The honours in the two qualifying sessions held today at Zolder for rounds 11 & 12 of the 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship were shared by Christopher Haase in the nr26 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS and Frederic Makowiecki in the nr4 Hexis Racing AMR Aston Martin DBRS9.  Both drivers are in the chase for the 2009 FIA GT3 European driver's title. 

Qualifying for Round 11
With the track still damp from earlier rain the qualifying sessions were declared wet.  Christopher Haase was the first driver on track in the Phoenix Racing Audi and set the early pace.  Nicolas Armindo in the nr 32 Team Rosberg Audi had an early spin but recovered to set the 4th fastest time of the twenty minute session.  Jens Klinsmann, who had claimed the maiden pole for Alpina at Paul Ricard, was once again on the pace, finishing qualifying on the front row alongside Haase in the Phoenix Racing Audi, the first pole position for the Audi R8 in the FIA GT3 European Championship.  The second row is headed by Ronnie Bremer in the Team Rhino’s Leipart Ascari KZ1 GT3 on the team’s debut in the championship, with Nicolas Armindo setting the 4th fastest time. However the FIA Stewards have imposed a drop of five grid places for the first race on the nr 32 Audi because Cesar Campanico was not slowing down the car while yellow flags were deployed in free practice.   In the difficult conditions championship leader Thomas Accary could only manage 10th fastest in the nr3 Hexis Racing AMR Aston Martin DBRS9.

Qualifying for Round 12
The second 20-minute qualifying session of the day was dominated by the  Hexis Racing AMR Aston Martin of Frederic Makowiecki as the French driver swept into provisional pole position half way through the session and remained there to claim his third pole of the season.  Makowiecki finished ahead of the AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero Super Sport of Maxime Martin, the round 2 winner narrowly missing his third pole position of 2009 by three tenths of a second.  Claudia Hürtgen (nr24 Alpina BMW Alpina B6 GT3) heads up row two with fellow German Florian Gruber in the Fischer Racing Ford GT alongside her.  Norman Knop took 6th on the grid in the Team Rhino’s Leipart Ascari alongside the fifth fastest driver, Markus Palttala in the Mühlner Motorsport Porsche.  The nr 3 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9 of championship leader Julien Rodrigues could only manage to qualify in 16th place.

Christopher Haase (nr26 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS)
"I am really happy because it was a really crazy situation in qualifying but the team and I have worked together and we found a good space for a good lap.  We had a perfect run; it was the second lap in my stint.  The brking points on the lap were a little bit slippery but this was the best time we could do in the conditions.  This feels good for the championship, it is an important point for us to stay in front.

Frederic Makowiecki (nr4 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9)
"It is very good to finish the year with a pole position. In these conditions the qualifying was very hard because we had just one line and if we went just a little bit outside this line, you end up going quickly into the gravel. In my first lap I made a mistake and I went a little bit into the gravel and after that I just tried to get a clean lap, which was pole position. I'm very happy.  The amount of cars on the track isn't so much of a problem because we have a gap between the two grids for the races and the track is long and it is possible to overtake. We will try to finish the year on the podium."

Jens Klinsmann (nr25 Alpina BMW Alpina B6 GT3)
"In the end it was a good time but during the session it was really difficult because there were so many cars.  The line was dry but outside of the line it was completely wet, so there was no chance to overtake the slower cars. It was very difficult to find a gap to get a clear lap to be honest. The car is strong and the time is quite good but it is possible to go even faster.  In my fastest lap I made a mistake in the traffic so I think we missed four or five tenths but in the end second place is quite good and we'll see what happens in the race."

Gael Lesoudier (nr101 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero Super Sport)
"It wasn't too bad. It was very hard on the circuit with yellow flags on most of the laps, which made it very hard to improve your time.  I think the best time to do a good lap was at the beginning of the session, which is what happened for Maxime, he set a fast time and improved a lot on his best laps.  It is good for us tomorrow for both races because we have a good car, we've found a good balance between the front and the rear and a good compromise between the slow chicanes and the very fast corners. I hope we can have a good result to finish the season."

DECISIONS
1. The FIA Stewards imposed a drop of five grid places on car nr 32 for the first race for not slowing down for yellow flags during free practice.
2. The FIA Stewards imposed a drop of five grid places on car nr 19 for the first race for overtaking under yellow flags in qualifying 1.

Round 11 of the 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place at 11:00 on Sunday 25 October, with Round 12 due to start at 17:10 on the same day.

CLICK HERE for the provisional result from Round 11 Qualifying

CLICK HERE for provisional result from Round 12 Qualifying