The FIA GT Championship 24 hour race in Spa-Francorchamps kicked off
today with two practices prior to the evening's three qualifying rounds
for the fourth round on the 2009 schedule. While teams arrived and
set-up for this weekend's contest, along with the extra entries for the
endurance event, many noted the weather and the rain that was falling on
and off at the historic Spa circuit in Belgium.
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GT2 pole winner Gianmaria Bruni and GT1 pole winner Alex Müller. Photo by DPPI.
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Today started with practice runs to allow the teams run both qualifying
and race set-ups as they only had today to find what was needed for the
Saturday-Sunday twice-around-the-clock race. There will be no on-track
time tomorrow for the teams but they will have down time that will be
busy with a parade and signing of autographs.
Pre-qualifying practice was dry and for the first time, the drivers were
able to see what type of speeds they could muster. Two of the top GT1
teams were able to land sub-1:18 times. Vitaphone Racing Team's No. 2
Maserati MC 12 hit a 2:17.111 with the No. 3 Corvette Z06 clocking off a
2:17.563 for the Selleslagh Racing Team.
The stage had been set for the first of the three qualifying sessions.
It would be the final chance to fine-tune the sportscars to make a run
for the pole. However, just 15 minutes into the session the rain came.
It was not a light rain shower but one that was heavy and in a matter of
seconds, the track was extremely slick.
Those 15 minutes truly set the provisional grid with the track remaining
wet for the final two qualifying runs of 45 minutes each. Those out on
track could see the weather and many of the racers were out laying down
fast laps, looking for the coveted class pole position.
Alex Muller did just that with a time of 2:18.030 to claim the overall
pole in the No. 2 Vitaphone Maserati. The German driver, along with his
season long teammate Miguel Ramos will be joined by Pedro Lamy and Eric
Van de Poele for this event. Sitting fourth in the GT1 driver points,
Ramos and Muller hope to be in the top spot on Sunday when the clock
runs out at 4:00pm (local time).
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#33 Vitaphone Racing Team DHL Maserati MC 12: Alessandro Pier Guidi, Stéphane Lemeret, Carl Rosenblad, Vincent Vosse. Photo by DPPI.
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Muller was the fastest of the Vitaphone entries today but following
close behind in a sweep of the top three were two of the other team
cars.
Alessandro Pier Guidi was 0.561 seconds off the pace but will start on
the front row in the team's No. 33 Maserati with a time of 2:18.591. He
and his team driver Carl Rosenblad had the driving skills of Stephane
Lemeret and Vincent Vosse in their aim to score the Spa 24H win.
Third on the grid in the No. 1 Vitaphone belongs to the current points
leaders' Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini. Aiding their efforts to
remain on top will be Stephane Sarrazin and Alexandre Sarnes Negrao.
Bertolini ran his best lap at 2:19.222.
Two Corvettes were fourth and fifth with the trio of Enrique Bernoldi,
Roberto Streit and Xavier Maassen on the second row with a 2:19.530
for the No. 8 Sangari Team Brazil Z06.
On the third row will be the No. 3 Z06 who showed their earlier speed in
the practice but with the weather a factor, they slotted fifth with a
best lap of 2:19.530. Oliver Gavin and Maxime Soulet will do their best
to earn points for the Selleslagh Racing Team's regular drivers Bert
Longin and James Ruffier.
Rounding out the GT1 third row was a Ford GT belonging to the Marc VDS
Racing Team. The No. 40's best lap was 2:21.881. Eric de Doncker, Bas
Leinders and Renaud Kuppens would truly enjoy standing on the podium at
their home venue.
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#55 CRS Racing Ferrari F430: Chris Niarchos, Tim Mullen, Phil Quaife, Chris Goodwin. Photo by DPPI.
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The GT2 class saw the usual battle for supremacy from the Porsche
and Ferrari teams, this time a brief battle before the deluge came,
soaking the track. Two Ferrari F430s took the coveted one-two slots in
qualifying.
The top spot in the GT2 class with a time of 2:25.232 belongs to the No.
50 AF Corse team. Full season team drivers Toni Vilander and Gianmaria
Bruni sit second in the points just two points adrift of the leading
duo from Porsche, Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook. Bruni had the
honors of taking the GT2 pole. Assisting the two team drivers are Jaime
Melo and Luis Perez Companc.
Tim Mullen set the second fastest time at 2:26.349 in the No. 55 CRS
Racing F430. Mullen and Chris Niarchos will run the race with Phil
Quaife and Chris Goodwin as the third and fourth drivers.
Jorg Bergmeister, one of the many Porsche factory drivers who splits his
time between series in Europe and North America, was the racer chosen
to qualify the No. 59 Trackspeed Porsche 911 GT3 RS. His best lap of
2:26.471 landed the team third on the grid, just missing the second best
time by 0.107 seconds. Tim Sugden, Stephane Ortelli and David Ashburn
will trade the seat during the 24 hour fight for Spa glory.
While it is usual to mention the G2 class first, this time credit for
getting out early and setting the fastest G3 time deserves mention
first.
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Wild lights at Spa. Photo by DPPI.
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Thomas Mutsch not only qualified the Matech GT Racing No. 121 Ford GT on
the class pole, he was 11th overall. Sometimes it pays to have a bit of
luck and a keen eye on the weather. Clocking a 2:26.364, Mutsch was only
0.015 seconds off the pace of the second fastest GT2 Ferrari. Sharing
the driving duties with Mutsch will be Maxime Martin, Peter Wyss and
Marc Hennerici.
Marcel Fassler was able to get in a fast lap of 2:28.327 in the No. 111
Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS before the track was too wet to attempt a
faster time. Joining Fassler will be Henri Moser, Alexander Margaritis
and Marc Basseng in what they all hope, along with the rest of the
competitors, will be a dryer race track during the 24 hour challenge on
the 7.004 km Belgium circuit.
The final session before the clock for the race starts will be Saturday
morning for a warmup session. Later in the afternoon the fun starts with the
green flag waving and will not end until 24 hours have been completed on
Sunday.
