FIA GT – Spa 24 Hours – Start and Hour One

OK – A few bits and pieces to update

We had a farmers protest on track earlier, a blockade of tractors making their way very slowly down the two pit straights, it seems as a trade off against blockading the circuit, the protest is apparently at current wholesale milk prices - Insert jokes about creaming off profits here!

Both the #95 Pecom Ferrari and the #175 Alpina will start from the back of the grid after failing to beat the Qualification maxima.

The #11 Full Speed Saleen joins the pit lane starters and will also have to serve a drive through after the team changed an engine. The team have though opted not to join in for the green flag lap but will instead join after the race proper has started, thereby saving some fuel and, they hope, stay clear of any lap one shenanighans

Graham Tyler helpfully tells dsc that the full pitlane is just a fraction of a metre shorter than a full kilometre in today’s configuration – A drive through on the pit limiter will therefore take a full minute.

Some very good news for a substantial British contingent - David Addison is providing an English voice amongst the local commentary team for the first time in many, many years.  For those lucky enough to have radio AND the web at the track the commentary is on 107.5 FM - Good news too for dsc - Our Flemish is particularly poor!  As an aside the dsc Ed thinks this is his 25th 24 Hour race as a reporter - a combination of Le Mans, Spa, Silverstone, Daytona and the Nurburgring.  There's 25 days and nights I won't get back again!!

The #2 Maserati gets a ticking off from the Race director, Alex Muller pulling away before the green flag is shown - No harm done though as the car merely trickles off the line for a few metres and stops in the face of some vigourous finger wagging!

We've got patches of blue sky between substantial cloud cover but the sun is shining around the circuit for the start - all the gridded cars are away and off on the green flag lap behind the Weissmann leading car.

The Leading pair of MC12s back the field right up and only put the hammer down as they cross the start line, #2 lead #1 with Bernoldi getting the jump on the #33 MC12 and gavin battling hard to grab that place too.

The #99 JMB Ferrari pits before the start and rejoins on slicks

The #40 Ford goes by Hezemans  for 6th as Bernoldi grabs second place in the Brazilian Vette ahead of Bertolini's #1 Maserati.

Pilet has got the jump on the Ferraris, the IMSA Performance Porsche leads Bruni, Mullen and Collard after Lap One.

The fastest lap so far is a 2:09.548 and its unlikely to be beaten - That's because the first lap wasn't a full one - it was timed from the old startline and completed at the new start line.

Lap 3 and Gavin grabs fourth for SRT. - Hezemans grabs back sixth from the Ford.

Mullen has driopped back behind Collard and the improving Audi, Fassler up to 12th overall.

The #120 and #11 cars took their allotted drive throughs at the end of lap 2 

The #175 Alpina BMW is the first retirement, a fire underneath the rear of the car as something lets go in a big way.

Bernoldi grabs the lead at Les Combes and Gavin is right there putting Muller under further pressure, thelead group numbers 6, all three MC12s and all three C6.rs all in a row 3 seconds covers 1-6  

All the lap one times have been disallowed for the reasons noted above - Fastest lap therefore currently stands to Mike Hezemans - a 2:18.357. Not bad for a 40 year old!

Bruni is dropping back from Pilet as fassler muscles his way past Collard and closes in on the #50 AF Corse car.

Hezemans takes 5th and per Guidi is dropping back from the lead group. This is great stuff from the GT1s at the start.

16:16 - Gavin grabs second at la Source from the #2 Maserati - It's a Corvette 1-2 after 7 laps

The #78 Ferrari pits with electrical trouble. The Pecom Ferrari GT2 (#95) is in gearbox trouble.  Will we see either car re-emerge - some cynics say no! (and in the case of the #95 they are right - it's retired with a broken gearbox but will not get the penalty imposed by the Championship for not entering all races - Which is nice!) - And guess what, the #78 Ferrari's electrical problem is apparently serious enough to warrant a retirement too! We're down to 36 but on the upside there will be no fine and no weight penalty for the no doubt really very badly damaged #78 and #95.  It's all looking very JLOC!!

Gavin is charging, his lap 8 is the first into the 2:17s, 2:17.618, he's right with Bernoldi and takes a look up the inside, the Brazilian though defends vigourously

16:22 Hezemans grabs fourth up the inside of Muller at La Source

16:24 - Pierre Kaffer is making good progress, up to 4th in GT2 in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari

16:29 - Andrew Kirkaldy seems to have a problem - the #56 car had been dropping down the order and has pitted.

Bernoldi and Gavin are really going at it - a great display Gavin dives up the inside of the leader into la Source as they start lap 14 but he runs wide and the brazilian retakes the position.. 

In the land of the 200 GT1 cars the Marc VDS Ford is in the garage, engine cover off, the Nissan inherits the sub class lead. Its a gearbox issue for the #40 car, it's stuck in 4th.

The inter-vette battle has allowed Bertolini to close in

Fassler meanwhile is up to 8th in the Audi, ahead of the GT2 runners.

16:34 and Gavin uses traffic to find a way by Bernoldi as they complete lap 15

16:37 Hezemans loses out in traffic as the lead group pass the G&A Mosler - he's down to 5th - Not for long though, Bernoldi fumbles and drops down to fifth, hezemans meanwhile grabs third as the rain starts to fall.  Gavin is going away - 10 seconds to the good and taking full advantage of the battles behind him

Bernoldi is now struggling in the increasingly wet conditions, he goes outside one of the CRS Ferraris on the run to La Source but per Guid goes inside and takes fifth.

16:40 Van Dam, who started from the pitlane in the #11 Saleen, hs worked his way steadily through from the back of the field and has now reached 17th overall. The car though is one of a clutch that has pitted for wets.  The Brazilian Corvette looks set to join them, bernoldi clearly not enjoying the wet.

Muller grabs second from Bernoldi and Hezmans drops behind a charging per Guidi - Vitaphone MC12s are 2nd, 3rd and 4th as the top of the hour looms. the #33 car though runs very wide at La Source and Hezemans grabs back the position, Bernoldi also passes the MC12.

Hour 1 Positions

Pos  No  Name  Nat  Class  Car  Laps  On Track  Stops  Gap  Diff  S1  S2  S3  Last Lap  Best Lap 
1 3 GAVIN GBR   1 Corvette Z06 25  0     40.024 1:04.876 35.377 2:20.277 2:17.618
2 2 MULLER GER  1 Maserati MC 12 24  0 1 Lap   42.564 1:03.801   2:21.236 2:18.432
3 1 BERTOLINI ITA 1 Maserati MC 12 24  0 1 Lap   40.207 1:05.255   2:21.976 2:18.517
4 4 HEZEMANS NED  1 Corvette Z06 24  0 1 Lap   40.356 1:04.619   2:24.667 2:18.228
5 33 GUIDI ITA 1 Maserati MC 12 24  0 1 Lap   40.640 1:06.911   2:25.995 2:18.609
6 8 BERNOLDI BRA 1 Corvette Z06 24  0 1 Lap   39.933 1:06.754   2:24.838 2:18.260
7 70 PILET FRA 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 24  0 1 Lap   42.651 1:10.418 37.328 2:30.397 2:23.358
8 35 KRUMM GER 1 Nissan GT-R 24  1 1 Lap   41.737 1:06.864 45.399 2:34 2:21.011
9 111 FASSLER SUI 4 Audi R8 LMS 23  1 2 Laps   42.674 1:08.296   2:30.026 2:23.230
10 50 BRUNI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 23  1 2 Laps   44.117 1:08.187   2:28.673 2:24.182
11 51 KAFFER GER 2 Ferrari F430 23  0 2 Laps   43.017 1:09.159   2:29.313 2:22.603
12 97 RAGGINGER AUT 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 23  0 2 Laps   42.933 1:08.425   2:31.549 2:23.155
13 60 COLLARD FRA 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 23  0 2 Laps   44.144 1:09.365   2:31.552 2:25.774
14 55 MULLEN GBR 2 Ferrari F430 23  0 2 Laps   42.835     2:31.931 2:28.089
15 61 SPLUNTEREN NED 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 23  0 2 Laps   42.724     2:32.538 2:28.229
16 118 RADERMEKER BEL 4 Mosler MT900 23  0 2 Laps   43.293     2:34.460 2:26.716
17 161 LANIK GBR 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 23  0 2 Laps   43.203 1:10 39.669 2:32.872 2:29.619
18 122 OLIVEIRA JR BRA 5 Ford GT 23  0 2 Laps   44.293 1:10.512 39.261 2:34.066 2:29.016
19 123 LEFORT BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 23  0 2 Laps   43.873 1:12.230 39.699 2:35.802 2:31.565
20 145 KELDERS BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 22  0 3 Laps   43.515 1:13.331   2:38.653 2:31.628
21 117 KAUFMANN GER 4 Porsche 996 Bi-Turbo (GT2-R) 22  0 3 Laps   43.353 1:12.251   2:35.224 2:31.109
22 110 SCHUYBROECK BEL 4 Mosler MT900 22  0 3 Laps   43.298 1:11.771   2:35.671 2:29.196
23 124 HARING GER 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 22  0 3 Laps   45.042 1:12.005   2:38.440 2:31.084
24 56 KIRKALDY GBR 2 Ferrari F430 22  1 3 Laps   43.108 1:08.412   2:30.568 2:27.965
25 77 MALUCELLI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 22  2 3 Laps   42.423 1:07.132   3:54.775 2:22.014
26 116 LICHTNER-HOYER AUT 4 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 22  0 3 Laps   43.848 1:11.149   2:38.303 2:33.117
27 59 SUGDEN GBR 2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 22  1 3 Laps   43.204 1:06.883   2:31.352 2:29.740
28 121 MUTSCH GER 5 Ford GT 22  2 3 Laps   42.988     4:03.178 2:22.475
29 11 AZWAAN NED 1 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo 22  3 3 Laps   40.956     2:26.963 2:22.369
30 120 SHOVLIN IRL 5 Ferrari 430 GT3 21  2 4 Laps   2:53.275 1:12.148   2:46.155 2:33.902
31 160 KERKHOVE BEL 5 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S 21  2 4 Laps   2:13.054     3:01.222 2:32.599
32 172 SCHROYEN BEL 5 Aston Martin DBRS9 21  2 4 Laps   44.798 1:10.793   4:04.278 2:31.359
33 99 KUTEMAN NED 2 Ferrari F430 21  0 4 Laps   46.216     2:49.371 2:35.800
34 174 BRANDELA FRA 5 BMW Alpina B6 GT3 21  2 4 Laps   2:24.452 1:14.569 40.392 4:19.413 2:32.498
35 115 TREMBLAY FRA 4 Porsche 996 Bi-Turbo (GT2-R) 18  3 7 Laps   56.772 1:33.017 1:03.857 3:33.646 2:36.101
36 40 LEINDERS BEL 1 Ford GT (001 PT GT1) 13  1 12 Laps   40.338 1:05.761 53.641 2:39.740 2:20.711
37 175 HUMMEL GER  5 BMW Alpina B6 GT3 3  0 22 Laps   44.058     2:32.590 2:32.590 Retired Engine
38 78 PESCATORI ITA 2 Ferrari F430 3  1 22 Laps   47.982 1:21.427 56.821 3:06.230 2:41.641Retired - Electrical
39 95 CASE ITA 2 Ferrari F430 3  1 22 Laps   48.112 1:27.152 1:02.114 3:17.378 2:42.809 Retired Gearbox

Hour 1 Review
Cor-a-Rati !

The first hour had more racing action than a season of F1—well maybe that is not saying much, but it really has been a thriller. Initially all three of the Corvettes and Maseratis were in a cut-and-thrust battle.  It took a few laps to separate the giants from the mere men. Gavin, Bertolini, Hezemans, and new to sports cars Bernoldi were the most giant of all.

It took some muscle for Ollie Gavin to wrestle to the front. He has a score to settle with the very car that he is driving. It was the one that broke down in a forgettable day at Le Mans. Suffering a rare mechanical failure—broken driveshaft. Here the car and driver were as healthy as imaginable.

While the No. 3 SRT Corvette, No. 1 Maserati, No. 4 PK Corvette, and No. 8 Carnival Corvette gave us a riveting dice, there were battles further down. Namely the No. 70 IMSA Performance Porsche of Patrick Pilet had to fight hard to keep second place Gimmi Bruni (No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari) at bay. There was a mild shocker in that the No. 111 Audi (Marcel Fässler starting) headed all the GT2 cars. The Audi’s class, G2, was effectively a non-contest as the nearest competitor was a lap down. G3 (or class 5 as it is confusingly shown on timing and scoring) was a 1-2 procession between the Matech Ford GTs.

There were disappointments of course. A 3 contender, the No. 175 BMW, flamed out. The GT1-2010 spec Ford was stuck in fourth gear, and GT2 power, the No. 56 Ferrari made a long stop.

Don’t worry—this is Spa and it only took 35 minutes for the first rain to hit. With low clouds in some places at the start, all but two cars started on slicks. Those two changed to slicks early on. The rain that arrived was uneven and only of medium strength at best. The leaders all opted to remain out and there was deft sawing of steering wheels keeping all on track. Only the No. 110 Mosler of Joel Schuybroeck had a brief excursion. Potentially more significant, Alex Müller (No. 2 Maserati) had to take to outside at Le Source when chopped by Gimi Bruni’s Ferrari.

Discretion as opposed to haste to go to wets was a wise choice as the skies cleared by hour’s end. At that point Bernoldi and Alessandro Pier Guidi (No. 33 Vitaphone Maserati) were the first to make scheduled stops.

Janos Wimpffen