FIA GT – Total 24 Hours of Spa – Qualifying Report
And Other Things

After a 60 minute and 90 minute qualifying sessions yesterday, it took until five minutes from the end of Friday’s final 45 minute session for Mike Hezemans to finally find the clear track he needed to snatch pole position from the hands of Karl Wendlinger and the #33 JetAlliance Aston Martin DBR9, the #5 Carsport Holland Corvette C6.R man lopping half a second from Thursday’s best time from Wendlinger. The Dutchman claimed pole with a lap in 2:14.554, the first time the now veteran GT racer had scored pole position in the 24 Hours since 2001.

Mike Hezemans: “I had said yesterday that we would not improve today but after I got out of the car on new rubber I asked the team to make a change (more wing) and they decided not to. Fabrizio, Jean-Denis and Marcel all did their night laps and then I asked the team again whether they would try my suggestion. We made the change and the car was immediately several tenths faster.

“This morning I took the car out on older rubber and it felt fast, (then on new rubber) the pole lap was my only clear lap in both days of qualifying and the car was unbelievable in Blanchimont, I’m sure I lifted, but not much! The traffic is quite difficult, not so much the GT1 and GT2 cars but the GT3 cars seem to drive everywhere in the middle of the track.”

A somewhat subdued Karl Wendlinger had clearly not expected a late run to pole from the opposition: “We’d already decided not to go for a qualifying run today but Mike’s run was a surprise. We’re still in very good shape for the race though.”

Third fastest meanwhile was a very cheerful Oliver Gavin, the Englishman joining his Team Corvette wingman Olivier Beretta aboard the #3 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6.R, Gavin setting the mark on his very first flying lap of the Thursday evening first session: he last raced here in 1999, when he was contesting F3000.

“It wasn’t a clear lap: I was held up at the Pif Paf. I’m sure we could have set a 14.5.”

“The car is very, very good though," he continues.  "I reckon that on my first lap on new tyres, I had the highest grip level ever in a C6, anywhere that I’ve driven.  It was fantastic fun and I LOVE this track!  It was frustrating to get that bit of traffic but I had a huge smile on my face during the whole lap.  I spoke to Vincent [Vosse] before the lap and he told me I had to be flat through Eau Rouge and flat through Blanchimont but I lifted just a tiny bit in both cases.  Perhaps after a few more laps round here I won’t be lifting!"

The Corvette drivers are very confident in their charges – Hezemans reckoning that the race would be between his #5 and the #1 Maserati.

GT2 saw 24 hour racing virgin Gianmaria Bruni grab pole in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 430 with a lap of 2:21.929: “It’s my first 24 hour race so pole position is very good. I’m very comfortable racing at Spa, this is my 3rd pole position in my last four races here (the fourth was a 14th place start in an F1 Minardi).

“I’m still finding racing at night quite difficult but I’m getting used to it. We need more lights but I guess that’s the same for anyone in a Ferrari.”

This is the sister car: unusual routes through the Bus Stop.

Half a second further back was Emmanuel Collard in the #97 BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3 RSR: the fast Frenchman was upbeat about the GT2 battle to come but dismissed any prospect of a GT2 car repeating Freisinger’s 2003 overall race win, ahead of what is forecast to be a very rainy race:

“It’s good news for us to be so close to the pole position Ferrari. GT2 is a looking to be a very close race this year. The Pirellis are good too.

“Even if we get rain though there is no real chance to look at an overall podium, even less a win. The level of the GT1 teams now means that a result like that in 2003 is just not possible now.”

Can we be absolutely sure of that? Probably, because Collard was very dismissive of any prospect of a real surprise.

The weather forecast suggests an 80% chance of rain on Saturday – and 100% on Sunday. All that means is that it will probably rain tomorrow and it definitely will on Sunday – but for how long?

Next up was Paulo Ruberti in the #52 Edil Cris Ferrari: “That’s a great result for Edil Cris in our very first 24 Hour race, my team mate had a very small crash this morning but with no real problems we are going for a finish.”

In G2 Vincent Radermecker took pole in the Gravity Motorsports Mosler: “We have already had a chance to race with the Mosler here on the new look circuit as Belcar have raced here already, but the tyres this weekend are rather different from the harder rubber used in the Belgian series.”

The #23 Aston Martin Racing BMS DBR9 was finally out on track in Friday morning’s final qualifying after missing both night qualifying sessions following a comprehensive rear end crunch in free practice with Ferdinando Monfardini at the wheel. Its best was a 2:19.5.

In other news, Jonny Kane is in the #62 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari, with Enge, Janis and Mullen. “Jonny was brought in to give the team some breathing space,” says Chris Niarchos.

We’ll have to try and work out what that means as the race unfolds.

The Salo / Enge situation is still rumbling along, but the drivers have met here we believe, with representatives of Ferrari. Enge’s management has issued a statement regarding his dismissal from the P/WL team in the ALMS, but it doesn’t add a great deal to the position, although this paragraph is included in it.

‘The Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning team released Enge from the contract after the race given the fact that Enge had not observed the condition not to cause an accident,’ it says. “And this is the heart of the matter,” comments Antonin Charouz, Enge’s manager. “Tomas simply did not cause the accident. My information is that the team released him after pressure from Ferrari. Their bosses were not happy that two drivers in Ferraris fight each other and other car wins. Their view is quite understandable but my view is that Tomas took the rap from them unfairly. I am now waiting for a reply to my letters in whose I protested against the treatment of the matter. I am very happy that the Scuderia Ecosse team, Tomas race for them in the FIA GT championship, have taken very fair stand and have been keeping Tomas on board for the Spa 24 hours and following races of the championship. Tomas has got equally strong support from the team tyre supplier Pirelli.”

“I think that everything should be clear after this meeting including Tomas’s possible return to the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning team,” says Charouz, rather surprisingly.

Enge had a huge 2x360 spin at Blanchimont yesterday, we understand, from someone who saw it.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the GT4 race here this afternoon, with some interesting machinery on display – it’s just that there aren’t enough of them. One of the Porsche Caymans was written off in an accident at Eau Rouge.

Traffic won’t be a problem in that race, but it’s likely to be in the main event, as drivers are commonly suggesting here after the practice and qualifying sessions. There are an awful lot of drivers in 24 hour cars whom we haven’t heard of before – and they’ve been allowed to take part with an Int’l C licence, we understand. Are traffic and the weather going to be the main talking points during Saturday and Sunday?

PS. We haven't worked out why the de Radigues / Belmondo etc. Ferrari has all these signatures all over it.
MC & GG