The sun shone on the Paul Ricard HTTT today for the return to international competition of this historic circuit. The teams and drivers in the two-hour race put on a fine battle, to the delight of the numerous spectators on the new grandstands and viewing areas. Sangari Team Brazil claimed their first win – the first for a Brazilian team in the FIA GT Championship, while second for Vitaphone Racing Team was enough to secure the 2009 GT1 Teams Championship. In GT2, AF Corse took their fourth win of the season, the third for Bruni and Vilander, to secure the GT2 Teams title. As for the drivers titles, the fight goes on to the final round in Zolder … The results remain provisional pending fuel analysis tests.
BRAZIL VICTORIOUS !
The seventh and penultimate round of the 2009 FIA GT Championship saw Sangari Team Brazil’s nr 8 Corvette Z06 of Bernoldi and Streit take their first victory. This was both the first time the Brazilian flag has flown over the podium, and Enrique Bernoldi’s first race win since 2004.
Generally considered to be a Corvette circuit, the Sangari car had been strong throughout the weekend, setting the best time in free practice, pre-qualifying and qualifying. However, Bernoldi started sixth on the grid after a penalty; he recovered strongly and after a fine battle with Alex Müller – a replay of the Algarve – he took the lead on lap 13 and pulled away. A fine performance from Streit maintained the gap, before Bernoldi completed the task, without being seriously threatened. “Roberto did an amazing job; we couldn’t have won here without him,” Bernoldi said afterwards. “As we’ve seen in the last races, if both drivers don’t drive well, you don’t win. Here, everything went perfectly. The team did a good job and the car was good. I’m very happy for the team and for myself; it’s been a while since I’ve won a race, it means a lot to me. The team did a fantastic job and they deserve it. I’m very happy.”
The nr 8 Sangari Team Brazil car also completed two races this weekend in the FFSA French GT Championship, raced by DKR Engineering for Championship contenders Eric Debard and Olivier Panis, meaning an amazing job for Kendy Jenclaes’ team, who had to change the configuration of the car between sessions. Luc Alphand Aventures and SRT were also in the same situation, meaning a busy weekend for the teams.
15 seconds behind the winners, the nr 2 Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC 12 of Müller and Ramos took their second consecutive podium after third in the Algarve – a good result considering that the circuit was not considered to be a Maserati track. Müller led convincingly from pole, and the nr 2 car maintained second behind the Sangari Corvette for the rest of the race. “The race felt really good. We have a strategy where we only change the tyres once, and we knew that was a risk, since tyres are quite critical here. Coming second here feels like winning after fighting the Corvette, because at this circuit, it’s impossible and they’re really flying. I’m really happy.”
Algarve winners SRT, with the nr 3 Corvette Z06 of Longin and Ruffier, finished third, for their second consecutive podium, despite the challenge of running with success weight for the first time. “Things have been going really well since Portimao,” Ruffier said. “It might be a bit close to the end of the season, but it’s still good to get something at this point. The race was really cool and I had a lot of fights with the Maserati cars. Bert did a really good job, the team as well, and we’ve finished third which is a good position. We’re really happy. Zolder’s going to be much more difficult…” Although it is Bert’s home round, and he knows the circuit thoroughly, their Corvette will have 60 kg success ballast which could be difficult around the tight, twisty circuit.
The nr 19 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette was a fine fourth for Bobbi and Maassen, who were chasing the nr 3 SRT car for the final podium position despite a power steering problem. The fight for third in the Championship between Longin/Ruffier and Xavier Maassen will continue to Zolder.
Bertolini and Bartels, fifth today, go into the final round in Zolder with a 4-point lead in the Drivers Classification, and losing further handicap weight. The nr 33 Vitaphone Racing Team DHL Maserati MC 12 was sixth after an additional pit stop, finishing ahead of the Ferrari 550 Maranello driven by Ange Barde and Olivier Panis. The final point went to Matech GT Racing and the Ford GT of Thomas Mutsch and Henri Moser, making his debut in the car. The nr 40 Marc VDS Racing Ford GT finished ninth, having suffered a two-minute stop and go after their fourth engine of the season.
Today’s big losers, however, were Hezemans and Kumpen; their Pekaracing Corvette Z06 was classified 10th after engine problems. It was a disappointing result, especially as Mike Hezemans had made a fantastic start, climbing to second on the first lap. On equal points with Bertolini and Bartels coming into the round, they head to Zolder with a deficit of four points. But everything is still to play for – and the nr 4 Corvette will lose 40 kg for the season finale.
VITAPHONE RACING TEAM SECURES 2009 GT1 TEAMS TITLE
Second and fifth today, the score of 12 points puts Vitaphone Racing Team out of reach of all the other teams competing in the 2009 FIA GT Championship, giving the team its fifth successive GT1 Teams Title. They first won in 2005, and have been unbeatable since. Over the years, the team has also claimed the Drivers titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008, while Maserati claimed the GT1 Manufacturers Cup twice, and the Citation Cup once.
After seven rounds, Vitaphone leads Pekaracing, with SRT third and Luc Alphand Aventures fourth.
AF CORSE – A WINNING CHOICE
The risk of opting for a different car configuration, with wider tyres, a heavier car and bigger restrictors, really paid off this weekend for AF Corse, when their nr 50 Ferrari 430 GT2 of Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni took a fine win at the Paul Ricard HTTT. Dominant throughout, they crossed the line 38 seconds ahead of the second-placed car, their nearest Championship rivals Westbrook and Collard in the nr 60 Prospeed Competition Porsche. This places the reigning Champions with a three-point lead going into Zolder. “In this race, we found what we’ve been looking for the whole season,” Toni Vilander commented. “Normally, halfway through the stint, we start losing power and going slower in the lap times. Our strategy was to try and solve the problem and I think today we did it. Michelotto, Ferrari and our team did great work and I know the guys have been working all week without sleep. We came here knowing that we had a chance and uncertain how it would go, and it was a bulls-eye. It was great.”
Despite a good second place, the nr 60 Prospeed Competition Porsche nevertheless finished well behind the winners. “It was pretty depressing if I’m honest,” Westbrook commented. “I must congratulate AF Corse for their decision to go up in weight and to go on a bigger tyre, because it really worked for them. The extra weight didn’t really hurt them and they were in a completely different form from us today. To get beaten by 38 seconds is pretty humiliating. If it’s like that in Zolder, then we’ve got no chance. We can hope that their decision to go up in tyre size won’t be so good in Zolder, but at the moment it’s just a hope.”
Third today was the second AF Corse Ferrari, of Cadei and Barba Lopez, the Algarve winners. “It’s been a great weekend, we’ve been working on the car all week. We started the race with a car that was completely different to the free practice and we’re very happy with third place. It’s important to go in the same direction for Zolder and to get another podium,” Niki Cadei commented.
Russo and Perez Companc were fourth, with Mullen and Niarchos fifth – the two leading Citation Cup drivers finishing close together. Ragginger and Lucchini finished sixth in the nr 97 Brixia Racing Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, ahead of the nr 77 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 430 GT2 of Ruberti and Malucelli, who had a puncture, and the nr 56 CRS Racing Ferrari 430 GT2 of Kirkaldy and Bell, who lost time due to a problem with a wheel during a pit stop.
The nr 59 Trackspeed Porsche had a time penalty due to David Ashburn not completing a full 35-minute stint, while the nr 61 Prospeed Competition Porsche was excluded from the results due to getting a push start.
FOURTH GT2 TEAMS TITLE SECURED BY AF CORSE – FERRARI MANUFACTURERS CUP WINNERS
A double podium for AF Corse today, with the nr 50 and 51 cars finishing in 1st and 3rd positions respectively, gave the team a grand total of 81 points, meaning that they now have an unassailable lead in the GT2 Teams Classification. This gives the team the GT2 Teams Championship for the fourth consecutive season. Prospeed Competition are second, with CRS Racing third, ten points behind, meaning that the fight for second will go on to Zolder.
In the GT2 Manufacturers Cup, Ferrari has secured the title, with currently 164 points ahead of 78 for Porsche. Aston Martin scored 10 points.
CITATION CUP – VICTORY TO PEREZ-COMPANC, CITATION CUP TO NIARCHOS!
Luis Perez Companc took his fourth Citation Cup victory today at the Paul Ricard HTTT, after another fine race from the two Argentine drivers. “It was a very good race. We started 8th. Matias gained a lot of positions and gave me the car in 4th. Then I started my stint and started to catch up to Niarchos and I fought with him and closed the gap. I braked on the limit, he braked on the straight, and I could overtake him. It was a very good fight and a very good race.”
However, Chris Niarchos, finishing one place behind the nr 95 Ferrari, scored sufficient points to secure the 2009 Citation Cup. “I had a great race today,” said Niarchos. “I got swamped by a few pros at one point but I stayed right with them so that was a lot of fun. It’s a good feeling to win the Citation Cup; a bit of silverware never goes astray. It means a lot to me as any championship is hard to win. It’s satisfying to beat other drivers; of course it is, that’s why we do it!”
Source : FIA-GT