Belgian Racing hopeful of strong home showing

Ford's Belgian Racing squad head into their home round of Zolder hoping to perform strongly in front of a partisan Belgian crowd.

The team will also field two new drivers in the No. 9 Ford GT Matech, as Belgian Vanina Ickx makes a one-off appearance alongside GT1 debutant Mathias Beche. Beche has previous experience of the Ford GT, having finished second in the car in last year's prestigious Spa 1000km.

Milos Pavlovic and Martin Matzke will once again team up in the No. 10 Belgian Racing Ford GT, and the duo are determined to improve upon two 12th place showings in the opening round at Abu Dhabi. Pavlovic has raced at Zolder several times in single seaters, while Matzke contested the GT3 round at the Belgian circuit in 2009.

"I am very much looking forward to racing this weekend in Zolder," Vanina enthused. "The level in the GT1 World Championship is super high, with only professional teams and drivers competing in the series, which means it won't be easy for us this weekend.

"As we saw in Abu Dhabi a lot can happen in the race, so we'll need a little bit of luck to stay out of trouble this weekend. I hope that by working together with both the Belgian Racing and Marc VDS teams we'll be able to find the pace we need to have a strong race at Zolder."

Serbia's Milos Pavlovic was in a similarly determined mood, saying: "Abu Dhabi was my first experience in a GT1 car and, unfortunately, we had some technical issues that compromised our final result.

"The positive point was that the Ford GT has some potential, we just need a trouble free weekend to realise it and that's what I'm hoping for at Zolder. From what we saw in Abu Dhabi I think the characteristics of the Belgian Racing Ford GT will suit the circuit, so if we can avoid the technical problems we had last time out then the rest will come by itself this weekend in Zolder."

FOTO/INFO FIA GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Q&A: Belgian Racing's Antoine Leclerc and Milos Pavlovic

Ford's Belgian Racing squad experienced a frustrating weekend in Abu Dhabi, as reliability issues hampered both their preparations and their outright pace.

The team also suffered late drama when it announced Vanina Ickx - daughter of Belgian's F1 race winner Jacky Ickx - would be unable to partner Antoine Leclerc due to safety concerns relating to her driving position. Vanina will return for Zolder, but the team called up Fabien Giroix to replace her for Abu Dhabi.

Despite such frustrations, the team worked with unstinting commitment throughout the weekend, and were rewarded when Milos Pavlovic - making his GT1 debut - and Martin Matzke guided their No. 12 Ford GT to 12th place in both the Qualifying and Championship Races.

Serbia's Milos Pavlovic, and his stable-mate Antoine Leclerc in the No. 9 Ford GT, spoke to GT1world.com about their reactions to Abu Dhabi, and their hopes for Zolder - Belgian Racing's home round.

Q: What are your thoughts on the race in Abu Dhabi and in what areas can you further improve performance?

Antoine Leclerc: This is consistent with what I expected! As the team, I had many things to discover and understand. The week-end was so complicated. By the time everything is set up, we really started to work during the warm up and qualifying race. I think we’ll be a little better than Abu Dhabi but we haven’t had much time to work. We will be in the match in Portimao after a good practice session.

Milos Pavlovic: The race in Abu Dhabi was my first experience in a GT car. The weekend didn't go as expected as we had too many technical issues that compromised our final result. Still, the positive note comes from the fact that I can feel that the potential is there. We just need a trouble free weekend and that is what I'm hoping for.

Q: What experience have you had on Zolder Circuit and do you think your car will suit this type of track?

AL: I’m not familiar with the track, I have only ever done ten laps a few years ago in a legend car. But the team will be at home and they know the circuit perfectly so the car should have a good balance.

MP: I have already raced a few times at Zolder, in 2005 and 2006 in World Series by Renault and 2004 in World Series Light. Considering that this is going to be our team's home race, I really hope that our Ford GT40 characteristics will suit the circuit. I believe it will.

Q: What are your objectives for the race weekend?

A: To continue to work and store information for Portimao. And we will do our best with Vanina on the Zolder circuit in Belgium - for the team and for our sponsors!

MP: I just hope to have a trouble free weekend. The rest will come by itself!