FIA GT1, San Luis - Qualifying Race Report

In a race that was never exciting Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr secured the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship. The JR Motorsports drivers finished second in the Qualifying Race, but with their main rivals out of action and the rest of the title contenders finishing behind the #23 Nissan GT-R the Drivers’ Championship has been decided one race before the end of the season.

At the start of the race Yelmer Buurman pulled in front of Michael Krumm and the Exim Bank Team China Corvette held onto the lead as the cars went into the first chicanes. Unfortunately not all cars managed to get through lap 1 without damage. At turn 6 the Marc VDS Racing Team Ford GT of Ricardo Risatti made contact with the #22 JR Motorsports Nissan of Peter Dumbreck. Dumbreck suffered right rear suspension damage, whilst the Ford GT suffered severe damage to the front section. Both cars returned to the pit where the Ford was retired. The Nissan would eventually return after the JR Motorsports mechanics repaired the damage.

As Buurman pulled away at the front Andrea Piccini and Christopher Haase fought for position. On lap 3 Piccini passed Haase for seventh, but a lap later there was contact between the two. The Lambo dropped down the order and the Hexis AMR #4 Aston Martin DBR9 suffered damage to the rear. Its problems weren’t over though as on lap 9 Piccini slowed down with a right front puncture.

When the pit window opened Buurman had just improved the fastest lap and was some five seconds clear of Krumm’s Nissan. The #37 All-Inkl.com Lamborghini and #21 Sumo Power GT Nissan came in immediately, but a problem with the right rear wheel nut meant the Nissan lost its fourth place.

One lap later Krumm came in for his stop and after a quick stop Lucas Luhr was sent out again in an attempt to catch the Exim Bank Team China Corvette. Buurman had none of it though and continued for another two laps before coming into pit lane on lap 14. Patrick Selleslagh’s crew quickly serviced the car and sent Francesco Pastorelli out onto the track - the #11 Corvette rejoined the track almost five seconds ahead of Lucas Luhr.

In the laps that followed Luhr closed in on Pastorelli and on lap 20 and still some 13 minutes left in the race the gap was down to just under three seconds. Marc VDS Racing Team’s penultimate race in the GT1 World Championship ended with a double DNF when Maxime Martin parked his car at turn 6 on lap 22.

Luhr kept pushing in the final laps, without taking any risks though, and soon the gap between the Nissan and the Corvette was less than a second. Onto the last lap the difference between the two cars was half a second, with Francesco Pastorelli taking defensive lines in order to keep the Nissan behind. The Dutchman made no mistake though and finished the race in first place, taking the first win in 2011 for Corvette.

By finishing second Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm secured the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship. The #7 Young Driver AMR of Tomas Enge and Alex Müller finished in fifth place. As a result - and the fact that the Corvette teams can’t score points for the Teams’ Championship - the gap between JR Motorsports and Young Driver AMR is just 3 points going into the final race of the season.