911 GT3 RS 61 5 laps
26. 8 GT1 Kox, Rusinov Lamborghini Murcielago 42 24 laps
27. 36 GT1 Muller, Lichtner-Hoyer Aston Martin DB9 41 25 laps
28. 5 GT1 Fassler, Deletraz Corvette Z06 41 25 laps
29. 111 G2 Edwards, Konopka Saleen S7 26 40 laps
30. 103 G2 Lacko, Jirasek Mosler MT 900 26 40 laps
31. 13 GT1 Piccini, Menten Saleen S7 7 59 laps
32. 22 GT1 Simoncini, Strada, Morini Chrysler Viper GTS R 7 59 laps
33. 104 G2 Heyer, Vojtech Mosler MT 900 4 62 laps