FIA-GT BRNO
BRNO
April 14-April 16
WORLD GT CHAMPIONSHIP
Brno Round
Race Report
Monday 16 April 2001
Weather
Officially declared a wet race, a very fine drizzle was falling at the start of the race, with the air temperature 3°C and the track between 6 and 7°C. The rain grew heavier, before stopping, with sun mostly drying the track before the end of the three hours.
Warm-up
The Chrysler Vipers were fastest in an extremely wet and slippery warm-up session, with the n° 11 Paul Belmondo Racing car setting the fastest time of 2:25.674. The n° 53 Art Engineering Porsche 996 was the fastest in N-GT. "It was horrible - very, very slippery, and with a serious amount of oil off the racing line," Lister Storm Racing's Nicolaus Springer said.
Larbre Competition-Chereau take first GT win
An exciting and extremely close three-hour race saw reigning N-GT Champions Larbre Competition-Chereau take their first overall win in the FIA GT Championship. Completing 77 laps of the 5.4 km track in the allotted three hours, Bouchut and Belloc, driving the n° 7 Chrysler Viper GTS-R, had to contend with continually changing weather. But careful strategy, especially concerning tyre choice, helped them take the win ahead of the n° 12 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R of Vincent Vosse and Boris Derichebourg, and the n° 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper of Mike Hezemans and Jeroen Bleekemolen. Despite the heavy rain and a slippery track, 28 of the 33 cars were classified in the three-hour race, with amazingly few crashes or mechanical problems.
"It's excellent to take our first win," Christophe Bouchut commented. Such a good result had looked unlikely early on, however, as he had struggled in the early stages, dropping back from his second place on the grid. "The car was very hard to drive in wet conditions," he said. "It was important to be safe, and impossible to follow the rhythm of the others." They were the last team to make their pit stop, and the moment proved the ideal one to change to intermediate tyres. Belloc moved into the lead as the other cars pitted for new tyres, before coming in for slicks late in the race. "I was worried when the team asked me to come in for slicks," Belloc admitted. "But when I saw P1 afterwards, I thought it was the right decision."
The team now leads the FIA GT Championship points classification, with Bouchut and Belloc also leading the Drivers Classification. Larbre Competition Chereau are also third in the N-GT class, after placing their two Porsche 996 GT3-R cars in third and fourth places today.
RWS Motorsport win N-GT
Second in Monza, Luca Riccitelli and Dieter Quester did one better in Brno, winning the N-GT category of the second round of the FIA GT Championship ahead of Terrien and Pescatori in the n° 62 JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena, with Von Gartzen and Eichmann third for Larbre Competition-Chereau. Starting on the third row of the grid, Riccitelli took the n° 77 RWS Red Bull Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R to the front of the N-GT field half-way through the race. They proceeded to maintain the lead, despite pressure from the n° 62 JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena of Terrien and Pescatori. "I had a very difficult first stint in the rain," Riccitelli said. "But I did my best to stay on the race-track, and then Dieter did a fantastic job. But I have to say 'welcome' to the Ferrari, which has proved itself to be very competitive." Having fallen down on strategy in Monza, the team did an excellent job despite the changing weather and track conditions in Brno. "This time we had a very good strategy," Quester said. "Although our intermediate tyres were completely worn out at the end." Riccitelli and Quester are now leading the N-GT Classification, ahead of Johnny Cecotto, and RWS Motorsport are also in the lead of the Teams Classification.
The GT race
Mike Hezemans made an amazing start, working his way up to first place by lap 3, despite starting from thirteenth place on the grid. "I had so much grip I was wondering what was happening !" Hezemans said. For much of the first stint he was followed by Jamie Campbell-Walter in the n° 1 Lister Storm, having made his way through the field from his ninth starting place. The n° 2 Lister Storm climbed gradually up the field, after starting from the pit lane. "The car was really quick at the start and I was able to catch Hezemans and keep the gap constant at around 4 seconds," Campbell-Walter said. "But then the monsoon came." The cold rain, with added sleet, made the track treacherous and laps times slowed drastically, but the cars and drivers did a remarkable job of staying on the track. As the second hour of the race started, Jamie Campbell-Walter hit a puddle and spun his Lister Storm, losing half a minute. "The spins cost us the win," Jamie commented. The first pit stops saw Jeroen Bleekemolen take over the leading Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper, while pole-man Emmanuel Clérico got into the n° 11 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R and immediately began to challenge. Bouchut was the last of the GT cars to pit, handing over to Belloc on lap 37, and opting for intermediate tyres for the drying conditions. Despite a closing Clerico in the n° 11 Chrysler Viper, Bleekemolen maintained the lead Hezemans had given him. "It felt good ! Lots of pressure, but very good, especially as this is my first long distance race," the young Dutch driver said. However, Clerico was forced to abandon with fuel pressure problems before he could attack for the lead. "It's a shame - the victory could have been ours," he said. Bleekemolen handed the car back to his team-mate on lap 61, when the team put intermediate tyres on to cope with the drying track. "That was our mistake," Hezemans later admitted. Belloc inherited the lead and maintained it until the end, despite a final stop for slick tyres on lap 67. Hezemans' belated stop for slicks put him third place behind Vincent Vosse in the n° 12 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper. "It was much better than Monza - Dunlop gave us much better tyres," Vosse explained. Hezemans pushed through the final stages, but could not catch the Belmondo Chrysler Viper. "We had a low oil pressure warning, but I decided that I'd go for it - if the engine blew up, I didn't care," Mike explained. Jamie Campbell-Walter, taking the Lister back from Richard Dean, finally stopped for slick tyres with six laps to go. He flew round the final laps, continually improving the fastest lap time, but could not catch the leading trio, and had to settle for fourth. Belloc took the flag, 18 seconds ahead of Vosse and Derichebourg, with Hezemans and Bleekemolen third. The two Team Rafanelli Ferrari 550 Maranello cars rounded off the top six, with Naspetti and Schiattarella in the n° 5 finishing one place ahead of their team-mates Duez and Blieninger in the n° 6 car, the new cars having coped admirably with the changing conditions and run in the top group throughout the race.
The N-GT race
F3000 front-runner Tomas Enge did an excellent job in the n° 65 Coca Cola Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R, leading the class throughout his first stint, despite heavy pressure from Babini in the n° 54 Art Engineering Porsche and Luca Riccitelli in the RWS Red Bull Racing Porsche. Riccitelli took over the lead when Enge handed over to his team-mate Malcharek, with David Terrien in hot pursuit in the n° 62 Ferrari 360 Modena. When Riccitelli finally handed the car over to Quester, Terrien led the class for five laps, until finally pitting and changing drivers to Pescatori. Enge took the n° 65 car over for the final laps, but could not make up the lost ground from the middle stint, finally finishing in seventh place. Despite a spin, Quester maintained his lead until the chequered flag, chased all the way by Christian Pescatori. "Our radio was dead, and Christian didn't know how many laps remained, otherwise he might have pushed harder," Terrien commented. Third place went to the Monza pole setters, Jürgen von Gartzen and Bruno Eichmann's Larbre Competition-Chereau Porsche 996 GT3-R. Their sister car, driven by Patrice Goueslard and Sebastien Dumez, was fourth, with Perspective Racing fifth and Monza winners, the n° 69 Redolfi Orlando Porsche 996 GT3-R of Cecotto and Chiesa taking the final point.
Good Day for the Ferraris
It was a good day for the Ferrari cars competing in the FIA GT Championship, with all three finishing in the points. "I am very pleased," team owner Gabriele Rafanelli said after his two Ferrari 550 Maranello cars finished in 5th and 6th places. "We have made the next step, and now we'll make more progress for the next race. We can improve, but it will be difficult to beat the others, as they have years of experience. But we are pleased to be the only team with two cars in the points !" Marc Duez, sharing the n° 6 Ferrari with Günther Blieninger, was delighted with the result. "We're really happy - we put intermediates on at the right moment, for the last stint. But it was getting difficult at the end, as the tyres had worn right down. But if we had stopped, we'd have lost the position."
The JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena finished in second place in the N-GT class, with David Terrien and Christian Pescatori at the wheel. "It's great to have made the first podium for Ferrari in N-GT," Terrien said. "It was very good for us, despite having no grip in the corners with the medium tyres. But second place is a very positive result," Pescatori said.
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