FFSA GT, Albi – Race One Report
First Win For Tarrès Team

The first race at Albi was eventful and its result uncertain to the end, but Tarrès Team claimed its first win ever in the FFSA GT championship with the #4 Saleen S7R driven by Olivier Thévenin and Eric Debard, thanks to the right choice of tyres. 

In the qualifying session, Jean-Claude Police (#3 DKR Engineering CorvetteC6.R) had been quickest, ahead of another C6.R, the #11 Luc Alphand Aventures car driven by Bruno Hernandez, with Patrick Bornhauser  (#7 Larbre Compétition Saleen S7R) third.

At the start, Police got away well from pole, while Bornhauser had to pit, losing one lap on his contenders. Wilfried Merafina, now behind the wheel of the #9 SRT Corvette C6.R, was pushing hard and took the lead on lap four. Bruno Hernandez was in third place, just ahead of Eric Debard (#4 Tarrès Team Saleen S7R).

There was much traffic in the pitlane for the driver changes, which left the GT2 cars, which stayed out longer on the track, in the lead. After the driver changes, however, the young Belgian driver Maxime Soulet, who had taken over from Merafina, was in first place, but threatened by Soheil Ayari and the LAA Corvette C6.R. Soulet, however, had a drive-through penalty and the rain began falling in heavy downpours. Soon, the track was fully wet.

Within fifteen minutes of the chequered flag, many drivers, including Soheil Ayari and both DKR Engineering drivers, chose to stay on slicks; while the Tarrès Team quickly called in their Saleens for wet tyres. At his restart, Olivier Thévenin was ten seconds faster a lap than Ayari and was quickly coming back at him. He succeeded easily in passing him in the last two laps, claiming the first win for the team. 

In the GT2 category, Raymond Narac and Richard Balandras (#40 IMSA Performance Porsche 997 RSR) were winners, ahead of the championship leaders, Eric Mouez and David Loger (#35 Nourry Compétition Porsche 996 RSR). Sébastien Loeb (#34 PRO GT Porsche 997 RSR) had been charging after he had taken over from Champeau and, despite a drive-through penalty for a too-short driver change, he succeeded in passing the second IMSA Performance car (#36 Polette/Lelièvre Porsche 997 RSR) for third place, thanks to a strong finish. 

Franck Morel (#74 RTR Dodge Viper) had set the pole position and was first into Turn 1, but he soon encountered mechanical troubles and had to pit before retiring. Bruno Dubreuil, meanwhile, had jumped the start and was assessed a stop and go penalty. François Jakubowski (#55 Ferrari 430) was then in the lead after a good start. Dubreuil, however, produced a strong race after his penalty and he managed to take the lead just before the driver changes.

Julien Briché, who had taken over from him, chose to stay on slicks in spite of the rain and kept his position, finishing fourth overall; just before the #42 Ruffier Racing Lamborghini Gallardo driven by Arnaud Peyroles and James Ruffier. Moureu and Parisy (#57 AS Events Ferrari 430) were in third place at the chequered flag, but they had a five seconds penalty applied after the race as a result of an avoidable contact. So, David Tuchbant and Antoine Leclerc were promoted to third with the #54 First Racing Lamborghini Gallardo. For his first GT3 race, David Hallyday came back from eleventh up to fifth place with the #69 Sport Garage Ferrari 430.

Claude Foubert