FIA-GT BRNO
BRNO
April 14-April 16
FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP
14-16 April 2001
Brno Round
Saturday 14 April 2001 - Free Practice Sessions
For the second race of the 2001 season, the FIA GT Championship is visiting Brno in the Czech Republic. As the penultimate race of the 2000 season was held here last September, many of the teams and drivers are familiar with the track, and it is generally popular with them all.
Weather
Saturday dawned clear but extremely cold, with temperatures around 1°Celcius at the start of free practice, with the track an extremely chilly 6°Celcius. Throughout the day, snow-showers alternated with periods of bright sunshine, but the temperatures remained low.
Rundown
Thirty-three cars are due to take part in Monday's 500 km race, seventeen in the GT category and sixteen in the N-GT. New in the GT class is Belgian team Bernard Winderickx, entering a Chrysler Viper GTS-R for Belgian drivers Robert Dierick and Eric de Doncker. Polish team Alda Motorsport pulled out after crashing their Porsche 911 GT2 in testing prior to this weekend. Wieth Racing, having overcome their homologation difficulties, is present, although wheel nut problems are slowing their Ferrari 550 Maranello down. British driver Richard Dean is driving alongside Jamie Campbell Walter in the #1 Lister Storm. Changes at Paul Belmondo Racing mean that Belmondo and Defourny will now share the #10 Chrysler Viper, while Emmanuel Clérico, replacing Claude-Yves Gosselin for this race, will drive the #11 with Anthony Kumpen. French Team ART have changed from Michelin to Dunlop tyres, and are very pleased with the result. In the N-GT class, only one of the JMB Ferrari 360 Modenas is present, the other still undergoing repairs following Lambertini's Monza crash. A number of drivers will be arriving at Brno after taking part in this weekend's events at the San Marino Grand Prix. Freisinger's Stephane Ortelli and Perspective's Michel Neugarten will qualify during Monday's morning warm-up. Neither will be allowed to start the race. Today's F3000 third-placed finisher Tomas Enge, who will be racing with Venc and Malcharek in the #65 Coca Cola Racing Team Porsche 996 GT3-R, will arrive on time for the qualifying practice session.
Despite 40 kg of penalty weight, Jamie Campbell-Walter was fastest in the morning session. It's very cold, but the car is good, Jamie said afterwards. "Everything is going OK, and we haven't got any of the problems we had at Monza - the fuel problems have all gone." Richard Dean, driving alongside Jamie for this race, is getting used to the car again. "I last raced the Storm around 6 months ago, but after around 3 laps, it all came flooding back," Dean said. "So now I can concentrate on learning the track." Bailey and Springer were second fastest in the morning, and improved to set the best time of the day in the afternoon. "We're trying to get Nicolaus some more time in the car after all our problems at Monza," Bailey said. "The car is good - the engine was working really well in the cold."
First practice in Brno saw the two Lister Storms at the top of the times, before the session was dramatically cut short by a blizzard!
The temperature in Brno, taking into account the wind chill factor, was an incredible -9, with the warmest temperature (the track surface) just 3 degrees.
In the Lister camp, Richard Dean has joined Jamie Campbell-Walter for this race, replacing Tom Coronel who is racing in the Dutch Touring Car Championship.
First Qualifying Practice Session
and despite the snow, times were extremely close during the first session. After an hour, the two Lister Storms had moved into the lead, with only 23 thousandths of a second separating Bailey, in the #2 Storm, from Campbell-Walter in the #1. They were followed by the #11 and #12 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Vipers, with the #6 Rafanelli Ferrari and #7 Larbre Chrysler Viper a further second adrift. In the N-GT class, the #77 RWS Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R was fastest, followed by the Larbre Competition, EMKA and Art Engineering cars. With fifteen minutes to go, the snow grew heavier, and most of the cars returned to the pits. After the 90 minute session, Campbell-Walter's time of 2:00.865 remained the fastest, seven tenths of a second slower than their 2000 pole-setting time, while Riccitelli's best N-GT time was of 2:05.856 in the #77 RWS Red Bull Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R.
However, the time that Richard Dean and Nicolaus Springer could spend in their respective Storms was dramatically shortened by a blizzard!
Second Qualifying Practice Session and
With more snow during the lunch break, the track was wetter when the second free practice session started, and there were few improvements at the top of the GT field in the early part of the session. Forty minutes into the session, the times started falling, with Julian Bailey being the first driver to go under the 2-minute barrier, setting a lap of 1:59.460. Shortly afterwards, Christophe Bouchut, in the #7 Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper GTS-R, improved to second, with a time of 1:59.543, followed by the leading Paul Belmondo and Carsport Holland Chrysler Vipers. In N-GT, the #77 RWS Porsche knocked half a second off their morning time, with Monza pole-setter Jürgen von Gartzen second in the #51 Larbre Competition-Chereau Porsche, and the JMB Ferrari Modena 360 in third place.
TEAM NOTES
Paul Belmondo Racing chasing the Listers
"The team has worked on all levels since Monza - both on the technical and human front," Boris Derichebourg said after setting the fourth time in the morning. “But the weather isn't very good. We're not sure which direction to work towards - dry or wet. It was quite fun driving in the snow - it wasn't really laying, but blowing around. Heating the tyres sufficiently is the real problem - and we are all fighting to get in the car, as it's the only place where you're really warm !" The #12 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper was third in the afternoon session, with the #11 in fifth place and the #10 in eighth.
Carsport Holland Vipers on track
"We've solved all the problems, and the engine is running well," Sebastiaan Bleekemolen said after finally getting to drive the #4 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R, which missed the Monza race with engine problems. "That was actually only my 6th lap in the car, and it's my first time at the track, which makes it very difficult, learning two things at once, but I hope to make a lot of progress in the second session. Sebastiaan and his father Michael were 15th in the first session, while Mike Hezemans and Jeroen Bleekemolen set the seventh time. "It's fantastic to drive after Monza," Sebastiaan continued. "The car is running well - and we actually tested at Zandvoort in the snow earlier this year, so we may have a bit of an advantage there!" The team's best time of the day was a lap of 2:00.935 for the #3 car, placing them fourth overall.
RWS Motorsport : Fastest in N-GT
Driver Luca Riccitelli was fastest in N-GT in both free practice sessions, with his time of 2:05.064 over 1.2 seconds faster than his nearest rival, the #51 Larbre Competition Porsche 996 GT3-R. "It's not too bad - I'm quite happy," he said afterwards. "I know we can be fast over one or two laps, and with new tyres the car is OK. The problems start after three or four laps, when the car becomes difficult to control. Qualifying should be fine, but we need to do some more work for the race. Also, with the weather, it is difficult to know what tyres to choose."
JMB Competition - aiming for Superpole
"We had a few minor problems this morning," David Terrien said, after setting the fifth time in N-GT in the morning session. "The car was oversteering a bit, and there were some problems changing gears. But we didn't have any problems with the tyres, which got up to temperature straight away. I did my best time on my first lap out, which is looking really good for the Superpole - so now we've got to work hard to qualify for it." In the afternoon, the car further improved to set the third best N-GT time of the day. “They are getting very close, and I'm sure they are going to win races soon. They are going to be redoubtable adversaries, I'm sure," reigning N-GT champion Patrice Goueslard commented.
Orlando : working for the race
"This morning, we didn't run much," said Monza winner Johnny Cecotto, "We have a problem with the set-up - the car is jumping a lot. We are working on it but it is still difficult to drive. We had similar problems at Monza. Basically, we're behind with testing and practice, and trying to catch up." As his Monza team-mate Philipp Peter is absent for this race, he is driving with Andrea Chiesa, from Switzerland. "I'm getting used to the car," Chiesa said. "This is my first time in a N-GT car, so I am not taking any risks. I've raced here before, but in a completely different car, so it's a case of building up confidence. It's really enjoyable - but not 100% as I'm rather worried about doing the right thing at the right time - and the 20 kg penalty weight doesn't help, for sure."
However, the time that Richard Dean and Nicolaus Springer could spend in their respective Storms was dramatically shortened by a blizzard!
It looks as if intermittent blizzards will continue for the rest of the day although the snow is yet to settle.
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