Nürburgring Preview – GT2
Time For An Upset? 13 GT2 contenders are due to take to the track for this weekend’s Le Mans Series action, with the usual Ferrari vs Porsche battle expected. Porsche first; and we wait to see just who will arrive with the new and highly effective 4 litre powerplant aboard their 997s. IMSA Performance certainly will in its lead Richard Lietz / Raymond Narac car and no doubt the factory-blessed lead Felbermayr Proton car will too. The Lieb/ Davison pair in the Felbermayr car has been pushing very hard indeed all season, their pace much the best of the 997s. Lieb’s pace is almost a given and Davison has produced great form for much of the year too. He knows the ‘Ring well and we’d expect the team to shine on home ground; this pair just a single point behind the Virgo Ferrari in the standings. 2008 has seen disappointment thus far for IMSA Performance, with an early exit from Le Mans and an atypically disjointed run at the Spa 24 Hours last month leaving them looking for an LMS run to boost their season. Here too, though, they haven’t managed to sustain the attack they are capable of – will this weekend see a change of form and a change of luck?
Both of these cars will be in the thick of things, with both the JWA (Palttala / Sugden/ Daniels) and Farnbacher (Westbrook/ Simonsen/ Nielsen) Porsches also capable of sustained fast running to put them in reach if the race comes their way. The Farnbacher trio have scored a win (at Monza) this season, but that, so far, has been their only points score. The second Felbermayr and IMSA cars will be looking for reliable and fast/steady running. Of the Ferraris the Virgo Motorsport 430 looks set to continue its streak of form, the team hoping to put a massive Le Mans disappointment behind them when the engine let go in a big way, just as the car looked set for a podium finish on the team’s 24 hour debut. The combination of Rob Bell and Gimmy Bruni is as good a GT2 pairing as it gets – anywhere! Two wins out of three were interrupted by a dnf at Monza; that result allowing Lieb and Davison to remain within a point. Pierre Kaffer will push them hard when he’s aboard the similarly Dunlop-shod Farnbacher Racing entry, ready to take advantage if the Virgo boys slip again (or are pushed!) Anthony Beltoise joins the regular two Pierres in the #90 squad this weekend and that could make the difference over a race distance. There’s a pair of JMB Ferraris this time out, too. Neither is expected to compete on pace, but the ‘Ring is a circuit that has produced surprises in the LMS; and that could well continue, particularly if the weather proves to be as variable as usual. Ben Aucott has produced consistent finishing throughout the year. He’s right there in the points battle, but will need bad luck from others to sustain a full season challenge. If there is to be an upset, could it be from the Spykers? The little Dutch marque badly needs to show an improvement in form; its new 2008 spec engine was ditched for Le Mans but should be back this weekend. A bit of variety would be welcome indeed in GT2. It’s the Swiss-entered Speedy racing #94 car that has seen its luck hold thus far; surely the high quality #85 squad of Dumbreck, Kelleners and Vasiliev is due a result?  |
And speaking of variety, the JWA Aston Martin Vantage GT2 is back on the entry list for Alan van de Merwe. Is this a full race entry for the utterly gorgeous, fabulous sounding, but still off the pace baby Aston? Let’s hope so. George Howard-Chappell maintains the programme is on track and that 2008 was always going to be a development year. The cars, though, need more and more competitive track time if the current customers are to be retained and future customers drawn to anything other than the usual suspects. We’re confident Aston Martin can do it – but probably not this weekend! GG | 
