FIA GT3 TAKES TO THE STREETS

After an exciting opening round in Silverstone, the FIA GT3 European Championship will be racing in the city for the very first time, in the streets of Bucharest. With the track being new for everybody, all the drivers will be on an equal footing. But there is no room for errors for the grid of over 40 cars expected to take part in the two races, which look like being even closer than usual.

« No-one has ever driven in Bucharest, so it’s even more open than usual, » commented Diego Alessi. After the first two races, in Silverstone, two drivers stood out from the rest : Henri Moser and Gilles Vannelet, sharing the nr 38 Ferrari 430 GT3 entered by Loris Kessel Racing. After two wins from two races, Moser and Vannelet are firmly in charge, but they will be under pressure on an unforgiving track like Bucharest. But they must surely remain the favourites for the event. Not according to Gilles Vannelet : « There are some weekends where everything goes perfectly, for no particular reason. We’ll have to see what happens in Bucharest, but there is no pressure on us. We especially do not want to be labeled as the favourites.”

And the Ferrari 430 cars will have plenty of competition, starting with the Hexis Racing and BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 cars, and the S-Berg and First Racing Lamborghini Gallardo, all of which were extremely competitive in Silverstone. The Czech duo of Erik Janis and Jaromir Jirik should be closely watched, as, not too far from home, they will be keen to do well. But on this technical circuit, the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, Ascari KZ1R GT3 and Dodge Viper cars should be watched carefully. After the fast corners of Silverstone, the slower Bucharest circuit should redistribute the cards…
The Corvette Z06R GT3 cars entered by Riverside and Martini Callaway Racing could also be well worth watching ; the cars already showed some of their potential at Silverstone, and the Corvette is always very much at ease on winding tracks.

After a remarkable debut, with most notably a pole position for Romain Bera, the Ford GT and Ford Mustang FR500 GT cars will take a step into the unknown in the streets of Bucharest, as these new cars will be trying a street circuit for the first time. Last but not least, Bucharest should see the Morgan Aero take to the track for the first time.The unusual British-built car, entered by a French team, is sure to be one of the attractions of the meeting. Which team will shine in the streets of Bucharest ? Which FIA GT3 European Championship drivers will win the first-ever city race ? Who can beat Moser and Vannelet ? One thing is certain : the two FIA GT3 European Championship races, which will actually last one hour and one minute in order to allow 46 cars to race, will be both close and spectacular !

Henri Moser : “it is going to be my first ever street race. Getting used to a track is not a big problem for me as it is only my second season, so I have a lot of tracks to learn. Silverstone was great and a wonderful start. All went well, and it was great to win both races. In fact we will have no pressure in Bucharest, we have scored 20 points, so our main goal in Bucharest is to score points, we do not have to win absolutely. On such a track, I think that the Ferrari will be good. In Silverstone we were not quick in the fast part, but in all the technical corners the car was brilliant.”

Frederic Makowiecki : “It is going be a new experience, and very interesting. I heard that people have put in a great effort to welcome us in Bucharest, so it will be a fantastic week-end. It is impossible to say how the car will be before seeing the track. We all have to learn it, and then we will see. My only experience of a street track is in Pau, and as far as I know it is very important to start from the front row, because it is always hard to overtake, and most of the time the car at the front could manage to pull out a big gap very quickly. So the free practices are going to be very important, and the qualifying session even more so.”

Diego Alessi : “After Silverstone we were a little bit disappointed because to be honest we expected to win there, but we were not quick enough. Bucharest is going to be another story. Nobody has raced there before, so anything is possible over there”

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