FIA GT ZOLDER
ZOLDER
MAY 18 - May 20
Weather:
The weather remains bright and dry, with a light breeze.
Superpole:
With no incidents and all 12 cars setting a time, a sunny Superpole session saw Ferraris take pole position in both categories.
Fabio Babini was the first on the track, in the n° 54 Art Engineering Porsche 996 GT3-R, but his time of 1:36.450 was soon eclipsed by Sebastien Dumez, in the n° 50 Larbre Competition Chéreau car. Philipp Peter was slower in the n° 69 Redolfi Orlando Porsche, claiming twelfth place on the grid. Tim Sugden, in the n° 52 EMKA Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R, set a time of 1:35.850, slower than Dumez. Christian Pescatori was next on the track in the n° 62 JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena, and the Italian driver put in an excellent time of 1:35.037. Fastest in the morning, Luca Riccitelli used every inch of the track in his attempt to beat the Ferrari, but had to be content with second.
The first of the GT cars to take to the track was Vincent Vosse in the n° 12 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R. The heaviest of the cars taking part in the session, he set a time of 1:32.270. Mike Hezemans knocked over a second off his morning time, setting a lap of 1:31.105 in the n° 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R. Next on the track, Emanuele Naspetti put in a stunning lap in the n° 5 Team Rafanelli Ferrari 550 Maranello, with a time of 1:30.994, that none of the subsequent drivers managed to beat. Tom Coronel stormed round the 3.997 km track in the n° 1 Lister, but was a hundredth of a second slower than Hezemans, placing the British car third on the grid for tomorrow's race. Last out on the track, neither Sebastiaan Bleekemolen non the provisional pole-setter Didier Defourny could repeat their morning feats, and finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Group B Qualifying Session:
There were few improvements in the fifteen minutes of the second qualifying session. The PSI Motorsports Porsche 996 GT2 knocked three tenths of a second off their morning time, while the Lamborghini, repaired after their morning problems, got going again. It improved to 1:38.974 but remained last on the provisional grid for tomorrow's race. The extra fifteen minutes mainly benefited the slower cars, with the n° 25 Bernard Winderickx Chrysler Viper GTS-R and the n° 8 Proton Porsche 911 GT2 improving in the GT class, while the n° 61 Smith/Casadei Haberthur Porsche and the n° 58 Hane/Verbergt Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R improved in the N-GT class.
First FIA GT pole for Rafanelli:
Just five races into their FIA GT Championship career, Team Rafanelli has claimed the first pole position for the Ferrari 550 Maranello. Emanuele Naspetti set a time of 1:30.994 round the Zolder track, two tenths of a second faster than Silverstone pole-setter Mike Hezemans. "I had a good advantage by going out with new tyres, and I think I was the only one who did," Naspetti said afterwards. "I managed a clear lap without any mistakes - I could have pushed more. Tomorrow I hope to finish the race on the podium. We are solving some problems at each race. We may not be in a position to win the race yet, but at least we can fight for the podium." The second Team Rafanelli Ferrari 550 Maranello will start from 17th place on the grid, having suffered from distributor problems in the morning.
Second place for Carsport Holland:
Mike Hezemans set the second time in today's Superpole session, but from his point of view, he was the winner in the private all-Dutch battle between him and Lister Storm Racing's Tom Coronel. "I beat Tom today, so it's 1-0 now," he said happily at the press conference. The n° 3 Carsport Holland car has been suffering from fuel pressure problems for the last two races, and the team thinks that the problem has now been resolved. "We did a lot of laps concerning our fuel problem this weekend, and at each session we made sure we ran out of fuel. At the last time, the car restarted, so I hope the problem is now resolved."
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, in the n° 4 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper, will start from sixth on the grid, after setting a time of 1:33.420 during the Superpole.
Coronel puts the Lister in third place:
Tom Coronel took part in the Superpole session for the first time this afternoon, and set the third time with a lap of 1:31.117. "It was a nice, special thing, doing the Superpole," Tom said. "When I crossed the line I could not remember anything, where the braking points were or anything. I heard my heartbeat again for the first time since Formula Nippon. I was really anxious as I wanted to do a good time. But I couldn't manage to get pole. And Mike Hezemans was one hundredth of a second faster than me !" For tomorrow's 500 km race, Tom reckons that consistency is the main objective. "The pit-stops will have to be good, as it is going to be very difficult to overtake."
Julian Bailey and Nicolaus Springer will start from thirteenth place on the grid, having missed out on the Superpole session by less than a tenth of a second.
JMB Competition takes N-GT pole:
The JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena will start once more from pole position in the N-GT category for tomorrow's 500 km race. Christian Pescatori set a lap of 1:35.037 in the Superpole session, beating provisional pole sitter Luca Riccitelli by nearly three tenths of a second. "We had a lot of problems yesterday, so they changed the engine. And the car was very bumpy into the first corner, so the team have also changed the suspension. It is important to be on pole here, as the traffic is going to be very difficult. And the Porsches are going to be difficult too - at Silverstone, they were very fast at the start."
RWS second on the N-GT grid:
"The difference between the Ferraris and Porsches is very small at this track,” Luca Riccitelli said after setting the second N-GT time in the Superpole session. "This morning I was faster, this afternoon Pescatori was faster. But I was rather late braking into the first corner, and then could not beat Christian's time. But it is very important to be on the front row here - it's easy to go off, and after a few laps, the track is going to be very dirty." Luca's Porsche 996 GT3-R was seen to be very bumpy during his timed lap, and at one point appeared to lose contact with all four wheels. "The Porsche is bumpy here, and very hard to driver, especially at the first corner. You have to control the car in every corner."
Dumez improves to third for Larbre Competition Chéreau:
Sebastien Dumez had a difficult time in the morning session with brake problems, qualifying in fifth place for the Superpole session. His lap of 1:35.745 lifted him up two places, giving him a place on the fifth row of the grid for tomorrow's race. "Having improved from fifth to third, I really hope we can manage our first podium finish tomorrow," the Frenchman said afterwards. Dumez and Goueslard, in the n° 50 Porsche 996 GT3-R, will start ahead of their team-mates, Championship leaders Bouchut and Belloc, who qualified in 15th place. The second Larbre Competition Porsche 996 GT3-R is not taking part this weekend, as the team could not complete the repairs after their Silverstone crash.
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