Monday 29 August 2011

Blancpain Endurance Series: Marc VDS BMW wins in France as WRT Claims Team’s Crown




Marc VDS BMW wins in France as WRT Claims Team’s Crown


BMW became the fourth different manufacturer in four races to win a Blancpain Endurance Series race in 2011, joining Porsche, Ferrari and Audi, when Maxime Martin took the chequered flag at the end of the 3-hour evening race in Magny Cours, to give himself, Bas Leinders, Marcus Palttala, the Marc VDS Racing Team and BMW their first victory in the series. Martin finished ahead of the nr9 AutOrlando Porsche of Paolo Ruberti after the Italian overtook Marcel Fassler's Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi

R8 four laps from the flag to keep the driver's championship alive until the last round at Silverstone in October. Third place was enough to secure the Team's Championship for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT.

The nr2 ALD Vita4One Ferrari 458 Italia of Louis Machiels, Paul van Splunteren and Niek Hommerson secured victory in the Pro-Am Class after Machiels overtook the nr20 SOFREV ASP Ferrari after the Safety Car period 10-minutes before the chequered flag.

Georges Cabannes secured his third win of the year alongside Gregory Guilvert and Fabien Michal, finishing a lap ahead of their nearest rivals.

The GT4 Cup battle was won by the RJN Motorsport Nissan 370Z of Jordan Tresson, Alex Buncombe and Chris Ward after a close battle with the nr62 Lotus Driving Academy Lotus Evora of Andrina Gugger and Matthias Gamauf. The nr70 Lotus of Greg Mansell, Edoardo Piscopo and Leo Mansell finished 3rd to keep their championship hopes alive for the season finale at Silverstone in October.

Pos

Car

Class

Drivers

Car

Time

Laps

Gap

1

40

Pro

Markus Palttala / Bas Leinders / Maxime Martin

BMW Z4

3:00:40.462

100

2

9

Pro

Gianluca Roda / Raffaele Gianmaria / Paolo Ruberti

Porsche 997 GT3 R

3:01:04.765

100

24.303

3

33

Pro

Greg Franchi / Andrea Piccini / Marcel Fässler

Audi R8 LMS

3:01:05.633

100

25.171

4

29

Pro

Martin Matzke / Filip Salaquarda / Michael Bartels

Ferrari 458 Italia

3:01:09.916

100

29.454

5

4

Pro

Henri Moser / Gilles Vannelet / Frederic Makowiecki

Aston Martin DBRS 9

3:00:57.238

99

16.776

6

2

Pro-Am

Nick Hommerson / Louis Machiels / Paul van Splunteren

Ferrari 458 Italia

3:01:03.542

99

23.080

7

20

Pro-Am

Franck Morel / Jean-Luc Beaubelique / Ludovic Badey

Ferrari 458 Italia

3:01:04.275

99

23.813

8

35

Pro

Richard Westbrook / David Brabham

Nissan GTR GT-3

3:00:50.068

98

9.606

9

6

Pro-Am

Duarte Felix da Costa / Lourenco Beirao da Veiga / Ricardo Bravo

Lamborghini LP 560

3:01:07.494

98

27.032

10

80

Pro-Am

Eric Clement / Philippe Gache

Porsche 997 GT3 R

3:01:14.304

98

33.842

The 35-car grid formed up behind the nr29 ALD Vita4One Ferrari 458 Italia of Filip Salaquarda and the nr32 Belgian Audi Club Audi R8 of Stephane Ortelli and as the race started the cars all sped across the line with some frantic juggling of the order as the cars squeezed through the first turn without incident. The nr9 AutOrlando Porsche of Gianluca Roda tried to wrestle 2nd place from Ortelli only to lose out to Bas Leinder's Marc VDS BMW. The battle for the lead continued for lap after lap and resembled something from a 30-minute sprint race rather than a 3-hour endurance in its intensity as Salaquarda defended his lead at every trun from the vastly experienced Ortelli as Leinders held a close watching brief, waiting for the lead cars to trip over each other. The top three were separated by just 0.5 seconds for lap after lap.

On lap 8 Ortelli briefing got past the Ferrari at the final corner only to run wide and allow Salaquarda to regain the lead and Leinders had to back off as Ortelli regained his second place. A lap later Ortelli attacked again, Salaquarda defended again but this time Leinders was able to take advantage and more ahead of the Audi for second place. On lap 10 the lead changed as a collision between the lead cars saw the Ferrari and Audi spin allowing Leinders to gain the lead ahead of the Ferrari as Ortelli's Audi had to trundle to the pits, the bonnet of the car laying across the windscreen obscuring the drivers view. Frantic repairs by the WRT mechanics got the Audi back into the fight but now one lap adrift of the leaders.

the nr10 SOFREV ASP Ferrari 458 of Julien Jousse, which had started at the back of the grid due to not taking part in all of the qualifying sessions, was making significant progress in the early stages of the race and was into the top 10 by lap 11 and challenging the nr3 Hexis AMR Aston of Yann Clairay for 9th.

On lap 14 the nr18 De Lorenzi Racing Porsche of Alessandro Bonetti span and stopped at T5 in a dangerous position and the first Safety Car session of the race was declared. As the cars circulated the nr59 McLaren of Oliver Turvey pitted to take advantage of the Safety Car but the McLaren failed to restart for Alvaro Parente and after the mechanics had spent several minutes getting the McLaren to fire up the Portuguese driver rejoined after the race had restarted on lap 16. The problem was caused by a starter motor which would cause further delays later in the race.

Back at the front Leinders had opened up a 5-seconds gap to the nr29 Ferrari as Salaquarda came under pressure from the Pro-Am class nr20 SOFREV Ferrari of Ludovic Badey, who had passed the AutOrlando Porsche for 3rd place. Roda then came under pressure from the nr33 WRT Audi of Andrea Piccini and Julien Jousse in the nr10 SOFREV Ferrari. On lap 30 Roda was blocked by the nr51 Ferrari and the resulting contact allows Piccini and Jousse to slip by. A lap later Roda runs wide inio the gravel at T2 but keeps the car moving and regains the track. Two laps later he heads to the pits which resulted in the AutOrlando mechanics having to make some frantic bodywork repairs to the front of the Porsche.

At the end of the first 60 minutes the class leaders were the nr31 Ruffier Racing Porsche of Georges Cabannes (Gentlemen Trophy) in 19th overall, the GT4 Cup class was led by Leo Mansell in the nr70 Lotus Sport Italia Evora in 20th place and the sole Cup Class car, the nr36 De Lorenzi Racing Porsche of Marco Cassera, was in 28th.

After the first round of pitstops the nr40 Marc VDS BMW, now with Markus Palttala at the wheel, was holding a 14 second lead over the nr1 ALD Vita4One Ferrari of Nico Verdonck after a good first stint by Frank Kechele and a good stop by the pitcrew put the Belgian driver into 2nd from 7th. The nr29 Vita4One Ferrari was in 3rd place, with Martin Matzke at the wheel, just ahead of the nr33 Team WRT Audi with championship leader Greg Franchi at the wheel.

However the large lead enjoyed by Palttala was being eaten into by the flying Ferrari, with Verdonck over a second a lap faster than the BMW. Despite negotiating some heavy traffic, the gap continued to come down and it only seemed to be a matter of time before the nr1 Ferrari was challenging for the lead of the race.

The great run from the back of the grid by the Nr10 SOFREV Ferrari came to an abrupt end on lap 55 when Jerome Policand went off into the wall at T5 after a collision with the nr100 BMW M3 GT4. The Ferrari was damaged by the impact with the wall but Policand was soon out of the car and standing forlornly behind the safety barriers as the marshals recovered the car to a safe position.

The nr9 AutOrlando Porsche was making steady progress with Raffaele Gianmaria behind the wheel, moving up to 5th before handing over to Paolo Ruberti just before the second hour finished.

Meanwhile at the front the nr1 Ferrari was on the tail of the nr40 BMW and Verdonck was challenging for the lead. However Palttala wasn't going to give up the lead and doggedly held his racing line and defended wall at every corner. On lap 66 the BMW pitted and to everyone’s surprise was followed by the nr1 Ferrari. The pitcrews went to work and Maxime Martin regained the track in the BMW very quickly while the Ferrari was still on its jacks as the mechanics struggled with the tyres after the wrong set had been originally selected by the team. The delay cost Jean-Karl Vemay the advantage won by Nico Verdonck and he rejoined the track 30 seconds behind the BMW but still in second place but a gearbox problem then caused further frustration and eventually led to their retirement from the race.

After the second set of stops the class leaders were nr20 SOFREV Ferrari (Pro-AM) in 7th overall, nr31 Ruffier Racing Lamborghini (Gentlemen Trophy) in 17th overall, nr62 Lotus Driving Academy Evora (GT4) in 19th overall and the nr36 De Lorenzi Racing Porsche Cup car was in 26th overall and still running strongly.

The nr35 JRM Nissan GT-R was having a good run on its international racing debut with Richard Westbrook and David Brabham battling hard and keeping the car in the top 10 for most of the race. Their main goal was to get to the chequered flag to aid in the development of the brand new GT3 car and any championship points gained would be a bonus.

The third hour still had plenty of battles raging throughout the order as Maxime Martin looked set to take the win as long as the BMW held together. He set three fastest laps early in his stint to extend his lead further before settling into a rhythm. However fate decided to step in when a Safety Car period was declared 15-minutes before the end of the race. The nr3 Hexis AMR Aston Martin of Julien Rodrigues spun off at high speed into the wall at T5 after suffered a brake disk failure, causing heavy damage to the car and putting debris on the track. The French driver emerged unhurt from the car but the safety car bunched the field up for a 10-minute sprint to the finish line.

Maxime Martin had several cars between him and the second placed Audi of Marcel Fassler and the third placed AutOrlando Porsche of Paolo Ruberti. At the restart Martin used the gap to his rivals to pull away as Ruberti and Fassler were side by side fighting for the second place on the podium. Some slight contact between the cars saw the Porsche step out at one of the corners but Ruberti kept his foot in and took the place from Fassler three laps from home.

Further back the nr2 Vita4One Ferrari of Louis Machiels and the nr20 Ferrari of Franck Morel were battling over 6th place but more importantly the lead of the Pro-Am class. Morel held the advantage but Machiels had the faster car and the two cars were side by side on the run into the last corner and Machiels swept into the class lead as they crossed the line for the 95th time.

In GT4 the nr63 RJN Motorsport Nissan was leading the class from the nr62 Lotus Driving Academy Evora after several changes of class lead during the final hour of the race. The Spa 24 Hour winners were able to hold off the Lotus challenge and secure the second win of the 2011 season, with less than 9 seconds separating the two cars at the chequered flag.

At the front Maxime Martin brought the Marc VDS Racing Team BMW Z4 home to the delight of the team who lined the Magny Cours pitwall. The pass by Paolo Ruberti on Marcel Fassler keeps the driver's championship alive until the final race at Silverstone with Greg Franchi on 79.5 points holding a 21.5 point advantage over Paolo Ruberti, Gianluca Roda and Raffaelle Gianmaria on 58 points. Stephane Ortelli, Bert Longin and Filipe Albuquerque on 56 points and Markus Palttala on 55 all also still in the running to become the first Blancpain Endurance Series Driver Champions. However third place for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi was enough to secure the Team's title for the Belgian race team, finishing a comfortable 37.5 points ahead of Vita4One with one race remaining.

In the Pro-Am Cup title chase it is even closer with Franck Morel, Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Ludovic Badey on 81.5points, just 5.5 ahead of Niek Hommerson and Louis Machiels who are on 76 points going into the final round in Silverstone.

In the Gentlemen Trophy Georges Cabannes on 75 points is 16 points ahead of Giorgio Piodi on 59, while the GT3 Cup is led by Sergio Negroni on 88.5 points, 13.5 ahead of teammates Luigi Emiliani and Marco Cassera and as long as Emiliani or Cassera don't switch to another car at Silverstone, Negroni will be declared the 2011 GT3 Cup Champion.

The GT4 Cup will aslo go down to the wire at Silverstone with the RJN Motorsport trio of Alex Buncombe, Jordan Tresson and Chris Ward 18 points ahead of Lotus Sport Italia drivers Leo Mansell, Edoardo Piscopo and Greg Mansell, who finished third in class at Magny Cours to keep their title hopes on track.

The final round of the 2011 Blancpain Endurance Series will take place at Silverstone on Sunday 9th October.

CLICK HERE for the race facts, including some race quotes, from Round 4

CLICK HERE for the result from Round 4

CLICK HERE for the Championship Positions after Round 4

Nr40 MARC VDS RACING TEAM BMW Z4

Bas Leinders

"I got a good start and managed to move up to third behind Ortelli and Salaquarda, who were having a real battle at the front. I didn't want to get too close, but I didn't want to hang back and let them think that I'd back off if they tried to block either. I pushed and that meant I was close enough to capitalise on mistakes from both of them to take the lead. Battling for the lead at the start of the race was good fun, as was fighting my way through the traffic; I like traffic! I'm happy to have handed over the race lead to Markus, and that he and Max were able to defend the lead until the end, to give the team and BMW Motorsport a first win in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Let's hope it's the first of many!"

Markus Palttala

"This was my first race in the BMW, so at the beginning of my stint I was still trying to learn the car, which allowed the Ferrari to close on me. At the end I was able to hold him off and hand over the lead to Max, so I'm relatively happy about that. I have to say a big thank you to Bas, to Max, to BMW and to the whole team who did a great job today. As for still being in with a chance of winning the championship, well, it's nice to know, but it's not something I'm going to be thinking about ahead of the final round at Silverstone."

Maxime Martin

"My two teammates did a great job before I jumped in the car, which made it much easier for me. When I joined the race I didn't really know where we were in terms of position, so I pushed hard for a few laps just to be safe. After that I just tried to keep a good pace, stay consistent with the lap time, and try and maintain position. After the safety car I pushed again, just to make sure, but anyway, there were quite a few cars between me and the car in second place. I'm happy; this was only our second race with the BMW and we took our first win in the series. It doesn't get much better than that!"
Info and Photos: SRO.

Saturday 27 August 2011

Racing at its best: Formula, GT and historic cars in the Lausitz ADAC Masters Weekend provides an exclusive mix at the EuroSpeedway




Racing at its best: Formula, GT and historic cars in the Lausitz ADAC Masters Weekend provides an exclusive mix at the EuroSpeedway A section through the most attractive motorsport categories – provided by the ADAC Masters Weekend on the first September weekend at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Dream sports cars, formula categories and touring car racing as well as two historical racing series’ make every motorsport fan’s heart beat faster. The attractive programme between 2 and 4 September is entirely dominated by the prospective title-deciding races. The championship contenders are pushing to make a decisive break in the final dash for the chequered flag during the last third of the season. On the other hand, the competition could use a final opportunity to make their marks and to increase their own market value for the forthcoming season.

ADAC GT Masters: home straight in the super sports car league
Ten races completed and six still to come: the super sportscar league, the ADAC GT Masters, has entered the home straight. Title fight nearly over? Not a chance. Ferdinand and Johannes, sons of racing legend Hans-Joachim ‘Striezel’ Stuck, have built up a lead going into the two races at the EuroSpeedway. However, at just seven points this is extremely tight as a win is worth 25 points. Hot on the heels of the duo driving a Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ is the team of Alexandros Margaritis and Dino Lunardi (BMW Alpina B6 GT3). The list of those also within striking distance reads like a ‘Who’s who’ of renowned sports car manufacturers. Christopher Mies/Luca Ludwig drive an Audi R8 LMS from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline like their team mates Christer Jöns/Jens Klingmann. Andreas Wirth/Christiaan Frankenhout share a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 close behind in ninth place. The Mühlner Motorsport team, which also enters a Porsche 911 GT3 R, has taken on reinforcements: Sean Edwards, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland championship leader, competes at the Lausitzring for the team.

ATS Formula 3 Cup: landmark race for championship leader Stanaway
A winning ratio of 75 per cent, ten from a possible twelve podiums, always found in the points and busiest scorer of extra points: the ATS Formula 3 Cup title is without doubt championship leader Richie Stanaway’s to lose. The 19-year-old New Zealander from Van Amersfoort Racing could make a significant step towards winning the title at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. In fact: theoretically he could possibly clinch the title here if his closest and only genuine rival Marco Sørensen from Denmark fails to score a single point and Stanaway takes a maximum points score. In contrast, if Lady Luck swings the other way Sørensen could move to within a single point. Stanaway is nevertheless already a winner: he competes in the GP3 class for the renowned racing team ART at the final two races of the 2011 season at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

ADAC Formel Masters: the title autumn begins
Three or five way fight? If it was just a matter of the following the points standings in the remaining nine ADAC Formel Masters races, of which the first three were held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, it would appear that the title fight is just between championship leader Pascal Wehrlein and his closest rivals Emil Bernstorff and Sven Müller. However, recently Artem Markelov and Kean Kristensen have also shown title form and actually shared the last three victories at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (Austria) between themselves. However, there are still enough points up for grabs to allow the fourth and fifth placed drivers to mix things up at the head of the leader board: a single driver can still score 225 points. As comparison: the ADAC Stiftung Sport supported driver Wehrlein leads the standings with 236 points.

ADAC PROCAR: Leidinger and Thierfelder the prey
It could hardly be any better: six wins, three second places and a third –Johannes Leidinger, who drives a BMW 320si for team Engstler Motorsport in the ADAC PROCAR, sets the benchmark in 2011. In Division 1 he has already built up a healthy 26 point lead from Jens Guido Weimann (BMW 320si E90, Thate Motorsport). If he increases it to 40 points he can celebrate winning the championship at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Things are considerably closer in Division 2 six races before the season ends: Guido Thierfelder (Peugeot 207 Sport, ETH Tuning) holds a six point advantage over Nils Mierschke (Ford Fiesta ST, Leipert Motorsport). A victory is rewarded with ten points in both divisions; there are two races on the timetable each weekend.

HAIGO ADAC Historic Cups: race action from the good old days
The HAIGO ADAC Historic Cups are a bonus for the ADAC Masters Weekend at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. HAIGO – the abbreviation for Historische Automobilsport Interessen Gemeinschaft Ostdeutschland. Two series compete under its flag at the Lausitzring: touring cars and formula cars each contest two races. In action are touring cars in the FIA, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, defined period J2 for cars manufactured between 1982 and 1990 and also formula cars of the period JR anno 1983 to 1990.

TV coverage on ‘kabel eins’ and SPORT1, live streams on Internet
Both ADAC GT Masters races are broadcast live on ‘kabel eins’ (Sat and Sun from 11:45). Highlights of events at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz are shown by ‘SPORT1’ (9 September, 15:45). The ADAC Formel Masters, ATS Formula 3 Cup and the ADAC PROCAR races are also accessible as live stream via the respective series homepages.
Further Information at www.adac-masters.de
ADAC Presse.

Friday 26 August 2011

American Le Mans Series, round 7 in Baltimore, USA Porsche pilots head to inaugural street circuit race with confidence



American Le Mans Series, round 7 in Baltimore, USA

Porsche pilots head to inaugural street circuit race with confidence


Stuttgart. The American Le Mans Series has gained yet another attraction: On 3 September, the new urban street circuit of Baltimore in the US state of Maryland plays host to the race series with the world’s fastest sports car. Joining the action are Porsche works drivers and title defenders Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA), who are eager to claim their second podium result this season with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Their factory pilot colleague Wolf Henzler (Germany), winner of the Mid-Ohio race, is also justifiably hopeful for a top result.

The race

This marks the first Baltimore Grand Prix event. The American Le Mans Series is contested alongside the Indycar series, another very popular US championship, in the birthplace of baseball legend Babe Ruth. The race runs over two hours.

The circuit

The new 3.219 kilometre city circuit leads through the streets of Baltimore around the Convention Centre at the inner harbour. It features twelve corners, some of which are extremely tight.

The Porsche drivers

Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) contest the premiere race in Baltimore as the reigning GT class champions at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Flying Lizard Motorsports. Their factory pilot colleague and Mid-Ohio winner, Wolf Henzler, shares driving duties with Bryan Sellers (USA) in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Falken Tire. The second Flying Lizard Porsche is manned by Americans Seth Neiman and Darren Law. Sascha Maassen (Germany) teams up with Bryce Miller (USA) in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR run by Paul Miller Racing.

Quotes before the race

Hartmut Kristen, Porsche head of motorsport: “The first race on a new circuit is always an interesting task for drivers and teams, and even more so on a street circuit with its very special challenges. It’ll be interesting to see how our customer teams get to grips with this task. The Baltimore race with its large urban area is definitely a positive for the American Le Mans Series and a crucial step towards tapping into new markets for the series and extending the fan base.”
Joerg Bergmeister: “I’m looking forward to Baltimore. We don’t know much about the new track, and have no experience here whatsoever. But because the Indycars are driving there too, I assume that it’ll be in good condition and in this regard we don’t expect any surprises. Generally, street circuits suit us. Like at all city races, it’ll be important in Baltimore to use the short practice session well to find the best set-up for the track.”
Patrick Long: “On a new circuit we all start from scratch. That’s not only a huge
challenge for the drivers, but also for the engineers. I’m working on the basis that our Flying Lizard boys will put a perfectly set-up car on the track for us again. And then it’s up to Joerg and me to do the best we can with it.”
Wolf Henzler: “The first race on a new track is always a challenge. At the moment everything is running smoothly for us. After winning in the rain at Mid-Ohio we followed up in Elkhart Lake with our best result on a dry circuit. This shows that we’re working in the right direction. I’m heading to Baltimore feeling confident and hope that we can continue our positive trend.”

The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

The most successful GT race car of the last years took off into the season with a raft of improvements. The output of the four-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine was increased to 455 hp (335 kW). Priority in the development of the car was given to the newly designed aerodynamics at the front and rear. In 2010, the 911 GT3 RSR again won the environmental "Michelin Green X Challenge” classification as the GT vehicle with the best overall efficiency in the American Le Mans Series.

The schedule

The race in Baltimore starts on Saturday, 3 September, at 16.30 hours local time (22.30 hours CEST) and is broadcast live on the internet on www.americanlemans.com/live. The GT qualifying on Friday is shown on www.porsche.com/alms-live from 21.00 hours CEST.

The American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created in 1999 for sports prototypes and GT vehicles. The regulations correspond to those of the Le Mans 24 hour race. All classes start together but are classified separately:
GT class: This most popular class amongst car manufacturers is traditionally extremely well supported: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 440 to 500 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 RSR).
GTC class: This class is reserved for vehicles from one-make race series (e.g. Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 550 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with ca. 440 hp and an 825 kg minimum weight.
LMPC class: Prototype brand trophy series for the ORECA FLM 09.

Public Relations and Media
Motorsportpress
Oliver Hilger

Thursday 25 August 2011

Kimi Räikkönen drove the Peugeot 908

Kimi Räikkönen drove the Peugeot 908


Today, the 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen drove for the first time with the Peugeot 908 on the Aragon circuit.

35 laps on the Aragon circuit in Spain

Olivier Quesnel – Peugeot Sport Director : « Originally, this test session was planned for a long time in order to prepare the rest of the season on top of which we have allowed Kimi to discover the 908. As of today, nothing has been scheduled or planned for the future. » image

Towards the end of the morning, the Finn took part into the session alongside Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin, Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Wurz. He covered a series of 35 laps on a circuit he’s never driven on. image

Kimi Raïkkönen : « I enjoyed this test with Peugeot. The 908 is a really fun car to drive ». image

Pascal Dimitri - Peugeot Sport Team Manager : « Kimi arrived yesterday evening in order to meet up with the team, prepare his seat and set up his driving position. He adapted very quickly to the car and gave us a valuable technical feedback. It is always interesting to get inputs from drivers such as Kimi. »
Peugeot Sport.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Blancpain Endurance Series: Back to School for the Blancpain Endurance Series teams


Round 4 Magny Cours, France

23 August 2011

EVENT PREVIEW

Back to School for the Blancpain Endurance Series teams


CLICK HERE for the provisional entry list for Round 4 of the 2011 Blancpain Endurance Series

CLICK HERE for the full Preview Newsletter in English (PDF format)

CLICK HERE for the full Preview Newsletter in French (PDF format)

After the fantastic success of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the teams and drivers taking part in the Blancpain Endurance Series were able to take a short but well-deserved summer holiday. However, the days are drawing in, and it is time for the teams and drivers to get back to work, with the fourth round of the 2011 Blancpain Endurance Series taking place at the French circuit of Magny Cours this weekend. Joining the 38-car grid will be new boys McLaren GT – already seen at Spa – and Nissan, making its racing debut in the GT3 category in the hands of JR Motorsports. This event, free to the public, will feature a Saturday evening race, with the cars driving into the sunset.

The Blancpain Endurance Series’ first race in France, at the former Grand Prix circuit of Magny-Cours, should provide some fascinating racing around the 4.4km circuit, with everything still to play for in the various driver title battles.

In the GT3 Pro Cup, a superb haul of 46.5 points at the Total 24 Hours of Spa propelled Greg Franchi to the top of the points table, 14.5 points ahead of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT team mates Bert Longin, Filipe Albuquerqe and Stephane Ortelli. Franchi, who raced in the 24-hour event with Blancpain Endurance Series debutants Matthias Ekstrom and Timo Scheider, steered the nr33 Team WRT Audi R8 LMS to victory, claiming the 25 points on offer. The trio were in second place behind the nr99 Team Phoenix Audi after 6 hours and were leading after 12 hours, to add an extra 21.5 points to their weekend total. The victory also gave Audi their first overall win at the 24 Hours of Spa in the 87-year history of the event.

Round 1 winners, Paolo Ruberti, Gianluca Roda and Raffaele Gianmaria had a disappointing weekend in Spa, crashing at the halfway point of the race and failing to pick up any points from the event.

Round 2 winner Frank Kechele kept his championship aspirations alive by taking 20 points over the weekend in the nr29 Vita4One Ferrari 458; he finished 5th overall alongside Matteo Bobbi and Giacomo Petrobelli. Fellow round 2 winners Michael Bartels and Nico Verdonck moved category for Spa, therefore scoring points in the Pro-Am category. However, they will be looking to propel Frank Kechele further towards the top of the leader board in Magny Cours.

The McLaren GT will be making its second Blancpain appearance at the French round, with Andrew Kirkaldy, Oliver Turvey and Alvaro Parente hoping for better luck than in Belgium, where Kirkaldy ended the race in the wall after a collision with a GT4 back marker. Another new car will be making its first competitive appearance when the JRM team will be unveiling the Nissan GT-R GT3 at Magny Cours. The British team, which runs the Nissan GT-R in the FIA GT1 World Championship, will confirm the drivers nearer to the event.

The Hexis AMR team will be hoping for success at their home race, where the former FIA GT3 European Champions will once again be fielding two Aston Martin DBRS9s.

The Blancpain Reiter Lamborghini will be looking for a good result in the Blancpain Endurance Series as double FIA GT3 race winners Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Niki Meyr-Melnhof are joined by Eugenio Amos.

Spa should have been a better hunting ground for the Marc VDS Racing Team BMW Z4; the team claimed pole position for their home race but were subsequently thwarted by technical issues. Maxime Martin, Bas Leinders and Markus Paltalla will be looking to bring the BMW home with a good haul of points in France. The Ford GT fared better in Spa, securing championship points for the team.

The nr10 SOFREV ASP Ferrari scored some points in the first half of the Spa 24 Hours but then became one of the casualties of this highly demanding race. However the team were successful in the Pro-Am Cup, with the nr20 Ferrari taking the chequered flag to win the class in 6th overall.

The Pro-Am Cup class was just as keenly contested as the Pro Cup, remaining open until well into the race. The SOFREV ASP drivers Franck Morel, Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Ludovic Badey now hold a 12.5 point advantage over the nr2 Vita4One Ferrari pairing of Niek Hommerson and Louis Machiels, who will be rejoined by Paul van Splunteren in France after the Dutch driver switched to the Prospeed Competition team for Spa.

Marc A Hayek and Peter Kox won the opening round in Monza, finishing 4th overall, but the Blancpain-Reiter Lamborghini suffered mechanical problems in Spain and in Spa, where the engine expired in spectacular fashion, and the pair have slipped back to 9th in the title race. They will be hoping for better luck at Magny Cours.

The nr 50 AF Corse Ferrari 458 finished 3rd in class at Spa behind Blancpain Endurance Series first timers David Jones, Godfrey Jones and Mike Jordan. The podium finish helped Matt Griffin and Jack Gerber to move up to 7th in the Pro-Am Cup driver’s table. The French SMG team will be joining the Pro-Am cup grid for the first time, with former French Formula Ford and French Carrera Cup Champion Philippe Gache joining Eric Clement behind the wheel of the Porsche 997.

The 13-car entry for the Pro-Am Class at Magny Cours includes five Ferraris ( 4 x 458 and 1 x 430), three Lamborghinis, three Porsches, an Aston Martin and one of the new McLaren GTs.

After missing Spa, the leader in the GT3 Gentlemen Cup, George Cabannes returns to compete in his home race. The double race winner will be joined in the Ruffier Racing Lamborghini by Gregory Guilvert, his team-mate for his Monza win, and Fabien Michal, the driver who shared victory in Navarra. Lionel Comole had a bitter-sweet experience at Spa, the Frenchman failed to finish his first- ever Spa 24 Hours in the Sport Garage Ferrari 430 but he did raise 23,500 Euros for the Arthritis charity. Comole will be once again be teaming up with Phillip Shearer and Amandine Foulard at Magny Cours.

In the Cup Class championship leader Sergio Negroni will be teamed with Luigi Emiliani and Marco Cassera in the De Lorenzi Racing Porsche who he won the races in Monza and Navarra with. They will face stiff opposition from Spa 24 Hours Class winner Thierry Stepec in the RMS Porsche.

The RJN Motorsport Nissan 370 Z of Alex Buncombe, Jordan Tresson and Chris Ward were triumphant in Spa, beating the Lotus Sport Italia Evora of Round 1 race winners Edoardo Piscapo, Greg Mansell and Leo Mansell after the engine in the Lotus let go on its way to the GT4 win at the Belgian track.

Round 2 winners Lorenz Frey, Rolf Maritz and Fredy Barth did not race in Spa and return looking for their second win of 2011 in the Lotus Driving Academy Evora.

The weekend will feature two 60-minute Free Practice sessions, three 15-minute qualifying sessions, one for each driver, with the fastest time determining the grid for the 180-minute race on Saturday evening, racing into the sunset. The three hour race will include two mandatory pit stops, with tyre and driver change. Points will be awarded using the FIA system in each class, with the winners receiving 25 points, second 18 points, down to 1 point for 10th place.

All the latest information can be found at www.blancpain-endurance-series.com where visitors can also watch the races, which will be streamed live on Saturday evening.

Marc A. Hayek

CEO and President of Blancpain

nr24 Blancpain-Reiter Lamborghini

The participation of Blancpain as title sponsor of the Blancpain Endurance Series marks a turning point in the history that links the manufacture and motorsport. This new championship marks a return to the roots of endurance racing. To take part in the 24 Hours of Spa is far from an insignificant moment for our brand, which has been taking part in GT racing for a number of years already.


"I have mixed feelings about the 24 Hours of Spa. As the CEO of Blancpain, this event has been a great success, but as a driver, it was disappointing not to take the chequered flag. Despite a promising fourth place overall during qualifying, an engine problem after three hours of racing forced me to retire from the race. Now, our team will concentrate on the two remaining races of this season, and we are already preparing for the 2012 edition of the 24-hour race at Spa!


"Blancpain is proud to have taken part in this event, which brought the GT3 and GT4 categories to the forefront of endurance racing, with around 60 cars entered, and over 60,000 spectators over the weekend. We were able to let many guests discover the fascinating world of endurance racing, and the public were able to discover the universe and savoir-faire of our company. "

WHAT THE DRIVERS SAY……

Greg Franchi

Nr33 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS

“It’s a very quick track. We have a lot of quick corners. There are two main chicanes which are vital as they are where you set the time. In the second corner, the long one, you need a very stable car, because after that there is a long straight which determines a lot. The Audi always runs very well there. At least in the French Championship it was very quick. It’s a good omen for the Blancpain, especially as I’m first with an 18 point lead after the 24 hours of Spa. It’s looking good. There are two races remaining and I have quite a good lead, which I hope I can keep. It’s exceptional.”

Matt Griffin

Nr50 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia

“I think Magny Cours will suit the Ferrari. I love it as a circuit, as a driver, it’s very challenging. It’s a great place to drive around. I think that the Ferrari’s strong points are in long radius corners, and Magny Cours has a lot of them and a quick change of direction as well. It struggles a bit in pure straight line grunt, and Magny Cours isn’t all about that, so I think it will suit the Ferrari.

“Spa was incredible. The Spa 24hrs as a race is my favourite race in the world. To me, it’s even better than Le Mans because, as a GT driver, it’s the top race. To finish it is one thing, but to get on the podium was incredible. Because we had lots and lots of drama throughout the hours, as I’m sure most of the other teams do, and it’s a real battle, mentally, physically and also on the car. One of the things that makes Spa special, but also so difficult, is that you always get a mixture of weather conditions, which we had through the whole lot. It was a really exciting race. We started off by leading the first hour or two, then we had a couple of issues, but we managed to climb back up through it to finish on the podium. It was fantastic. I think that GT3 cars, on the whole, have not been built from the ground up to do 24 hour races. But then on the other side, you look at the teams running the cars, we were with AF Corse, but there’s also Vita4one, the WRT Audi team, proper experienced teams, experienced in running world class 24hr races. From that point of view, maybe the classification was not built to do 24 hour races, or wasn’t set up for it, but the teams doing it are very experienced in it, so they make the cars up to the task. It’s excellent. This is the third time I’m doing the Spa 24 Hours, and this has been the best year for sure. The grid, the difference in manufacturers, it was just excellent.”

Markus Paltalla

nr40 Marc VDS Racing Team BMW Z4 GT3

“I was in the Ford GT at Spa, but I will be in the BMW now, so for me, I’m really happy to get a chance to drive it. I’m looking forward to feeling it for the first time, I’ve never been in the car yet, so I can’t say much about the car, but the pole position in Spa is telling that there is some potential in the car’s performance, and the second place went to Need for Speed, so they’ve shown that the car is reliable. Unfortunately the VDS car was out after the first couple of hours, but I think it will be good. It should be a good car. We’ve already had good races with the Ford, some issues; we have made it to the podium, but we had a flat tyre which cost us some time. In Navarra we were heading for another podium, but we had an upright problem, and lost a lot of time in the garage. We scored points in all the races now, and I think the BMW will give us a chance to fight for the top places. Let’s see.

“I’ve done a few French GT races in Magny Cours, and a few others. I think it’s a cool track, I like it. The night race will be interesting. I don’t even know how dark it gets at that time. But racing in the dark is cool; it gives it an extra touch.”

Bert Longin

Nr32 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS

“I’m really looking forward to the race in Magny Cours, we really need to push very hard for the Championship, as Filipe (Albuquerque), Stephane (Ortelli) and myself wont to take the first Blancpain title. Stephane has taken pole position the last two times he raced in an Audi at Magny Cours, so we are very hopeful of being competitive here.

“Of course I enjoyed Spa because it’s my home race. We were in a very highly professional structure with WRT and Audi Motorsport and we had a good weekend. Even though we missed a podium finish, we took some good points which will help us to our goal of winning the title – we will continue to push, push, push!”

Jeff Carter

Press Delegate

Photo: © ©V-IMAGES/Decancq

Monday 22 August 2011

FIA GT3: ROUND 10 RACE REPORT Victory for Parisy and Giauque Gives Mercedes a Perfect Weekend in Slovakia






ROUNDS 9 & 10

Slovakia Ring, Slovakia

21 August 2011

ROUND 10 RACE REPORT

Victory for Parisy and Giauque Gives Mercedes a Perfect Weekend in Slovakia

Round 10 Provisional Result

Pos

Car

Class

Drivers

Car

Time

Laps

Gap

Avg
speed

1

3

GT3

Philippe Giauque / Mike Parisy

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3

1:01:46.356

29

2

11

GT3

Leonid Machitski / Jarek Janis

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3

1:01:49.081

29

2.725

3

7

GT3

Csaba Walter / Claudia Hürtgen

BMW Z4 GT3

1:01:49.569

29

3.213

4

35

GT3

Hoevert Vos / Jeroen den Boer

BMW Z4 GT3

1:01:50.362

29

4.006

5

1

GT3

Paul van Splunteren / Maxime Soulet

Porsche 911 GT3 R

1:02:12.128

29

25.772

6

4

GT3

Gregoire Demoustier / Joakim Lambotte

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3

1:02:12.483

29

26.127

Philippe Giauque and Mike Parisy gave Mercedes a perfect weekend when they won Round 10 at the Slovakia Ring in the nr3 Graff Racing Mercedes Benz SLS AMG. Giauque brought the car home in front of the nr11 Gravity Charouz Racing Mercedes Benz of Jarek Janis and Leo Machitski, with the Russian driver having to defend his second place from Csaba Walter in the nr7 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4, the Hungarian securing his and Claudia Huertgen's second podium finish of the weekend.


Stefan Rosina led the 27 car grid from pole position in the nr25 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini into the first corner, with Jarek Janis in the nr11 Gravity Charouz Mercedes in 2nd ahead of the nr50 AF Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci. Castellacci kept pace with the Czech Merc and on lap three the Italian swept past into 2nd place on the run into the first corner.

At the front Rosina had opened a two second gap and now Castellacci started to pull away from Janis as the Czech driver now had Mike Parisy's Graff Racing Mercedes filling his rear view mirrors. Further back Dino Lunardi in the Sainteloc Racing Audi was challenging Nick Catsburg in the nr36 Faster Racing BMW for 5th place. After several attempts Lunardi finally passed the BMW on lap 4.

The two leading cars were pulling away from the rest of the field, with Rosina still holding a 3.5 lead over the AF Corse Ferrari when disaster struck. On lap 10 the Reiter Lamborghini suffered a left rear puncture and had to limp back to the pits. This left the door open for Castellacci but the Italian's chances of winning evaporated on the same lap when the Ferrari spun off into the gravel. Castellacci recovered the car to the pits but by then they were one lap down and out of the points.

This promoted Jarek Janis into the lead of the race as the pit window approached, closely followed by Mike Parisy in the nr3 Graff Mercedes and the nr15 Sainteloc Audi of Dino Lunardi.

The pit window opened on lap 13 and the leaders came in 3 laps later to change tyres and drivers. However the nr11 Mercedes, now with Leo Machitski behind the wheel, had to be pushed back by the mechanics as it was too close to the car in the next pitbox. This lost the Russian driver precious seconds and he emerged from the pitlane in 4th place behind the nr3 Graff Racing Mercedes of Philipp Giauque, the nr36 Faster Racing BMW of Harrie Kolen and the nr9 Team LMP Aston of Gael Lesoudier. Machitski only took one lap to pass Lesoudier and then was promoted to 2nd when Kolen went off the track, rejoining in 5th place and then losing a further place to Paul van Splunteren in the nr1 Prospeed Porsche.

At the front Giauque was holding a comfortable 6 second lead but Machitski was slightly faster than the Swiss driver. Meanwhile Csaba Walter was making up places in the nr7 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW, moving up to 3rd place by lap 18 and then closing the gap to the nr11 Gravity Charouz Mercedes.

While Machitski and Walter battled for 2nd place the leading car was able to maintain a comfortable gap but it was diminishing as the clock counted down the final few laps. Walter kept the nose of his BMW firmly glued to the rear of Machitski's Mercedes but the Hungarian driver couldn't find a way past the Russian as he defended every corner and used the Mercedes power to pull away on the straights. The battle allowed the nr35 Faster Racing BMW of Hoevert Vos to close up but not close enough as the chequered flag came out for Philippe Giauque to takes his first FIA GT3 victory and the first for Mike Parisy and Graff Racing in the Mercedes Benz SLS.

The win has propelled Mike Parisy and Philippe Giauque into second place in the Driver's Championship with 83 points, 14 points behind championship leaders Francesco Castellacci and Federico Leo. With 50 points on offer for the final two races in Zandvoort in October there are 20 drivers still with a chance of taking the 2011 title. In the Team's Championship Need for Speed Team Schubert are on 158 points, 19 points ahead of nearest rivals Faster Racing by DB Motorsport with two races remaining.

The final event of the 2011 season will take place at Zandvoort in The Netherlands on 14-16 October when the FIA GT3 European Championship will be decided.

CLICK HERE for the Provisional Result from Round 10

CLICK HERE for the race facts from Round 10

CLICK HERE for the provisional Championship Positions following Round 10

Nr3 Graff Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3

Mike Parisy: “I did a very good start with my car. Afterwards I tried to keep up with Janis’ rhythm. I think I was faster but it was very difficult doing the fast corners with the aero effect of the two cars. I tried to keep my tyres for Philippe. I’m very happy and proud for Graff Racing and Mercedes, because we’ve got our first victory since the start of the year, and it’s a great pleasure for us to win a race in FIA GT3; the level is very hard, and Graff and Mercedes have done a very good job, so my thanks to them. The team spirit is very good and a very good job. I hope that we can fight for the championship now. We were 9th in the Championship yesterday, we’re 2nd now. We lost 3 potential victories since the start of the year, we’ve had a lot of problems, but we’re going well now. I hope we continue to work well with the team and I’m crossing my fingers.”

“I found the track very nice, because it has quite fast corners, we can be artists as well. There are slow parts...the track is very interesting for the team and for us drivers. It’s a very good track, and I’m very happy to come here in this country, because last year I won in Brno, and I’ve now won in Slovakia, so I think I’m going to live here now.”

Philippe Giauque : “It’s good to be here finally on top of the podium. This track’s good, but then all tracks are good. I’m not going to think about the championship now though, but just think about the next races. I’m going to take it easy.”

Nr11 Gravity Charouz Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3

Jarek Janis: “It’s better not to talk about the pit lane...We probably lost the possibility to win the race in the pits, because unfortunately one of the BMW parked in front of us and we were stuck, and when we were on time to move, we couldn’t, because the BMW was in front of us, so we had to pull back, and then we lost about 5 or 7 seconds, and the lead, but we finished second, and I’m very happy with that, because as I said after qualifying, the beginning of the season wasn’t very good and we had to find the right setup, because we were really struggling at the beginning. So I have to say thanks to the teams and the engineers, because we prepared a really good car, and yesterday was a payback for the Graff car’s race, because yesterday we had a little accident with them, and today, they won, so I’m very happy for them, because it wasn’t on purpose to kick him off, but unfortunately that happened. That’s racing. I’m happy that we’re here on the podium and I’m happy for Leo that we got the car to the podium together. He did a really good job, he was very constant. I was a little bit worried about the BMW because it was putting pressure on him, but he managed to control it, and brought it home in 2nd. It’s great for us to win here, as it’s so close; we have a lot of Czech fans coming to see the race, so it’s even better for us, and really good that we score high points and we’re on the podium when we’re so close to home. Let’s hope it continues like this in the last race. We’ll see.”

Leo Machitski: “I’m very happy to be here. I want to thank the team, they’ve done a really good job. I want to thank Jarek, he did an incredible job in qualifying. I had a little bit of a difficult start to this weekend, and made many mistakes in testing: I hit the wall, I hit another Mercedes in race 1, absolutely by accident and I went to apologise yesterday. Clearly, the racing gods decided to sort everything out and gave them the victory today with the pit stops, and I want to congratulate them, the team and say thank you to all the fans who were here, because this was a great warm welcome to Slovakia. The BMW was much stronger in the tight, slow corners than the Mercedes, but the Mercedes is the heaviest car on the grid. For me, my strategy was to slow him right down in the slower corners and to use the power of the big engine to pull away, and high speed was okay. I raced in Zandvoort in 2005, and it’s a really nice circuit.”

Nr7 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4 GT3

Claudia Huertgen: “We came here and have been on the podium twice, which is fine. The team worked very hard these last few days, it was also because we changed the tyres for this event, so we’ve had a lot of work, so for us it’s really nice for us to be on the podium twice. It was a good start; I could control the speed, and tried to save the tyres as well, because I knew that we could really drive fast at the end. So I just saved the tyres and brought the car back to the pits in a good condition, and Csaba could continue. Here we cannot beat the Mercedes, but I think Zandvoort will be very interesting, because the track it’s closer, you have a long straight line, but on the other side, we’ll be very fast. It’ll be interesting because Zandvoort is like here, it’s a driver track, so we’ll see.”

Csaba Walter: “It was very difficult. For us, we were a bit disadvantaged from our result yesterday, because we had to stand in the pits for 5 seconds longer, and these 5 seconds were very long, because several cars came in front of us because of this. After that, I started to overtake them, and for a while it was quite good, but when I reached the guys in front of me, I started to struggle a bit with the tyres. I tried to push a bit and keep the pressure on him, but he wasn’t kind enough to make a mistake. Otherwise, here at this track, it’s not so easy to overtake with our car. It’s a very good result, and I would like to thank all the Hungarians who came here. We also had a flag in the tribunes and I have a lot of friends and fans here, and I would like to thank them and the team as well, because the car was perfect again.”

Championship Positions after Round 10 (Provisional)

1

Francesco Castellacci

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/ITA.gif

97

Federico Leo

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/ITA.gif

97

2

Mike Parisy

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/FRA.gif

83

Philippe Giauque

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/CHE.gif

83

3

Maxime Martin

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/BEL.gif

81

Gael Lesoudier

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/FRA.gif

81

4

Jeroen den Boer

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/NLD.gif

79

Hoevert Vos

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/NLD.gif

79

5

Enzo Ide

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/BEL.gif

75

Gregory Franchi

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/BEL.gif

75

6

Abdulaziz Al Faisal

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/SAU.gif

75

Edward Sandström

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/SWE.gif

75

7

Claudia Huertgen

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/DEU.gif

74

Csaba Walter

http://gt3europe.com/images/flags/HUN.gif

74

NOTE: The results from rounds 9 & 10 of the FIA GT3 European Championship in Slovakia remain provisional due to the fact that two engines have been selected for testing and will be inspected before the next event in Zandvoort.

Jeff Carter

Media Delegate,

Photos: DPPI.