FIA GT, Nogaro – Race Report
Two Titles In One Go For AF Corse

Tyre wear proved to be a determining factor in the eighth round of the FIA GT Championship at Nogaro, which saw the #2 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12 of Alexandre Negrao and Miguel Ramos claim victory, finishing five seconds ahead of the two Phoenix Carsport Corvette C6R cars.  In GT2, victory went to the Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3 RSR of Richard Westbrook and Alex Davison, but Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander, who inherited third, scored enough points to secure both the Drivers and Teams titles.

The start of the race saw a close battle between three cars; the #5 Corvette, Marcel Fässler at the wheel, the #7 Saleen, driven by Greg Franchi, and the #3 Corvette driven by Christoph Bouchut. But the Saleen had a wheel problem during its pit-stop, while the SRT car had a drive-through for pit-lane speeding, and the cars finished seventh and eighth respectively.

By the end stages of the two-hour race, the fight was between the two Vitaphone Maserati cars and the two Phoenix Carsport Corvettes.  It had looked as if pole-setter Marcel Fässler would be able to convert the pole to another win, but the tyres got the better of his Corvette C6R, and he had to drop back.  Fässler and Jean-Denis Deletraz eventually finished third behind their sister car, the #6 Corvette, which had in turn overtaken the #1 Maserati, forced to make a pit stop for a puncture, finishing sixth.

Fourth across the line was the #10 Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9, which had been making a strong recovery after a long pit stop that saw the car refusing to re-fire; in the process taking away the British team’s hopes of a podium finish.  “This was a race we could have won, so there is an element of disappointment," said Gigawave’s Director of Race Technologies, Nigel Stepney. "We had a great strategy and the drivers followed it and controlled their race, in order to manage their tyres. Allan (Simonsen) caught the front pack before their first stops, because our tyres had been looked after.

"The technical issue at our first stop really let the strategy down, but the rest of the race went like clockwork and we jumped two other cars in the second stop, thanks to the team doing an excellent job. Everyone works so incredibly hard in preparation for these races that we feel we deserve a win in our debut season.”

They had a close battle with the #33 Jetalliance Aston Martin of Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp, who had a difficult race, never having got their tyres to work with their set-up. “Our main problem this weekend was that we never got the tyres to work properly with our setup," confirmed Wendlinger. "I already felt that in yesterday’s qualifying, and today it was no different over the race distance. It has been a very difficult race.”

To compound the team’s frustrations, the damage to the #36 Aston Martin, incurred during qualifying, may be serious enough to prevent it racing at Zolder.

 “It's been a fantastic day,” said Negrao. “We struggled during the qualifying because of the cold. It was difficult for us. We knew we could have a good pace. We just had to push and be strategic: we overtook a few during the pitstop and we were very good on tyres. I'm very happy for this first victory this year. I'm happy with the points we've got for the championship, but it will be very difficult to catch up in the championship.”

It was a repeat of Monza in GT2, with Prospeed Competition converting pole position into victory for the second time this season.  Richard Westbrook and his new team-mate, Alex Davison, took the chequered flag first in a desperate dash for the line in one of the closest GT2 finishes for some time – with the top three cars finishing within 0.7 of a second. 

Despite a strong start from the Porsche, it had looked as if the #50 AF Corse Ferrari would take the win. However, in the closing stages, and suffering from tyre problems partly due to the total of 110 kg penalty weight, Bruni took the decision to favour his title campaign over the win.  He finished fourth, but inherited third after the #51 AF Corse Ferrari was awarded a drive-through penalty, transformed into a 30-second time penalty, after an incident in the final stages with the #56 CR Scuderia Ferrari. “We had an up and down weekend really," reflected Rob Bell. "We never got the car set up right for the long runs, but after qualifying fifth we were optimistic for the race, and were focusing on getting points. I had a good start, the car felt good and I had two quick stints. If it hadn’t been for the incidents I’m sure we would’ve been on the podium right behind our sister CR Scuderia car."

Prospeed therefore gave Porsche its second win of the season.  "Although the same thing happened in Monza, getting pole and winning, it was a bit more complicated this time,” commented Westbrook. “As far as the race went, we could pull away, but our car was eating tyres more than the Ferrari does; so towards the end of the stint, Tim and Gimmi were catching up to me. At the pit stop, we thought we'd done enough to stay ahead, but Gimmi popped out ahead of me. But then the 50 had a problem at the end, so I came out on top. A win's a win, so that's great." 

Second place went to Tim Mullen and Andrea Piccini in the #55 CR Scuderia Ferrari 430 GT2, with Mullen delighted to claim his first podium of the season. “I'm really pleased with second,” he said. “This is my first podium this year. Andrea's done a really great job. We were fast in practice. Even though the car doesn't feel fast on the new tyres, it handled great, the steering was wonderful. I caught up to Richard and Gimmi quite quickly in the first run actually. We had a really good chance at winning today. We were really quick and deserved to be on the podium.”

Kessel Racing claimed their best result of the year with fourth for Henri Moser and his new team-mate Fabrizio Mediani, having left their final pit stop until three laps before the end, and thereby leading the category for much of the second hour.  Christian Montanari and Thomas Biagi were finally classified fourth, ahead of the #62 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari.  Malucelli and Ruberti, in the #77 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari - the only drivers who could rival Bruni and Vilander for the title before this race - finished seventh. They are still lying second in the Championship, but Westbrook is now just 3.5 points behind.  The final point went to CR Scuderia’s Ferrari #56 of Bell and Westbrook, who had been running strongly among the lead group of Ferrari cars, until the incident which earned the #51 its drive-through.

With two rounds remaining, Nogaro’s result has had the effect of closing up the title fight in GT1.  Bertolini and Bartels, who finished sixth after a puncture in the final stages of the race, now have a six-point lead over the Phoenix Carsport duo of Fabrizio Gollin and Mike Hezemans.  Negrao and Ramos move up to third, just half a point further behind.  Fässler and Deletraz are fourth, still in with a mathematical chance of victory, as are fifth-placed Wendlinger and Sharp.   Everything is still to play for in Zolder and San Luis.

In the GT1 Teams points, Phoenix Carsport continues to chase runaway leaders Vitaphone Racing Team.  However, with both teams placing both cars in the points, the difference remains 21.5, with only 36 points remaining in play.

“It's been a brilliant year so far. It's been great racing with Toni,” said new GT2 champion Gimmi Bruni. “Last year I missed the title by a few points. So this year, with Toni, he helped me to get back the points I lost. We've had some fantastic racing. I don't have the words. It's been a special year for me. I have to thank the guys who work with me, with AF Corse, with. Ferrari, the mechanics...I've learnt so much from everybody.”

The next race takes place in two weeks time, in Zolder.