FIA GT - Paul Ricard HTTT -  Qualifying Report

There are worse places to be in October than on the French Riviera. In that spirit comes a visit to the justifiably highly acclaimed Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track. Being off-season one can get a nice room near the sea, then drive the country roads past orchards and vineyards up the hills to one of the finest motor racing facilities in the world.

Paul Ricard has been known mostly as the pre-season test circuit for the Le Mans Series, although it had hosted a FIA GT round a few years back. Then it was a closed, VIP invitation only event. Now the circuit is open to the public and there is a sizable scattering of fans. They’re here to see something of a GT feast as in addition to the principal FIA GT series, there is also the GT3 (which as usual has the larger entry), the popular FFSA GT Championship, and a Lamborghini Super Trofeo round tossed into the mix.

The biggest buzz of the day has been the retroactive disqualification of the GT2 Porsches from the Spa 24 Hours. All ran the non-homologated steel sleeves. This scatters the old points table, meaning that the Ferrari and Porsche are much closer going into the final two rounds.

There is also one technical change among the cars. The No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari has gone to the wider wheels option permitted under the rules. It calls for more restrictor and a 100 kilo slug of ballast, but the team found in recent testing at Vallelunga that this was the way to go. The Porsches have been running all season in this configuration. the #50 car is also running some of the aero upgrades planned for the 430 GT in 2011.

The entry had already declined by two cars as the K Plus K Saleens have become K Minus K = Zero, grumbling about funds or lack of desire to pay any seems to be the proximate cause. There is only a net drop of one though thanks to a guest visit by a GT1 car. It is one of the the ex-Care Racing Ferrari 550s, this example the Prodrive built car that had run previously in Dubai. It is being fielded by Solution F and features F1 star Olivier Panis along with car owner Ange Barde.

The very long circuit (5842 meters), combined with the short 15-minute per class qualifying session, places a premium on getting that one good lap. It is possible to get the tires to optimum temperature on out lap and get your best time on the first flyer. An alternate, though risky approach is to wait till the others have placed their bets and best, then emerge and try to hit the target.

In GT2 it was a case of the first flyers being the definitive lap. Darryl O’Young (No. 61 Prospeed Porsche) set a 2:09.433, which was soon eclipsed by Martin Ragginger (No. 97 Brixia Porsche). Then Gimmi Bruni reeled off a 2:08.314 in the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari. Each was set on the respective first lap, and that’s where the session remained—no improvements at the top and no real challenges.

GT1 was more varied. Bas Leinders (No. 40 VDS Ford at 2:06.775) held provisional pole, albeit only because he was the first GT1 car to complete a lap. He was quickly knocked down three spots, successively by Alessandro Pier Guidi (No. 33 Vitaphone Maserati at 2:02.043), then Andrea Bertolini at 2:02.044 in the No. 8 Sangari Corvette. Panis momentarily held third thanks to a good 2:04.995 in the old Ferrari. Thomas Biagi slipped in ahead of Panis with a 2:03.44 in the No. 19 Alphand Corvette.

The Paul Ricard circuit is noted for its long straights and is thus very Corvette friendly, as demonstrated during yesterday’s practice when the No. 8 car topped both sessions. Bernoldi proved this the next time around with 2:01.457, putting the Brazilian flagged Corvette on top. While his time held, the team will only start from 6th as they have a five place penalty stemming from avoidable contact in Hungary.

The penalty promoted Alex Müller to actual pole. His 2:01.856 in the No. 2 Vitaphone Maserati was set about midway through the session. Mike Hezemans (No. 4 Pekaracing Corvette) was the only one to try the late session strategy and it failed. His time only was good for fifth and although he improved slightly on time, he remained there on position.

Tomorrow’s FIA GT race starts at 14:15. Daily Sports Car will provide updates every other hour during the race.

JW