GT1 World/GT3 Europe, Nürburgring – Qualifying Race/Race 1 Report
Bitter Sweet For Reiter, But Perfection For Baumann And Buhk

Fine weather greeted the combined Qualifying Race (GT1)/Race 1 (GT3) at the Nürburgring on Saturday afternoon, but it was a mixture of grimaces and grins for Hans Reiter as he watched one of his cars crash out in the opening stages of the race and then saw the other romp home to its first win of the season. Meanwhile, the GT3 title was rubber-stamped as the dominant Heico Gravity-Charouz Mercedes of Max Buhk and Dominik Baumann took their fifth win of the year.

Despite the good conditions the race began in confusion after the pace car pulled off at the end of the formation lap, leaving Stef Dusseldorp in the pole-sitting #1 Hexis Racing McLaren to lead the pack round to the lights – only to find flashing ambers which indicated that there would have to be a second formation lap. Happily, everyone responded to the lights correctly and held station. Dusseldorp was requested to slow down in order to bunch up the field before the second attempt at a start, but when the lights did go green the timing screens indicated that Stefan Ortelli had crossed the line ahead of the McLaren. Despite this obvious jump-start, no action was taken against the Frenchman in the #32 WRT Audi.

As it was, Dusseldorp repelled Ortelli’s challenge before the first corner and led into the Mercedes Arena. Not everyone had such a good start, with Thomas Jäger (#37 Münnich Mercedes) and Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof (#17 Vita4One BMW) both losing several places. But both fared better than Jeroen Bleekemolen, whose race in the #24 Reiter Lamborghini ended in violent fashion on the opening lap with a shunt at the Schumacher Esses which caused the safety car to be summoned.

At first, it was assumed that there must have been contact with another car, but the TV replay showed that the Dutchman had simply lost the rear over the kerbs before spinning into the tyre-wall and Armco; and this was confirmed by Bleekemolen later. It’s not often you see him make a mistake!

The repairs to the Armco consumed almost 15 minutes of the race (on top of the extra formation lap which counted as Lap 1), but Dusseldorp was ready when the race went green again and the McLaren immediately pulled out a lead of several car lengths. Alas, for him and Fred Makowiecki this race would not be making a contribution to their championship hopes as a suspension failure at the front-right of the car forced it out further round the lap. This left Ortelli leading from Frank Stippler in the second (#33) WRT Audi.

There had been an early casualty in GT3 also, with the #150 AF Corse Ferrari of Gaetano Ardagna Perez pulling off the circuit just a couple of corners after Bleekemolen’s demise, following apparent contact with the #115 Saintéloc Racing Audi of Jerome Demay, which continued. This was also investigated, but deemed to be a racing incident. Further up ahead Max Buhk had held onto his pole position and led in the #101 Mercedes in 11th overall. The second Heico car of Max Nilsson (#102) had dropped to sixth from third and the #151 Ferrari of Stefano Gai now followed the second-placed #111 rhino’s Leipert Gallardo of David Mengesdorf. 

Alvaro Parente had taken sixth from Michael Bartels at T1 after the restart in the #2 Hexis McLaren, but was then baulked by the slowing Dusseldorp and dropped back two places.

The race now saw Ortelli, Stippler, Stefan Rosina (#24 Reiter Lambo) and Markus Winkelhock (#38 Münnich SLS) running in a group out front and then a big gap to Bartels’ #18 Z4; the championship leader coming under pressure from the recovering Jäger, who was flashing his lights at the Vita4One car.

With the race by now having reached the 25-minute mark (12 laps completed), the pit-window was now open and Bartels and Jäger were the first GT1s to stop, along with several GT3s. Yelmer Buurman took over the BMW from Bartels but struggled to get away and it was the Mercedes that exited the pitlane first, now in the hands of Nicky Pastorelli.

Stippler pitted on the next lap, but it was a poor stop for the #33 Audi and Oliver Jarvis rejoined behind Buurman in an effective seventh place.

The leader pitted on Lap 14, along with Rosina, but Reiter turned around the #24 quicker than WRT did the #32 and it was Peter Kox who got out ahead of Laurens Vanthoor. Parente led at this point in the Hexis McLaren, but despite setting the fastest lap of the race so far before pitting, the Portuguese couldn’t make up all the ground necessary for Grégoire Demoustier to resume in P1 and the Frenchman was actually third when he rejoined. But he immediately found Vanthoor and the #38 SLS of Marc Basseng in his mirrors and slid wide at T4 on cold tyres to allow both cars by.

With all stops having been completed, Kox led by 3.444 seconds, while Dominik Baumann held a similar lead over Michael Lyons in the #151 Ferrari in GT3.

Mika Vähämäki held third in the #102 Heico Mercedes.

The remainder of the race was notable for a superb charge from Buurman in the #18 BMW, which seemed to get stronger as the race went on. The Dutch racer pushed Pastorelli’s Mercedes around the five kilometre track for several laps before finally making the breakthrough at T1 with 12 minutes remaining. He then caught up with Demoustier’s McLaren three minutes later and quickly took fourth. Basseng was next, and the Z4 was on the tail of the #38 SLS with four minutes left on the clock. However, the German dug his heels in and would not allow Buurman the space he needed. The two crossed the line to begin the final lap separated by just 0.176s, but Basseng held firm and the BMW had to settle for fourth at the flag.

By this point, however, Peter Kox had claimed Reiter’s first win of the season, to the delight of his team, after controlling the race from the moment he joined in; never allowing the chasing Vanthoor to get within four seconds of him.

“Actually we didn’t have a huge amount of time to race before the pit stop due to the Safety Car, but we had a pretty good stop and my first few laps were pretty good and from there on I just continued to be consistent,” said Kox.

“Luckily we didn’t run into any problems in my stint, we were problem free, the car felt good. When I saw the Audi leave the pits I really pushed hard at first and then settled down to win the race.”

And it was a similar story in GT3, as Baumann held off Lyons’ best efforts to take the win – and the title for himself and Max Buhk – by a second and a half.

“It’s an absolutely great feeling to be champions,” said Baumann. “During the whole season everyone in the team did a great job. The cars were always perfect.

“We had just two or three minor problems in the season and we didn’t have a particularly good second race in Portimao and Moscow, but we came back strongly today.

“We were always quite confident in ourselves that we could win the championship. To win the title in Max’s home country is great.”

Buhk added: “It was a difficult race today and it has been a tough season but we just kept up the momentum all season and the championship is the reward. I am very happy to be sat here as champion.”

At one point towards the end of the race it looked as though there would be a symbolic handing over of the GT3 baton, as Baumann closed to within a second of the #4 (GT1) AF Corse Ferrari of 2011 champion Enzo Ide, but the Mercedes backed off its pace a little in the closing stages and so the positions didn’t change.

The GT1 result meant that the championship standings now looked like this:

130 Bartels/Buurman
125 Basseng/Winkelhock
110 Dusseldorp/Makowiecki
96 Vanthoor/Ortelli

A good result from the #1 Hexis duo was going to be crucial in the Championship Race, but they would be starting only 12th on the grid and that was not going to help them one bit.

But things were all smiles for Heico in GT3, with the Drivers title well and truly settled. The Teams title was still to be decided, however, so the final ever race of the FIA GT3 European Championship was not going to be just a jolly.

MH