FIA GT Championship – Zolder – Preview
Let Battle Commence
Down To The Wire
May The Best Men Win Etc.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of two hour races (and two pit stops, and ballast success), going into the last race of the 2007 FIA GT Championship, there’s the potential for all sorts of scenarios, in both classes, on Sunday afternoon at Zolder.

One or other drivers’ title has usually been decided before the last round, but not this time. This is how the points stand now, in GT1 and GT2.

1 Thomas Biagi 55
2 Andrea Bertolini 50
Mike Hezemans 50
Christian Montanari 50
Jean-Denis Deletraz 50
Miguel Ramos 50
Andrea Piccini 50
8 Ryan Sharp 47
Karl Wendlinger 47
10 Michael Bartels 39
11 Anthony Kumpen 35.5
Bert Longin 35.5
13 Jamie Davies 30
Fabio Babini 30
15 Alessandro Pier Guidi 23
16 Fabrizio Gollin 21
Stefan Mücke 21
Christophe Bouchut 21
19 Marcel Fässler 18

1 Toni Vilander 63
Dirk Müller 63
3 Stephane Ortelli 62
Gianmaria Bruni 62
5 Matteo Malucelli 59
Emmanuel Collard 59

But this is how the GT1 points stand on the assumption that Kumpen and Longin get their 10 points back from their Oschersleben ‘win’.

1 Thomas Biagi 53
2 Mike Hezemans 50
Jean-Denis Deletraz 50
4 Christian Montanari 49
Miguel Ramos 49
6 Andrea Bertolini 48
Andrea Piccini 48
8 Ryan Sharp 47
Karl Wendlinger 47
10 Anthony Kumpen 45.5
Bert Longin 45.5
12 Michael Bartels 37
13 Jamie Davies 30
Fabio Babini 30
15 Alessandro Pier Guidi 23
16 Fabrizio Gollin 21
Stefan Mücke 21
Christophe Bouchut 21
19 Marcel Fässler 18

Whichever way you look at it, it’s advantage Tomas Biagi: two poor races after Spa were offset by second place at the most recent race at Nogaro, and a podium finish at Zolder for the #1 Vitaphone Maserati will seal the title for the little Italian.

But these two hour events have been remarkably close affairs, and with a great bunch of cars likely to finish on the lead lap, and with two really competitive entries joining in in Belgium, anything could happen.

Perhaps much will depend on how much ballast each car carries? With only one podium finish in the last three races (in part due to some clever team tactics), Andrea Bertolini and Andrea Piccini will be carrying no success ballast at all (it’s the same for Longin and Kumpen), and they’re expecting their blue Maserati to go very well in the expected cool conditions of Belgium in October. Meanwhile, Miguel Ramos and Christian Montanari, thanks to a good finish to the season, will have 60 kg in their #2 MC12, plus 25 kg for simply being in a Maserati. As far as the championship contenders are concerned, those are the extremes of ballast.

An odd thought: if Bertolini and Piccini had scored fourth places at every event, they would be in exactly the same position as they currently find themselves (50 points and no ballast), while Hezemans / Deletraz are also on 50 points, but carry 40 kg this weekend. Is 40 kg significant? Yes, it is.

Besides the battle between the drivers who are so closely matched on points, in cars that are typically very closely matched, there are a couple of interesting additions to the GT1 class at Zolder, in the form of the Phoenix and Gigawave Aston Martins. Marcel Fassler was fabulously impressive in the Corvette at the Spa 24 Hours, and he and Fabrizio Gollin make up a pair as strong as any: what a pity that they’ve got to lug 70 kg of ballast around Zolder.

Peter and Hines in the Gigawave car have a more modest 40 kg, and this entry is backed up by Barwell staff this weekend. The two drivers finished second (in a PSI Corvette C6.R) at Zhuhai at the start of the season, where they were racing against the car they’ll be racing this weekend. This chassis might well end up racing as a Barwell entry at Le Mans next year, and perhaps in some ALMS races too, but the Gigawave team is committed to a full FIA GT season.

So Thomas Biagi to start out as the favourite? But what if it’s wet? If it is, perhaps Babini and Davies could really get among the title challengers? They’ve been on the podium twice this year, but have deserved more.

GT2 is more clear-cut, although Marcs Basseng and Lieb in the ProSpeed Porsche might have a very interesting role to play.

The AF Corse 430s have won eight races out of nine (five to Vilander and Muller), and with Ortelli and Bruni having had such a good run recently, they’re the ones carrying a lot of ballast (70 kg – plus another 28 for both being so good). A mechanical first retirement of the year for Vilander and Muller, at Nogaro, sees them with 40 kg of success ballast (plus 28), so they should be able to finish ahead of the #51 car, which with their one point lead will be enough to take the title – as long as they aren’t too many places behind Malucelli and Collard. It seems unlikely that the Porsche pair can win for only the second time this year, but if it’s wet….. Both of the quick Porsches carry 50 kg of success ballast (plus pro driver ballast).

The Edil Cris Ferraris have gone off to run in Italian GTs this weekend, so the Scuderia Ecosse pairings (both very strong - Sugden / Kirkaldy and Mullen / Turner) will be upholding non AF Corse Ferrari honours, and they’re out for a good result in the last outing for the team in its current form.

The FIA GT Championship hasn’t been to Zolder since 2001 – but that event saw a quite brilliant finish to the race, with JC-W’s Lister pipping Bouchut’s Viper on the last lap… only for the Lister to be excluded from the results. Heaven knows what drama might be in store this weekend, perhaps even after the chequered flag has fallen.