FFSA GT, Albi – Race Two Report
A Race Of Attrition

Qualifying

In the qualifying for race two - for the top-seeded drivers - Soheil Ayari (#9 LAA Corvette C6.R) had set the pole position; the second of the weekend for the team. He was ahead of Olivier Porta (#4 Tarrès Team Saleen S7R), Olivier Panis (#3 DKR Engineering Corvette C6.R), Laurent Groppi (#1 Larbre Compétition Saleen S7R) and Laurent Cazenave (#5 DKR Engineering Corvette C5-R).

Stéphane Ortelli (#68 Audi Team ORECA R8 LMS), sixth overall, was first quickest in the GT3 category, ahead of Johan Charpilienne (#48 AS Events Ferrari 430 GT3) and Christopher Campbell (#55 AS Events Ferrari 430 GT3).

Race

At the start, Ayari was ahead of Panis and Porta, but as early as lap 2, Olivier Panis passed Ayari's Corvette and took the lead, which he kept easily until the driver changes. Thanks to a quick pitstop, Eric Debard who took over from Panis had a large gap upon his pursuers and could cruise towards the chequered flag to take the win on his home track.

Didier Cormorèche had a broken transmission while he was running second with the #4 Tarrès Saleen, so Bornhauser/Groppi (#1 Larbre Saleen) were second, ahead of Police/Cazenave (#5 DKR Engineering C5-R).

The Luc Alphand Aventures team will have bad memories of their weekend. After the fire that hit their truck the previous Thursday and the destruction of the Corvette, Ayari had an off in the Virage du Parc and had to retire.

In the GT3 category, Christopher Campbell (#55) was leading the field just after the start, ahead of Charpilienne (#48) and Makowiecki (#52); the three AS Events Ferraris being ahead of the #65 GCR Mediaco driven by Tristan Vautier. Poleman Stéphane Ortelli (Audi R8 LMS), meanwhile, stayed on the grid with a locked gearbox and retired.

During this eventful race, there were many other retirements. Eric Hélary (#57 Ruffier Racing Gallardo) had a broken hub; Makowiecki had braking problems and had an off; Julien Briché (#53 First Racing Gallardo) and Ulric Amado (#58 First Racing Gallardo) had a significant coming-together; James Ruffier (#59 Ruffier Gallardo) had a broken joint; and Thierry Prignaud (#60 Sport Garage BMW Alpina) suffered a broken engine a short while after he had taken over from Jérôme Policand.

In the late stages, Jérôme Demay (#48 AS Events Ferrari), who was now in the lead, was overtaken by his teammate François Jakubowski (#55 Ferrari) who claimed his second win in the weekend; Jean-Charles Lévy (#65 GCR Mediaco Dodge Viper) being in third place ahead of Philippe Gaillard (#64 Ruffier Racing Lamborghini).

Race result here

Claude Foubert/SRO