PRACTICE 2 – NYKJÆR CHASES WORKS CHEVYS

23 Apr 2011

SUNRED Engineering driver Michel Nykjær continued to impress in the second free practice. After posting the third fastest lap in the morning session, the Dane and his SEAT León TDi car were again the fastest of the Yokohama Trophy and of the rest of the field except Chevrolet’s three works cars.
Yvan Muller, Rob Huff and Alain Menu clocked the three best laps of 1:39.190, 1:39.297 and 1:39.363 respectively, all covered by 0.173 seconds only. But Nykjær was not far behind with a lap of 1:39.518 that was les than two tenths slower than Menu’s.
Nykjær managed to oust Darryl O’Young’s bamboo-engineering Cruze 1.6T from fourth, beating the time of 1:39.597 set by the Chinese driver.
Gabriele Tarquini rounded up the top six with a lap of 1:39.814, followed by Franz Engstler’s BMW (1:39.919). All other competitors remain above the 1:40. mark, beginning from Tiago Monteiro (1:40.005), Robert Dahlgren (1:40.075) and Pepe Oriola (1:40.233).
The hot temperatures made lap times slower than those set in the morning session.
Again some of the drivers tested the run-off areas: Huff at Sterrenwacht, Urs Sonderegger at the Chicane, Fredy Barth at Jochen Rindt, while Fabio Fabiani spun at the first corner.

Info: WTCC.com

Foto: AmigosRacing.

TARQUINI IS FASTEST IN ZOLDER TEST

TARQUINI IS FASTEST IN ZOLDER TEST Gabriele Tarquini kicked off the Belgian weekend in style setting the fastest lap in today's 30-minute test. With ten minutes left on the clock, the Italian driver in his SEAT León Tdi posted a 1:39.848, which he improved to 1:39.726 in the dying moments of the session. Chevrolet man Alain Menu emerged as the second fastest with a lap of 1:39.765, the only other driver to go under the 1:40. Mark. Current championship leader Rob Huff placed third (1:40.050) just ahead of Tom Coronel (1:40.132) and Yvan Muller (1:40.308). The SUNRED duo of Michel Nykjær and Fredy Barth were timed at 1:40.520 and 1:40.694 respectively to be classified sixth and seventh, best of the Yokohama Trophy competitors. The Volvo C30 of Robert Dahlgren set the 10th fastest lap of 1:41.018. The session was disrupted once by the red flag after 17 minutes, when Aleksey Dudukalo's SEAT crashed into the tyre-wall at the Villeneuve chicane. During the last minute Marchy Lee stopped his BMW car at Turn 2 because of a throttle failure, and the session was red-flagged for good. A few drivers received warnings for not respecting the track limits and Kristian Poulsen had one of his fastest laps disallowed for straight-cutting a chicane. Gabriele Tarquini's SEAT set the fastest lap in today's test at Zolder THE WORD TO. GABRIELE TARQUINI "I admit I was surprised by the lap time, taking into account that now there are tyres in the second chicane while last year there was none. On the other hand I have to say that track and weather conditions were nearly ideal, though a little bit too warm for our turbodiesel engine. I went for a set of fresh tyres on my last stint and made good use of them. At the end of a test session you never know what the others did, which tyres they used, how much boost they gave. Therefore we must remain very cautious in evaluating this result. But indeed it was a good start!" WTCC AND INFINEON RACEWAY PLAN EVENT FOR 2012 The FIA World Touring Car Championship and Infineon Raceway have tentatively reached an agreement that would bring the world championship to the Sonoma Valley in September 2012. "Bringing the championship to USA was the next item in our agenda and the last one to fulfill our aim for a really global calendar," said WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti. "So far we had worked to establish our European and South American events, reinforce our presence in Asia and return to Morocco. Now we feel that the time has come to expand to the US market that is a priority for our manufacturers and stakeholders. Infineon Raceway is a modern racetrack with impressive facilities, and I believe it is the ideal location to host a WTCC event. I am very satisfied of the meeting we had with Steve Page that enabled us to find an agreement for submitting to the FIA the proposal to enter the WTCC Race of US in the 2012 calendar." Steve Page, president and general manager at Infineon Raceway, is excited at hosting the first-ever WTCC event in the United States. He met with Lotti earlier this week in Sonoma. "The WTCC offers the kind of door-to-door hard-fought competition that American racing fans really respond to and we're very excited about the opportunity to introduce this series to the North American continent," said Page. "The Infineon Raceway road course is an ideal circuit for these cars and we look forward to introducing Sonoma-style racing to a world-wide audience." Infineon Raceway at Sonoma is due to host WTCC in 2012 MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR MONZA Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place at Monza, Italy, 14th and 16th May. The deadline to apply for media credentials is Tuesday, 3rd May. By order of the FIA, no media credentials will be allocated after the aforesaid deadline. Accreditation forms may be downloaded at the website www.fiawtcc.com . International Press must send applications to Fabio Ravaioli tel +39 335 376260, fax +39 06 39729470, email: media@fiawtcc.com Italian Press must send applications to Gianni Cattaneo tel: 02 7745239, fax: 02 7745201, email: stampa@acimi.it TV and Radio must send applications to Antonios Argyropoulos tel +33 1 40938517; email: antonios@eurosport.com COUNTDOWN: - 2 DAYS WTCC RACE OF BELGIUM - ZOLDER, APRIL 24 Info: WTCC/for autorized and acreditated media press.

NEXT STOP: ZOLDER, BELGIUM

The 3^rd and 4^th rounds of the 2011 FIA WTCC will take place at Zolder next week.
This event marks the opening of the championship’s European season that will come to an end on September 4^th at Valencia, before the final tour to the Far East.
This is the second visit to the 4-km Belgian racetrack after last year’s event that saw Gabriele Tarquini and Andy Priaulx sharing victories for SEAT and BMW.
The WTCC resumes in Zolder after a five-week break that followed the season’s kick off at Curitiba, Brazil.
The Chevrolet team go to Belgium with the aim to defend their leadership in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship.
Current leader Rob Huff will be the man to watch. Not only because he won this year’s inaugural race in Brazil, as he also wants to make up from the 2010 disappointment, when Priaulx’s masterly defence driving deprived him of a possible victory in the second race.
Besides Huff’s team-mates at Chevrolet Yvan Muller and Alain Menu, other candidates to shine on the Belgian circuit are Gabriele Tarquini and especially Tom Coronel. The latter will benefit from the enthusiastic support of the many fans that will make the short trip from Netherlands to cheer their favourite driver.

Info and pic: WTCC.com

WTCC - NEXT STOP: ZOLDER, BELGIUM

Info: Fabio Ravaioli - FIA WTCC Media Delegate

NEXT STOP: ZOLDER, BELGIUM

The 3^rd and 4^th rounds of the 2011 FIA WTCC will take place at Zolder next week.
This event marks the opening of the championship's European season that will come to an end on September 4^th at Valencia, before the final tour to the Far East.
This is the second visit to the 4-km Belgian racetrack after last year's event that saw Gabriele Tarquini and Andy Priaulx sharing victories for SEAT and BMW.
The WTCC resumes in Zolder after a five-week break that followed the season's kick off at Curitiba, Brazil.
The Chevrolet team go to Belgium with the aim to defend their leadership in both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championship.
Current leader Rob Huff will be the man to watch. Not only because he won this year's inaugural race in Brazil, as he also wants to make up from the 2010 disappointment, when Priaulx's masterly defence driving deprived him of a possible victory in the second race.
Besides Huff's team-mates at Chevrolet Yvan Muller and Alain Menu, other candidates to shine on the Belgian circuit are Gabriele Tarquini and especially Tom Coronel. The latter will benefit from the enthusiastic support of the many fans that will make the short trip from Netherlands to cheer their favourite driver.

Circuit Zolder hosts next week the second event of the WTCC season

TEAMS WORK AROUND THE CLOCK BEFORE ZOLDER
Three WTCC teams are working around the clock to get ready in time for the Belgian event.
Yesterday bamboo-engineering collected their two new Chevrolet Cruze cars today at RML factory in Wellingborough. The cars were shaken down by Chevrolet driver Alain Menu at a nearby airfield.
Bamboo's drivers Darryl O'Young and Yukinori Taniguchi had started the season in Brazil with the old Chevrolet Lacetti machines powered by the 2.0L normally aspirated engines. From Zolder onwards they switch to the Cruze 1.6 turbo.
Team Principal Richard Coleman said: "We are very pleased, as now we can look forward to regaining our competitiveness. We appreciate the huge effort that RML and Chevrolet have made to get these cars ready for this weekend. The shakedown went well and the cars are now ready to go. Darryl and Yuke will get their first run in the cars in Friday's test and I'm sure they will adapt very well and quickly get up to speed."
At the same time Wiechers-Sport and Zengö Dension Team are frantically working to finish building their new cars. Both teams were forced to miss the season opening event in Brazil while waiting to receive their new BMW 320 TC cars that will be driven by Urs Sonderegger and Norbert Michelisz respectively. Their plan is to shake down the cars early next week.

Two new Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 Turbo cars were delivered to bamboo-engineering

WTCC TO RACE AT BUDAPEST IN JUNE
Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place at Budapest's Hungaroring on June 5.
The WTCC Race of Hungary replaces the WTCC Race of Morocco that was scheduled on the same weekend at Marrakech but was cancelled after the local promoter was not able to secure the financial support required to keep the event going. This will be the first time the WTCC visits the 4.4km racetrack that is home to the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix.
Championship promoter Marcello Lotti said: "We are very happy that the opportunity arose to find a worthy replacement for Marrakech. Budapest is the perfect solution: it is a modern and demanding circuit with impressive facilities, brings the championship to a new country in which WTCC has a lot of fans thanks to Norbert Michelisz and also means huge saving in terms of logistics as it lies only 350 km away from Brno that hosts the following event."
Zsolt Gyulay, CEO of the Hungaroring Sport Plc. echoed: "I am very glad that Hungary was given the chance to stage a WTCC event. This FIA World Championship is the second most popular series after Formula One. For this reason I think that the Hungaroring has added another prestigious international event to its racing calendar and this is also invaluable to Hungary because of the tourism. We sincerely hope that the WTCC Race of Hungary will be exciting and interesting for the Hungarian and the foreign fans. It is of high importance to us that Hungarian driver Norbert Michelisz can compete in front of Hungarian audience and at a Hungarian track for the first time in the series' history."
Norbert Michelisz commented: "I am very happy because this is a great opportunity to show how competitive we are. I was racing at the Hungaroring from the beginning of my career, so I know the circuit well. It makes me very proud to race in front of my home supporters and I will be aiming for some good results to please my fans."

Hungarian motor sport fans will have the opportunity to attend WTCC races

EUROSPORT LAUNCHES THE WTCC SEASON IN MUNICH For the fifth consecutive year Eurosport Events invited more than 250 guests, including partners, teams and media, to an exclusive season launch in Munich's "Upside East" roof garden. Championship promoter Marcello Lotti, Eric Nève, Motorsport Manager of Chevrolet, and Kurt Treml, Marketing and Team Director of Liqui Moly Team Engstler took part in a conversation on the status of the championship after the first two races in Curitiba.

Reiter Lamborghini completes the double

Lamborghini completed a double at Navarra with victory in the Championship Race to add to the Qualifying Race success earlier in the day.

Ricardo Zonta and Frank Kechele in the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini No.25 recorded a lights to flag win to collect 33 points for their weekend's work. Their victory margin at the end of a pulsating hour's racing was over 11 seconds.

Second was the Hexis Aston Martin No.9 of Fred Makowiecki and Yann Clairay with the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.22 of Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes third.

The Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 of Darren Turner and Tomas Enge finished fourth after a stunning drive from 19th place on the grid.

The All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Maserati No.38 of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager scored an impressive fifth place from a lowly starting position of 18th. The Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 of Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin was sixth.

Thomas Mutsch in the Matech Competition Ford GT No.5, severely damaged the car in a collision with the Phoenix Corvette No.13 of Alex Margaritas soon after taking over from Richard Westbrook 40 minutes into the race.

The car was eventually retired causing considerable harm to Mutsch's drivers' title hopes.

Sixth place and eight points for the championship leaders Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini in the Vitaphone Maserati No.1 enabled them to stretch their advantage to 35 points. Meanwhile, Kechele moved from seventh to third in the drivers' table.

The victory in both the Qualfying Race and Championship Race for Reiter consolidated their second position in the teams' standings.

It was the third time this year that the FIA GT1 World Championship has featured a double win for one of the six brands. The Vitaphone Maserati achieved the feat at Brno and the Young Driver Aston Martin No.7 doubled up in Nurburgring.

Reaction and results to follow ...

Info: FIA GT1 World Championship


GT1 Live - next event Zolder (Belgique) April 10... door GT1

Young Driver AMR third in Qualifying Race

Young Driver AMR third in Qualifying Race
Good starting position for Belgian GT1-World round

Paderborn (GER) / Zolder (BEL), 09.04.2011 [GT1 World Championship]

Young Driver AMR will start from a good third place into the Championship Race of the Belgian round of the GT1 World Championship at Zolder. Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) finished third in Saturday’s Qualifying Race in the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner had bad luck in the second Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin, when Mücke was hit by a Lamborghini in the first corner and had subsequently to retire from the race.

A start incident robbed Young Driver AMR the chance for a possible win in the Qualifying Race. Stefan Mücke started from second position into the Qualifying Race and was already in front after the first corner, when the Lamborghini, which started from Pole Position, hit hard on the left rear wheel, which caused Mücke to spin. Luckily, Mücke survived the spun without further damage to the car, but in the third lap the suspension broke as a result to the first lap incident.

Tomas Enge started from fourth into race and had to drive through the gravel to avoid damage to the car after the first lap incident, but still managed to stay in fourth place. In the latter part of the race, Alex kept the fourth place and gained one position in the final minutes of the race, finishing third.

In tomorrow’s Championship Race, Alex Müller and Tomas Enge will start from the second row of the grid in third Position, Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner had not only the bad luck to be victims of the starting incident, but as a result of the DNF, they have to start from the back of the grid into the Championship Race.

Driver quotes after the race:

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “I was really lucky to survive the first corner incident almost trouble free. I was hit by a Nissan and thought the race was over, but I was able to continue the race. The car was the really fast, but as everybody could see it was quite difficult to overtake today. But the third place is a great result and a very good starting position for the Championship Race.”

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “When Tomas gave me the car, he already told me that the steering wheel is not in the correct position after the first lap incident. I had some bad understeer due to that and struggled a bit when I followed the car in front of me very close. Hopefully we will have abetter start in the Championship Race tomorrow, but third place is solid foundation for the race tomorrow.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): „Nicky Pastorelli in the Lamborghini hit my left rear tire quite badly at the start. Immediately I noted that there was something not ok with the car and after three laps the suspension broke as result to the contact. It is really a shame, tomorrow it will be a really hard to job when we have to start from the back of the grid.”

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): „We have to start from the back into the Championship Race, that will not be an easy job. But we had a similar situation in Abu Dhabi and finished with a good result, so I hope the same for tomorrow.”

Hardy Fischer (team principal): “The incident in the first corner was a shame, that prevented us to score an even better result today. But I’m not too unhappy with the third place. That is a excellent result and gives all chances for tomorrow.”



Follow GT1 World:

Both races and the qualifying are streamed live in the internet with English commentary at www.gt1world.com/gt1tv

Timetable Zolder:

Sunday 10th April
10:05 - 10:35 FIA GT1 World Championship Warm Up
14:45 - 15:45 FIA GT1 World Championship Championship Race

Young Driver is on Twitter

Follow all the action @YoungDriverAMR

Schedule GT1-World 2011

24. – 25. March Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi (VAE)
08. – 10. April Zolder (B)
06. – 08. May Algarve, Portimão (P)
13. – 15. May Sachsenring (D)
03. – 05. June Silverstone Supercar 2011 (GB)
01. – 03. July Navarra (E)
15. – 17. July HTTT Paul Ricard, Le Castellet (F)
02. – 04. September Ordos (CN)
21. – 23. Oktober Curitiba (BR)
05. – 06. November San Luis (ARG)

About Young Driver AMR

Young Driver AMR was founded by Hardy Fischer and his friend and long-time associate Jan Struve in late 2009 and is representing Aston Martin as one of only two teams in the FIA GT1 World Championship with two Aston Martin DBR9. The abbreviation AMR in the team name stands for Aston Martin Racing, Young Driver AMR is the only official German partner team of Aston Martin Racing. Young Driver AMR is a sister-team of Fischer Racing and based in Paderborn. In it’s first racing season 2010, Young Driver AMR took three victories in the FIA GT1 World Championship and finished on the class podium in it’s first ever outing in the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans in France.

Further information’s:

Young Driver AMR www.youngdriver-amr.com
Fischer Racing www.fischer-racingteam.de
GT1 World www.gt1world.com
Aston Martin Racing www.astonmartinracing.com
Stefan Mücke www.stefan-muecke.de
Alex Müller www.alex-mueller.net
Tomas Enge www.tomas-enge.cz
Darren Turner www.darrenturner.net

With best regards from Paderborn

Young Driver AMR GmbH
Max-Planck-Str. 3a
D-33104 Paderborn / Germany

phone: +49 5254 93 06 295
Phone media: +49 176 222 18 308
email: oliver@youngdriver-amr.com
www.youngdriver-amr.com
Www.fischer-racingteam.de

Director: Erhard Fischer

Info/Young Driver Racing Team./ Fotos : AmigosRacing.

Basseng And Winkelhock take First All-Inkl Lamborghini Win

Round 2 – Zolder, Belgium Qualifying 9th April 2011

Basseng And Winkelhock take First All-Inkl Lamborghini Win Two weeks after taking their first podium finish, Marc Basseng took the chequered flag in the Round 2 Qualifying Race at Zolder to secure the first GT1 World race win for the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport team. Marcus Winkelhock set up his teammate for the victory when he had a fantastic start, thanks in part to a collision between some of the front runners at the first corner, ending the opening lap in 3rd place from 12th on the grid. Winkelhock handed the car over to Basseng, who moved ahead of the Exim Bank Team China Corvette of Mike Hezemans and then past the leader, Christian Hohenadel in the Hexis Aston Martin three laps from home. A dramatic start set the tone for the rest of the race, as the front row starters - the No. 37 All-Inkl Lamborghini and the No. 8 Young Driver AMR - clashed at the first corner - effectively ending both cars challenges. The No. 22 JR Motorsport Nissan GT fell victim to the carnage ahead, suffering damage to the rear suspension which ruled it out on the first lap. The first corner carnage caused a major reshuffle in the pack, as Nicky Catsburg in the No. 11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette moved from sixth into the lead by turn two. Second fell to the fast-starting No. 41 Marc VDS Ford GT, which had started from 10th, while third was occupied by eventual race winners Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock in the No. 38 All Inkl Lamborghini - which had started from 12th. They were joined by Alex Muller and Tomas Enge in the No. 7 Young Driver Aston Martin in a four-way battle for the lead, which reigned until the opening of the pit stop window when the No. 41 Ford was finally able to end Catsburg's impressive resistance in the Corvette and move into the lead. Hexis AMR then came to the fore as they produced yet another scintillating pit stop routine to help the No. 4 Aston Martin of Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini jump into the race lead, as a wheel socket problem befell the No. 41 Ford during its pit stop and dropped it from first to seventh. That left the No. 4 Hexis Aston Martin leading from Hezemans in the No. 11 Corvette and Basseng in the No. 38 Lamborghini, but with 20 minutes of the race remaining the gaps began to close as the trio were covered by less than one second. Hezemans defended doggedly for several laps but was finally unable to resist Basseng's charge as the German moved the No. 38 All-Inkl Murcielago into second through turns two and three, before locking onto the back of the lead No. 4 Hexis Aston Martin DB9. There was still time for late drama however as with four minutes of the race remaining Basseng made light contact with the No. 4 Hexis DB9, which suffered suspension damage and was forced to retire. That left Basseng free to take the chequered flag and with it the All-Inkl squad's maiden GT1 victory. "It's incredible - our first win!," a delighted Basseng said. "I'm sorry to Aston but it was a racing move, really light contact. For us though, our first podium in the last event and now our first win - fantastic!" Hezemans had to defend again in the closing stages but coped admirably to secure second in the Exim Bank Team China's Corvette, with the No. 7 Young Driver Aston Martin DB9 surviving a three-way fight for the line to clinch third. There were several casualties throughout the race, including both Belgian Racing Ford GT cars which clashed on lap nine at the second chicane - the resulting damage ruling out both cars from their home Qualifying Race. Marc Basseng, All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38 “It’s just amazing, I can’t believe it. Thank you to the mechanics who did a great job. I have great memories here at Zolder, but I think this is the best yet – the first win in GT1 for All-Inkl. “After I got Mike (Hezemans), which was a nice move, I caught up the gap to the front really quickly. I had a good exit on the back straight, he defended a little so I went on the outside and then he turned into me. I’m sorry for that because his car was damaged but it was not my fault. It’s a shame for the other All-Inkl as well – pole position again and another first corner incident, but now its in our hands to take it a little bit better. The race was great and it’s really nice to win – and hopefully we can have another good result tomorrow!” Markus Winkelhock, All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini No.38 “I think I was quite lucky to come through from 12th to third in the first corner – I almost couldn’t believe it! The car was pretty good in the beginning, but just before I came into the pit stop I got a bit of oversteer and I almost spun, so I was a bit more careful. It’s a great result for us, thank you to my team and my team-mate – Marc made a great move and that’s the reason we won actually. Two podiums in three races – it’s not a bad start, and I hope it continues like that!” Mike Hezemans, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No. 11 “The car felt okay, but coming out of the pits (Nicky) said ‘No brakes, no brakes’ so when I came out of the pits I put the balance to the back. On the first lap I still had no brakes and the Aston Martin overtook me, so I did a few slow laps and the brakes started coming back. I caught back up, but then the Lamborghini passed me. I really wanted a good finish, and a good starting position for tomorrow, so I’m really happy.” Nicky Catsburg, Exim Bank Team China Corvette No. 11 “I was quite amazed myself with the start – I was so lucky because some drivers went left, some went right and I stuck to the middle and came out first! I was amazed by that, but by the end of my stint I had some problems with my brakes, I kept going deeper and deeper so I couldn’t hold off the Ford any more. We didn’t expect to be here at all though so I’m really happy! The Corvette is quite nice to drive and with Mike I have the best teacher, I just have to listen to him and do what he says!” Tomas Enge, Young Driver Aston Martin Racing No. 7 “I would say I was really lucky in the first corner, because I could see the accident right in front of me and I was nearly caught up in it! I got hit and the steering wheel wasn’t straight anymore so I thought that might be my race, but I kept going and it was clear after the first few laps there was no other damage. I knew we had a pretty fast car and that it was pretty hard to overtake, so we just held position and I think this is a great starting position for tomorrow so thanks to my team-mate and the team.” Alex Müller, Young Driver Aston Martin Racing No. 7 “Tomas said the steering wasn’t straight so we had a bit more understeer, which gave us a bit more degradation in the rears, but as Tomas said it’s a good position for tomorrow going into the Championship Race. The car is fast, so we hope to have a clear start and see what happens.” Karl Wendlinger, Swiss Racing Lamborghini No. 5 “I’m really pleased with the result. We struggled a little at the beginning of my stint with the low tyre pressure but the car was consistent. May one lap more I could have got one place more but we have to focus on the main race tomorrow. The boys were very fast in the pit stop so I’m looking forward to tomorrow as we now have a good starting position. Christian Hohenadel, Hexis Aston Martin No.4 “We had a great pace at the start and it was going well. As for the incident (with the No.38 Lamborghini), my tyres were worn so I tried to stay on the inside at the braking point at the last chicane. He came up quite fast and I couldn’t just disappear. It was a real shame. I made contact and the suspension broke. It was a strong move but that’s racing I guess.” Vanina Ickx, Belgian Racing Ford GT No.9 “I am not that disappointed. We came from back in the field ((17th). Yesterday I was not confident in the car but didn’t have the chance to get my marks. Today we gambled on the set-up and it was a good gamble because it took only a few laps for me to get into a good rhythm. I avoided the crashes early on and I was running 11th until the crash (a collision with the sister Belgian Racing car) which which was a disappointment of course but it’s important to have a good feeling in the car. I am feeling much better about tomorrow. It’s always difficult to talk about expectations when you are dropped in a new championship with a new. Yesterday I talked with (Laurence Hanssen, team manager) and she said we could aim for the top 10 and I didn’t believe her but it was close. Tomorrow, we have the confidence to try for that.” Maxime Martin, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 “We had quite a lot of luck at the start from 10th position. Mako (Fred Makowiecki) did a really good job – he was first at the end of his stint. We had a problem at the pit stop, something broke with the gun so we lost 12 seconds. But anyway, we still finished fifth so we scored some points. I think we had the pace to win but the most important race is tomorrow. The object is to make a good start, stay out of the mess at the first corner and get a good result. For sure we have a good car.” Frederic Makowiecki, Marc VDS Ford GT No.41 “After a good start, I pushed until I could see a chance to take the lead and it was going well. But then we had a problem in the pit stop. We re-joined in seventh place so it was disappointing to lose all those places. We just have to do better tomorrow.” Marc Hennerici, Marc VDS Ford GT No.40 “Another disappointing day. Bas (Leinders) had little chance when he got caught up in the trouble at the start and the suspension broke. That’s motorsport I guess. This is the worst start to a season in my whole career but we just have to stick together and get through it. I’m sure we are going to be back at the top of the grid. We are going to be back.” Martin Matzke, Belgian Racing Ford GT No.10 “It was a racing incident; I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. It was a mistake on both sides.” Info: FIA GT1/ Fotos:AmigosRacing.