GT Open, Barcelona – Report
Ayari Takes The Title Qualifying Philipp Peter took pole for Race 1 in the Kessel Ferrari 458 he shared with Michal Broniszewski. With the track dry for the first time that weekend, the Austrian's 1:48.463 beat by one-tenth the Drivex Porsche of De Castro, the Vittoria Ferrari F430 of Pierguidi and the Villorba Ferrari of Moncini. The championship leader was ahead of the two JMB Ferraris of Frezza and Ayari, the other title contender, which promised a very interesting duel in Race 1. In GTS, championship leader Lorenzo Bontempelli (Kessel Ferrari) was fastest ahead of the Novadriver Audi of Figuereido. The session was red-flagged twice for separate incidents (with no consequences) involving Garofano and Gerber. Andrea Montermini would start from pole position for Race 2, after setting the fastest time in second qualifying. Sharing the front row would be the fastest car in GTS, the Lamborghini Goodsense of Peter Kox, while Soheil Ayari would start from the third row. The second session, on dry track, was red-flagged after a severe crash between the Sports&You Mercedes SLS of Marcello Puglisi and the Deboeuf Porsche 911R of Thomas Gruber. A brake problem led Puglisi to violently hit the back of the Porsche, whose engine briefly caught fire. Thomas Gruber was taken to hospital for checks and was diagnosed with two broken ribs. Race 1 Soheil Ayari and his teammate Joël Camathias had the perfect race on the Saturday at Barcelona, beating the Kessel Ferrari of Philipp Peter and Michal Broniszewski. Third overall and winners for the third time in GTS were Stefano Bizzarri/Andrea Rizzoli, after a fantastic race for the Italian young duo, while Peter Kox-Eugenio Amos (Goodsense Lamborghini) took second and Lorenzo/Bontempelli (Kessel Ferrari) third; extending to seven points their lead in the GTS standings over Gianluca Roda (Autorlando Porsche) and Fabio Babini, who finished fourth in the race. The start was delayed by a lap because of the failure of the Kessel Ferrari of Geri on the formation lap. When it did get underway, poleman Peter had no problem in taking the lead, ahead of De Castro, Pier Guidi, Frezza, Ayari, Moncini, Bontempelli and Miguez. In the initial laps, De Castro had to let Pier Guidi, Frezza, Ayari and Moncini past, while soon afterwards Ayari passed team mate Frezza and then Pier Guidi (Lap 9) to take second. In GTS, Bizzarri led from Bontempelli and Babini. On Lap 12, at the end of the straight, Ayari passed Peter, but the Austrian reacted and retook the lead, only to lose it one lap later. On Lap 18, something broke on the SunRed and Gené hit the wall hard in Turn 2, while a big fight broke out between the two GTS contenders, Bontempelli and Babini. Ayari stopped for the driver change on Lap 22, as did Peter, Bontempelli and Roda. After the pit stop, Broniszewski led by 13s over Ayari and 23s over Bizzarri. Then came Lopez and Frezza, with, further back, Montermini and Ramos. Contact between Godinho and Gião – fighting for the Spanish GT title –on Lap 26, saw Gião sent into a spin. Alvaro Barba, meanwhile, had put the Autorlando Porsche in the gravel in a lap earlier. At the front, Broniszewski was caught and passed by Camathias on Lap 29, with Rizzoli third, Bell fourth and Lopez and Montermini fighting for fifth and passing each other a couple of times. While Camathias won with no problems, there was a fierce battle for third between Rizzoli, Bell and Montermini (and a contact between the last two). In GTS, the Lambo of Amos was second with Gattuso third and Roda fourth. Race 2 Soheil Ayari became the new International GT Open champion, after a thrilling finalé which saw the title changing hands two laps from the end. The Frenchman started the day with a 12 point margin over Andrea Montermini/Emanuele Moncini (Villorba Corse), but had a bigger handicap following the previous day’s win; with the result being that he came seventh after being beaten in the final phases of the race. But when Emanuele Moncini lost second to Alessandro Pier Guidi (who eventually won the race in the Vittoria Ferrari F430 shared with Cochito López), Ayari became virtual champion by one point – and he got both hands on the trophy on the last lap when Moncini went off track after contact with Garofano during a desperate attempt to retake second spot. Frezza/Bell were second in the second JMB Ferrari, ahead of Barba/Ceccato (Autorlando Porsche). In GTS, with Roda (Autorlando Porsche) retiring in the early stages, the title was quickly granted to Lorenzo Bontempelli and Stefano Gattuso (Kessel Ferrari), who took their sixth win of the season ahead of the Villois Aston of Wiser-Lancieri and the Goodsense Lamborghini of Kox-Amos. Montermini had a good start and concluded the first lap ahead of Amos, Bell, Camathias, Griffin, Rangoni, Lavio, Lopez, Barba and Giao; but the safety car was out as separate incidents took Rugolo and Godinho off the track, while Roda stopped with a broken wheel. The Porsche of Aka was also leaking fluid. At the restart, Montermini kept control, while the Lambo started to slip down the rankings before stopping to change a tyre on Lap 8. The JMBs of Bell and Camathias were second and third, ahead of Rangoni, Griffin, Barba, Lavio and Lopez. The Audi of Campaniço now led GTs, ahead of Wiser and Gattuso. As the driver-change window opened, Ayari was among the first to take the wheel (after serving his 30-second handicap), while Moncini (15-seconds handicap) did the same on lap 15, rejoining second behind Garofano. Ceccato was third, followed by Pierguidi, Frezza, Gerber and Giammaria, with Ayari eighth. In GTS, Lancieri was first in the Aston, ahead of Mantovani - both being subsequently handed a drive-through for speeding in the pitlane – and Bontempelli. The final laps saw Garofano, Moncini and Pierguidi getting closer and closer, with Frezza fourth, Ceccato, Giammaria and Ayari. At this point, it was Moncini’s championship, but the storming finish of Pier Guidi was going to change everything. As he passed Moncini for second on Lap 25, the championship was going to Ayari by one point, but on the last lap Moncini tried a desperate assault on Garofano (who had just lost the lead under the attacks of Pier Guidi) and the two went off the track. It was the end of the suspense and Ayari (who had passed Giammaria in the meantime) was the new champion, while Pier Guidi could celebrate his win. In GTS, Bontempelli won the race (ahead of Wiser and Amos) and the title. "It's been one of my best seasons!" said a delighted Ayari. "I took great pleasure in participating in this great championship that has proven to be one of the greatest European series. I had a fantastic relationship with my teammates and the team, and we will do everything to continue to race in the GT Open next year!" “To be part of this result has been a great honour for me," said Camathias. "From the bottom of my heart I want to thank Nicolas Misslin [JMB Racing team owner] for giving me such a great opportunity, my superb team – they did an amazing job – and Soheil; not only an excellent driver, but also a really nice and serious guy. I’m proud to call him friend!” “It was a great challenge to help JMB Racing take the GT Open titles and quite a responsibility as well,” said Rob Bell. “Not having any dry running in practice didn’t help with the race preparations, but over the course of the weekend we were able to improve the car, and by the final race we had excellent balance and a very strong pace. “The team did a great job and I’d like to thank JMB Racing for the opportunity to share a victorious weekend. I had never competed in the International GT Open Series, with much shorter races than I’m used to running in, so it was a new experience and a different challenge. I’m delighted that I could help the team to achieve their goals and my congratulations go to everyone at JMB Racing for their success, and to Soheil for his title victory.” Overall Standings Overall: 1. Ayari, 199 p.; 2. Moncini-Montermini, 177; 3. Frezza, 173; 4. Lopez, 168; 5. Ramos, 166 GTS: 1.Bontempelli-Gattuso, 116 p.; 2. Roda, 103; 3. Babini, 83; 4. Bizzarri, 76; 5. Rizzoli, 72 Teams SGT: 1.JMB Racing, 102 p.; 2. Villorba Corse, 79; 3. Vittoria Competizioni, 74; 4. EdilCris Racing Team, 74; 5. Kessel Racing, 51 Teams GTS: 1. Kessel Racing, 149 p.; 2. Autorlando Sport, 103; 3. AF Corse, 89; 4. Villois Racing, 48; 5. Raceteam Deboeuf, 31 | 
