The Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 Italia No.71 will start tomorrow’s first race of the 2012 season on pole position after a frantic Qualifying session in Monza. Pit lane resembled rush hour as 57 cars squabbled over track time during the hour-long session. Despite heavy rain overnight and during the morning, the track stayed relatively dry for the 60-minute period split into three parts.
It was the Italian Daniel Zampieri who set the fastest time overall – a 1:47.923 – to underline the PRO team’s serious hopes for tomorrow’s three-hour race.
Zampieri, the Ferrari Formula One Academy youngster, and his Italian team-mates Stefano Gattuso and Davide Rigon have been near the top of the time sheets since Friday’s first Free Practice.
Second fastest was Richard Westbrook (GBR) in the No.8 Haribo Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R. Westbrook’s time of 1:48.177 enabled the Haribo PRO-AM entry to muscle in on the top order and be the best of the PRO-AM class.
The Briton shares the driving duties tomorrow with German duo Hans Guido Riegel and Mike Stursberg.
In third overall, was fellow PRO-AM entry Black Bull Swiss Racing’s Ferrari 458 Italia No.64 with the best time of 1:48.266 by Mirko Venturi (ITA). Venturi and fellow-Italians Andrea Invermizzi and Tommaso Maino, who took pole position in 2011, loom as strong contenders for the opening race of 2012.
The Gentleman Trophy class was led by the Ruffier Racing Lamborghini LP520+ No.31. Fabien Thuner (CHE) set a time of 1:50.666. He and French duo George Cabannes and Romain Brandela will start from 41st on the grid.
Valentino Rossi in the Kessel Racing No.46 Ferrari 458 Italia lit up the second session and much to the delight of the exuberant home fans topped the time sheets with a 1:48.962. He and co-driver Alessio Salucci (ITA) will start tomorrow’s race from 10th on the grid.
Rossi, choosing the Blancpain Endurance Series for his first competitive GT outing, is relishing being part of the Monza spectacular, dodging hordes of autograph hunters as he moves from Paddock to garage surrounded by an army of minders.
“In the future if I want to go racing it is better for me in a car than on a bike. I have done rallying but it is more about controlling the car on the slide on the gravel. In GT racing it is about racing lines, breaking and rhythm and I enjoy it a lot,” the nine-times motorcycle world champion said.
“I enjoy sprint races because I have more experience in that but the Blancpain is just right for me at three hours. It is between a sprint race and an endurance race. The field of cars is impressive and the driver line-up very strong.
“Being in the top 10 in qualifying is a great result and being under 1:49 is a good lap time at Monza. Tomorrow it will be important to get the rhythm – one lap is one lap but three hours is very different.”
The Boutsen-Guinon Racing No.14 was the fastest of the McLarens. The MP4-12C shared by Edouard Mondron (BEL), Jack Clarke (GBR) and Nico Verdonck secured 14th place overall.
There were some notable incidents in a Qualifying session peppered with red flags.
Among them was the No.23 United Autosports McLaren MP4-12C which was beached by Mark Patterson (USA) at the chicane before the first Lesmo. Patterson, along with Zak Brown (USA) and Mark Blundell (GBR) eventually finished 47th fastest in 1:51.698.
Qualifying was ended for the No.4 Marc VDS Racing BMW Z4 in Q1 when Bert Longin (BEL) struck the barrier at the second chicane resulting in extensive damage to the front end of the car. The Belgian entry will start the race from the lowly position of 52nd.
The second session was red flagged three minutes in after the No.42 Sport Garage Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Emmett O’Brien (IRL) went wide and struck the barrier halfway round Ascari. Proceedings were halted while the car was removed and the tyre barrier put back into place. The French entry will line up in 33rd tomorrow.
The No.66 Vita4One Racing Team BMW Z4 came to grief and returned to the pit lane after a spell in the gravel bringing out a second red flag but still managed 24th.
Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) in the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8 LMS No.2 stopped as the clock wound down to end the session. The car was just outside the top 10 at the time and eventually finished 37th.
All is now set for tomorrow’s race which starts at 14:15 local time (+2 UTC/GMT). It promises to be a gripping three hours.
What the drivers said …
Daniel Zampieri (ITA), Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 Italia No.71 PRO (1st overall)
“It was difficult to find a gap in the traffic as we have nearly 60 cars on track, it was really hard to find a good place and a good gap.
“I did just two fast laps, and I tried to push, to reach the best time, and eventually it came. I have to thank Kessel Racing and my team-mates Davide (Rigon) (ITA) and Stefano (Gattuso) (ITA).”
Richard Westbrook (GBR), Haribo Racing Team Porsche 997 GT3 R No.8 PRO (2nd overall)
“The race is going to be very tough with 57 cars and even though it is a three-hour endurance race, Qualifying is quite important because you do not want to be starting at the back of the pack for the first corner, that is for sure.
“We wanted to put in a strong performance and the boys did a great job. You’ve got to fight for some space on the out-lap, and the out-lap can be very aggressive just trying to find and make some space for yourself.
“The main issue in that session was the rain in the last corner. I felt that there was a little bit more in the car but I never quite got it together, due to the conditions, so I am happy to be second.”
Mirko Venturi (ITA), Black Bull Swiss Racing Ferrari 458 Italia No.64 PRO (3rd overall)
“We had an aim to get into the top 20 but now we are third among great teams, and we are very happy with what we have achieved. Thanks very much to Kessel Racing who have worked very hard. Now we have to focus on the race tomorrow where we hope to get a good result.”
Fabien Thuner (CHE), Ruffier Racing Lamborghini LP 520+ No.31 (1st Gentlemen Trophy Class)
“I only knew I was driving here this weekend on Thursday night. I came straight from Barcelona and it was the first time I had seen the car, I did only six laps yesterday, so it was OK for me to do the pole but my team-mates are very happy and aiming for the Gentlemen trophy again.”
Yelmer Buurman (NLD), Vita4One Racing Team BMW Z4 No.66 PRO (24th overall)
“It actually felt quite good in the car, I thought it was a decent lap time. I expected to be a little further forward but I think this is not the track for the BMW, the car is good in the corners but not on these long straights.
“When you have traffic it is a big problem but you have to manage it well and you have to try to find a gap. The whole of the final corner was a little slippery and you have to manage that sort of thing.”
Gregoire Demoustier (FRA), ART Grand Prix McLaren MP4-12C No.12 PRO-AM (29th overall)
“It was pretty much impossible to get a clear lap, a lot of difference of speed between some drivers, the only way to get a lap was to have some luck but I didn’t get that at all, we missed out on some luck, but found some red flags.
“I think that our position (29th overall) is a little low to start the race. I think it will be difficult to avoid any contact in turn one from our position in the pack.”
Rob Bell (GBR), Gulf Racing UK McLaren MP4-12C No.9 PRO-AM (34th overall)
“It was a frustrating session with the red flag interruptions but you’ve got to deal with it haven’t you? We probably got out of it as much as we could have expected. I’m disappointed for being where we are on the grid, as you always want to be at the top, but considering the little amount of testing we’ve had, and the some of the hitches during those tests, it was okay and today gives us something to build on.”
Source : Blancpain Endurance Series