Round 10 – San Luis, Argentina QUALIFYING 05 November 2011 Luhr and Krumm Claim Crucial Debut Pole in JRM Nissan

Round 10 – San Luis, Argentina

QUALIFYING

05 November 2011

Luhr and Krumm Claim Crucial Debut Pole in JRM Nissan

Pos	Car	Drivers	Car	Time	Laps	Gap
1	23	Lucas Luhr / Michael Krumm	Nissan GT-R	02:14.152	4
2	11	Francesco Pastorelli / Yelmer Buurman	Corvette Z06	02:14.604	3	0.452
3	21	David Brabham / Jamie Campbell-Walter	Nissan GT-R	02:14.787	3	0.635
4	22	Richard Westbrook / Peter Dumbreck	Nissan GT-R	02:14.812	5	0.660
5	37	Dominik Schwager / Nicky Pastorelli	Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-S	02:14.891	4	0.739
6	4	Christian Hohenadel / Andrea Piccini	Aston Martin DB9	02:15.059	3	0.907
7	20	Enrique Bernoldi / Nicky Catsburg	Nissan GT-R	02:15.452	3	1.300
8	3	Clivio Piccione / Stef Dusseldorp	Aston Martin DB9	02:15.463	3	1.311

Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr in the JRM Nissan No.23 moved a step closer to the drivers' championship title by claiming their first pole position of the 2011 season for this afternoon's Qualifying Race in San Luis.

Second was the No.11 Team China Corvette of GT1 debutants Francesco Pastorelli and Yelmer Buurman with the Sumo Power GT No.21 of David Brabham and Jamie Campbell-Walter.

Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the All-Inkl Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38, also among the title contenders, failed to progress beyond Q2 and will start this afternoon's Qualifying Race from 10th position.

The sister car of Dominik Schwäger and Nicky Pastorelli will start fifth while the Hexis Aston Martins line up in sixth and eighth.

The big news of the day was the retirement overnight of the Young Driver Aston Martin No.8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke, the closest challengers to Krumm and Luhr for the drivers' title.

The car sustained a broken chassis after Mücke struck the wall at T21 in yesterday's Pre-Qualifying thus ending the championship hopes of the pair.

The Qualifying Race starts at 13:45 local time.

CLICK HERE for the Results from the three Qualifying sessions

CLICK HERE for the Facts from the three Qualifying sessions

Lucas Luhr

nr23 JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R

"I really like this track. It is a very beautiful part of the world and a really unique circuit, a lot of ups and downs while surrounded by walls, which makes it a little bit special. I struggled with the car yesterday and we did some changes overnight; obviously we both liked them. I could've gone quicker in session 1 but I was held up by one of the Lamborghinis. It was in sector three, in the uphill part and it is easy to lose two or three tenths. But I knew we had a good shot at Pole. Michael did a fantastic job in Q2 and then I had a big moment in my second flying lap, I pushed too hard, got sideways and that really got my attention. I'm not really an early morning guy, so it was good for the wake up call. The next lap was brilliant, so I'm pretty happy."

Michael Krumm

nr23 JR Motorsports Nissan GT-R

"We won’t be approaching this afternoon’s race any differently than any other one and we will try to win. It didn't look very likely yesterday but as Lucas said, we made the right changes to the car and the Nissan was absolutely amazing. The race is going to be a different story, it's long and the surface is changing all the time and not making a mistake is very, very important. If you go off line there is a lot of sand, so the race is going to be a huge challenge. The aim is to finish in the top three today so we will be in a good position for tomorrow’s race and we can go for the win, which is the safest way to win the World Championship."

Francesco Pastorelli

nr11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06

"It's nice to come here and be on the front row for the start. It's been a good weekend so far and we hope we can keep this pace for the race. Yelmer proved he was faster than the rest in Q2 and let's hope we can do that later today. My brother gave me some tips about this circuit but I don't think he will be giving me anymore."

Yelmer Buurman

nr11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06

"I did a 6-hour GT race in Zolder this year but this is my first GT race at this level. I'm definitely enjoying it, I think this is the best track to start off with, in one of the best cars. Yesterday was the first time I'd driven the Corvette, we improved the car quite a lot and I'm really happy with the result. We're here for the win; we just want to go for the result today. So hopefully we'll have a good race."

David Brabham

nr21 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R

"It's been a pretty good couple of days, the GT-R has been very good straight out of the box. This is a fantastic race track, it reminds me of a mixture of Le Mans and the Bathurst 1000 and it's been an absolute pleasure to drive on. We've just been fine tuning the car because we weren't that far away, we've been in the top three most of the time. Obviously we'd have liked to have been a bit further up but P3 is a pretty good start to the weekend."

Jamie Campbell-Walter

nr21 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R

"Remembering last year's race it is very difficult to overtake here, there's no point barrelling up the inside of someone because you'll just go straight on. You've got to be patient and pick your moment. It's a great track, it's a great setting and I'm pleased the championship comes here, but it's not easy. P3 is a good result and it will be a good, but tough, race."

Nicky Pastorelli

nr37 All-Inkl Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV (5th)

“We expected to be higher. We had a good Q1 and Q2 then something went wrong in Q3 with the small adjustments we made and a couple of small driving mistakes, so the potential was there but we ran out of time. We needed one more lap really. We are confident for the race because our race pace is very good. My brother Francesco (Pastorelli, Corvette No.11, P2) did a really good job. So I’m really happy for him and Yelmer (Buurman).”

Andrea Piccini

nr4 Hexis AMR Aston Martin DB9 (6th)

“This is such a great circuit. Sometimes when you got to a circuit you say ‘who built this circuit, how can they have such strange ideas?’ But when you come here, it’s how it should be – a proper street circuit. Sure it’s bumpy in parts but the people here have done a tremendous job in putting it all together for the weekend.

"The layout is very challenging and not easy to put together a good lap here because you have so many corners and so many places where you can make mistakes. I think we have a good chance in the race to finish the season as strongly as the team deserves.”

Bas Leinders

nr40 Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT Matech (11th)

“We have felt all season we have been down on engine power due to the Balance of Performance and when we come to a circuit like this in San Luis we are really disadvantaged. The best result for the Ford was P11 for the local hero (Ricardo Risatti) who knows the track very well. I think that sums it all up.”

Darren Turner

nr8 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DB9 (Retired)

“We came here with only a long shot of the drivers’ title and a realistic hot of the team title as long as everything went our way and we got all the lucky breaks unfortunately that’s not the case with Stefan (Mücke) having his off yesterday. The car is not repairable while we are on site here.

"It makes things much harder for the team with just one car fighting for points that is not realistic particularly given what the Nissan No.23 has just done in Qualifying today. Hopefully we can put this behind us and come back stronger next year. The maximum focus is on the No.7 car to see what they can do in the two races and get the best result possible for the team.”

Jeff Carter

Media Delegate,

Photos: DPPI.

FIA GT1: Paul Ricard Hosts Last Euro Round of 2011 Season

Paul Ricard Hosts Last Euro Round of 2011 Season

FIA GT and FIA GT1 have been racing at Paul Ricard for many years and it is the fitting venue for the final European races before the GT1 World Championship jets off to China and South America for the final three rounds of the 2011 season. Last year Paul Ricard saw a double win for Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini on their way to becoming the inaugural FIA GT1 World Champions but with the Maserati MC12 not on the grid this season the way is open for a crew from another manufacturer to step onto the top step of the podium. The Nissans and Lamborghinis took top 3 finishes last season, while the Corvette, Aston Martin and the Ford were always in the running for a podium finish.

At the last round at Navarra in Spain the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghinis were dominant, taking a 1-2 in qualifying and both races, while Dominik Schwäger and Nicky Pastorelli secured the fastest laps. Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock took the honours in the Qualifying Race ahead of their teammates but in the Championship Race it was Schwäger and Pastorelli who secured their first win of 2011 ahead of Basseng and Winkelhock. The Marc VDS Ford of Bertrand Baguette, who was standing in for Fred Makowiecki, and Maxime Martin took third in the Qualifying Race, while David Brabham and Jamie Campbell-Walter fought their way to third in the Championship Race in the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R.

Aston Martin is represented by French team Hexis AMR and German team Young Driver AMR. Up until the last event the Hexis team were leading the Team Championship after wins for both the cars of Stef Dusseldorf /Clivio Piccione and Christian Hohenadel/Andrea Piccini, however after the dominant showing by the All-Inkl Team in Spain, Hexis are looking to close the 20-point gap to their rivals and retake the lead at their home race at Paul Ricard. The Young Driver AMR team continue to score valuable points with Tomas Enge / Alex Müller taking two 3rd places in Belgium and this was followed by two further top 3 finishes at Silverstone.

The Corvette teams consist of Exim Bank Team China and DKR Engineering. In the Exim Bank Team China Corvette Dutch drivers Mike Hezemans and Nicky Catsburg started the season well with a second place finish in the Qualifying Race and a fighting 5th in the Championship Race at Zolder. Catsburg was replaced by Andreas Zuber for races in Great Britain and resulted in pole position and two top 3 finishes at Silverstone, while Nico Verdonck joined Hezemans in Spain but retirements brought no points for the drivers or the team.

French driver Michael Rossi in the DKR Engineering Corvette has also had a couple of co-driver changes and was joined by Dimitri Enjalbert at Silverstone. Two strong performances in Spain saw the driver pairing collect their first Championship points of the year in Navarra.

Both Ford teams are based in Belgium, with the Marc VDS Racing Team starting the year well with Maxime Martin and Frederic Makowiecki winning the Qualifying Race in Abu Dhabi. Germany also proved to be a good track for Makowiecki and Martin when they added their second Qualifying Race win of the season to their tally. Bertrand Baguette replaced Makowiecki in Spain and he and Martin scored well with a 3rd place in the Qualifying Race followed up by 4th in the Championship Race. Makowiecki will return to the Ford for the rest of the season. The Belgian Racing team is new to GT1 World this year and their two cars run in the black, red and yellow national colours. Two top 10 finishes at Silverstone was their best result of the season so far as the brand new team continues to improve race by race.

The All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini started the year well, with three pole positions in the first five races and was the dominant force in Belgium when the nr38 car of Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock which took the chequered flag in both races. A dominant weekend at Navarra gave the drivers one win and a second place each and gave Basseng and Winkelhock a 15-point lead over Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr after six rounds.

Swiss Racing switched to the Italian manufacturer from the Nissans they ran last season. The Swiss Racing team boasts the services of the highly experienced Karl Wendlinger and Peter Kox had their best ever GT1 World Championship finish by finishing 4th in Belgium and then 5th in Portugal, but a first corner accident in the Championship Race in Germany eliminated both of the Swiss Racing Lamborghinis, causing the team to miss the last two rounds in the UK and Spain. The team will be aiming to get back to claiming more points in France and will be aiming for their first podium finish.

2010 team Sumo Power GT are joined by JR Motorsports this season running the Nissan GT-R. JR Motorsports have been strong for most of the season with Germany’s Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr collecting a fighting third in the qualifying race in Yas Marina. They followed this up by stepping onto the top step of the podium in Portugal and Great Britain and while the Navarra weekend was far from the best for the team, Krumm and Luhr took some more points to keep them in the title hunt. British duo Richard Westbrook and Peter Dumbreck had a disappointing outing in Spain with a 7th and 9th in th etwo races and just 2 championship points. 2010 race winner Enrique Bernoldi has been joined by Nicky Catsburg, who moved from the nr11 Corvette to the nr20 Nissan last time out in Spain. Australia’s David Brabham and Britain’s Jamie Campbell-Walter finally tasted the champagne in Portugal with two third place finishes, while in Spain they finished4th in the Qualifying Race and podium finish in the main event in Navarra.

Jeff Carter/ Media Delegate.

FIA GT3: Lights to Flag Victory for AF Corse Ferrari

Francesco Castellacci took the chequered flag at the end of Round 3 of the FIA GT3 European Championship at Silverstone to give former FIA GT2 Champions AF Corse their first FIA GT3 victory. Federico Leo lead from the start from Pole Position and built up a comfortable lead before handing over to Castellacci, who brought the Ferrari 458 home. Maxime Martin and Gael Lesoudier took their first FIA GT3 race win since they won at Silverstone in 2009 with Morgan. This time, from 8th on the grid, they secured the first international podium finish for LMP Motorsport in the teams Aston Martin DBRS9, 3.5 seconds ahead of nr3 Graff Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG of Mike Parisy and Philippe Giauque in third. From 15th on the grid, Giauque and Parisy secured the final podium place after a successful last lap move on the nr6 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4 of Abdulaziz AL Faisal.

With a very clean start from the entire GT3 grid, Federico Leo managed to keep his pole position from the start, and spent the race building his lead. Leo built up a comfortable cushion to his nearest rival when he handed it over to his team mate, which allowed the team to factor in their 10 second success time from the last round.

Behind the leading AF Corse Ferrari, the battle for second place was hard, but fair with Markus Palttala in the nr13 Fischer Racing Ford GT holding onto a strong second until lap 10 when he suffered a right rear puncture, and had to head for the pits.

The fight for second continued between the nr25 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 of Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof and the nr6 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4 GT3 of Edward Sandstroem. Sandstroem closed in on Lamborghini but couldn’t find a way past. At the pit window the Swede decided to stay out as the Austrian pitted to hand over the Lamborghini to Albert von Thurn und Taxis. Sandstroem pitted just before he pit window closed but his strategy didn’t pay off as Abdulaziz Al Faisel rejoined in 3rd place.

However the BMW Z4 was soon challenging the Lamborghini and for von Thurn und Taxis the going got tough. He held on to the place for a few laps but once the nr6 overtook him, the rest of the field caught up, pushing him slowly down to finish in 11th.

Further back Maxime Martin in the nr9 LMP Motorsport Aston Martin started his steady climb up from 6th place and by lap 22 he was challenging the second place BMW. On lap 23 he overtook Al Faisal for second, which he kept until the end.

Also moving rapidly up the field was the nr3 Graff Racing Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, driven by Mike Parisy. The Mercedes-Benz had started in 15th by Philippe Giauque and the Swiss driver managed to climb up the field before the pit stop to hand over to Parisy. The former French GT3 Champion continued to climb up the order and snatched the final podium place away from Al Faisal in the last lap.

Round 4 of the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place at Silverstone at 11:45 (local) on Sunday 5^th June, with full coverage online at www.gt3europe.com

CLICK HERE for the provisional result for Round 3

CLICK HERE for the Race Facts

CLICK HERE for the championship positions after Round 3

Nr50 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia - 1^st

Federico Leo: “Thank you to everyone. I did a good start. It was my first start from the first row in GT. It was exciting for me. I tried to make as big a gap as possible as we had the 10 second penalty from Portimao. The car was very fast. I need to say thank you to the team. It is the first victory for AF Corse in the FIA GT3, and a new car; it’s been very good work. I’m very sorry for the other AF Corse car. Francesco also did a very good job to keep and increase the gap as well. My team told me to stay out longer as we were increasing the gap.”

Francesco Castellacci: “I was really pleased with the gap I had. I increased it a bit more, and I just tried to keep the same pace until the end of the race, without stressing the tyres too much. The car was really good. Federico gave me a really good car, in very good condition, so I just had to handle it to the end of the race. I would just like to also thank the Michelin for giving us very good tyres, and the team and Michelotto, to give us a very good package and a good car.”

Nr9 Team LMP Motorsport - 2^nd

Gael Lesoudier: “I’m very happy to be here. We have a good feeling on this circuit. Two years ago we won here with the Morgan. I did a good start. I decided to race safe, because we knew that we had some trouble at the front at the end of the race. But we made a little mistake during the pitstop, we had some trouble with the seat belt and lost more or less 5 seconds. Maxime did a great job and overtook some cars, as he usually does. We like this layout, it’s quite different, but it’s a track where the Aston is very fast.”

Maxime Martin: “This place is great for the team and for Aston Martin, and we’ll see for the second race, where we’re starting from the first row, so I hope we can do something good. We can make the difference on the quick corners and it’s definitely a track for the Aston. Tomorrow, we’ll push and we will see.”

Nr3 Graff Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 - 3^rd

Philippe Giauque: “When you start in 15th, the trick is to not touch any other car, and to pass the car over to Mike in the best possible position for him to finish the race, and he did it. I was following a Mercedes for my whole run, and as the same Mercedes pushed me out in Portimao, I decided to stay behind and to wait. I just took my time and kept the tyres in a good condition for Mike. I know how good the Ferrari is because I drive one off the track, but the Mercedes is a good car, but they keep on adding weight to us. We are so heavy, which you can see as he made the pole in Portimao, but was only 11th today.”

Mike Parisy: “It was a very good result for the team and for us. The car was perfect after Philippe’s stint. I tried to push and catch up to the leaders. We overtook a lot of cars. It was very difficult, but I had the same rhythm as Maxime, so I managed to pass 3rd in the last lap. It was very intense. It’s been a very good result. We had a difficult qualifying this morning, the car is very heavy now and it’s not very easy for us.”

Info: Jeff Carter

Media Delegate,

Photos: DPPI.

Blancpain Endurance Series: Spanish ‘Bull Run’ for Second Blancpain Series Race Weekend

PREVIEW: Spanish ‘Bull Run’ for Second Blancpain Series Race Weekend

The Northern Spanish circuit of Navarra will be the host for the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series and teams will have their final chance to fine tune their cars before the Blue Riband event, the Total 24 Hours of Spa in July. While Monza was opened in 1922, and is one of the best know circuits in Europe, Navarra is brand new, only opening in 2010, but the Spanish circuit has already established a reputation for providing exciting racing whatever the category or championship.

Last month Monza hosted the first ever Blancpain Endurance Series race and fittingly it was the Italian team AutOrlando Sport and Italian driver Paolo Rubeti who took the chequered flag to record the first ever Blancpain Endurance Series win. Ruberti was joined by Gianluca Roda and Raffaele Gianmaria on the top step of the podium. The second placed car was the nr32 Belgian Audi Club Audi R8 LMS of Stephane Ortelli, Bert Longin and Filipe Albuquerqe, which finished 58 second behind the Porsche but led the race before it had to pit for a splash and dash pitstop 10 laps from home. An early puncture also delayed the Audi but they fought back to claim a podium place in the first race of the season. The Marc VDS Ford GT of Bas Leinders, Maxime Martin and Markus Palttala was third.

The class winners were Marc A Hayek and Peter Kox in the Blancpain-Reiter Lamborghini (GT3 Pro-Am Cup), with Hayek bringing the car home in 4th overall. Georges Cabannes and Gregory Guilvert were the GT3 Citiation Cup winners in the Ruffier Racing Lamborghini Gallardo and the GT4 Cup was won by the Lotus Italia team with Edoardo Piscopo, Leo Mansell and Greg Mansell holding off the challenge of the RJN Motorsport Nissan to claim the first GT4 Class win of the new series.

Navarra hosted its first international sportscar event last September when the Spanish circuit hosted the final European round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship. While GT1 will visit in July, the Blancpain Endurance Series will be the first international GT endurance event the track has staged.

Fourteen cars will compete in the GT3 Pro Cup class, with title leaders Paolo Ruberti, Gianluca Roda and Raffaele Gianmaria looking to extend their lead in the AutOrlando Sport Porsche against the Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Audis, Fords and BMW of their rivals. Reigning FIA GT1 World Champion Michael Bartels will be hoping for better luck than he and teammates Frank Kechele and Nico Verdonck had in Monza in the Vita4One Ferrari 458. All three drivers drove in the GT1 race at Navarra last year and will be hoping their experience will pay dividends. Navarra will see a new entry by the Faster Racing by DB MOTORSPORT with the BMW Z4. The Dutch team tasted success on the international stage in the FIA GT3 race in Portugal with a third place for Jeroen den Boer in Round 1. The team will be hoping to build on their FIA success in the Blancpain Endurance Series in Spain.

Nine cars are entered in the GT3 Pro-Am Cup with Mark A Hayek and Peter Kox arriving in Monza on a high note after taking maximum points in Italy. However the Blancpain sponsored Reiter team will not be resting on their laurels. The Gulf Racing First team will be making their first appearance of the year, with Frederic Fatien, Jean-Pierre Valentini and Andrea Barlesi lining up to drive the United Arab Emirates teams Lamborghini Gallardo. The two Lamborghini teams will be joing by the Rhino’s Leipart Lamborghini and they will face stiff opposition from the three Ferrari 458s run by AF Corse, SOFREV Auto Sport and Vita4One, a GPR AMR Aston Martin DBRS9, a De Lorenzi Racing run Porsche 997 and a Ferrari 430 Scuderia prepared by the French Sport Garage team.

In the GT3 Citation Cup Championship leader Georges Cabannes’ teammate has yet to be announced but the Ruffier Racing Lamborghini will be once again challenging for top honours against Ferrari and Porsche.

The GT4 Cup features six entries but what it is definitely a case of the quality over quantity. The Lotus Italia Evora of Edoardo Piscopo, Leo Mansell and Greg Mansell was the top car in Monza but the RJN Nissan 370Z, The GPR Aston Martin Vantage, the Lotus Driving Academy Evora, the De Lorenzi Racing Ginetta G50 and the Gentle Swiss Racing Maserati MC Granturismo will all be hoping to take the honours in the final test before Spa.

The weekend will feature two 60-mniute 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 Sunday. The three 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 Sunday.

Info: Blancpain Endurance Series/Acreditated media press.