Report: Race 2 Report, Silverstone 2011
Faster Racing BMW 1-2 in Round 4
Twenty seven cars lined for the rolling start for the fourth race of the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship season with the nr36 Faster Racing by DB Motorsport BMW of Nick Catsburg on pole position. However at the green light it was the nr9 LMP Motorsport Aston Martin of Maxime Martin that got the better start and led into the first corner. However behind the leaders chaos ensued as the the nr44 Heico Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG of Brice Bosi was tipped into a high speed spin which also involved the nr 8 LMP Aston Martin of Dimitri Enjalbert and the nr33 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 of Greg Franchi. All drivers were OK but with debris covering the track the Safety Car was deployed.
Racing resumed on on lap 5 with Catsburg putting the pressure on the leading Aston Martin from the restart. On lap 6 Catsburg put the BMW alongside Martin's Aston at Turn 4 but the Belgian driver held his nerve and the lead of the race. Catsburg tred again on lap 7 at the same place but had to wait until a lap later before he could make the move stick and move ahead of the Aston Martin into the lead. Once released Catsburg moved ahead of the field while the nr21 MTECH Ferrari 458 of Matt Griffin closed up to challenge Maxime Martin for 2nd.
The pit window opened on lap 11 but most of the front runners elected to stay out. The leading BMW had opened up a 5.8 second gap to the nr9 LMP Motorsport Aston Martin continued to defend his 2nd place from Griffin's Ferrari. At Club corner on lap 13 Griffin dived down the inside and moved ahead just before the lead cars headed for the pits to complete their stops. It was a disasterous stop for the MTECH Ferrari as it failed to restart for Duncan Cameron and the team had to push start the Ferrari, which isn't allowed by the regulations.
After all the stops the nr36 BMW, now with Harrie Kolen at the wheel, had a comfortable 18 second lead over the nr15 Saintloc Racing Audi R8 of Jerome Demay who was coming under pressure from the nr9 Aston Marin now with Gael Lesoudier at the wheel, the nr35 Faster Racing by DB Motorsport BMW of Hoevert Vos and the AF Corse Ferrari of Dan Brown. On lap 17 Demay was passed by Lesoudier and Vos and then lost another place to Brown on lap 18, but fought back to regain the position a lap later.
The nr50 AF Corse of Federico Leo was also moving up the field, passing the two Graf Racing Mercedes-Benz before passing Demay's Audi to run nose to tail with his teammate.
Meanwhile the nr35 BMW had moved passed the nr9 Aston Martin to take second place and was quickly eating into Kolen's lead. In just four laps the lead had shrunk from 10 seconds to just two tenths as the two BMWs crossed the line to begin the last lap. Vos dived down the inside at the first corner on the final lap and swept into the lead and Hoevert Vos led Harrie Kolen to the chequered flag to record the team's first win in the FIA GT3 European Championship. The nr9 LMP Motorsport Aston MArtin was third ahead of the two AF Corse Ferrari 458s. However the nr50 AF Corse Ferrari of Federico Leo and Francesco Castellacci was given a drive through, which was converetd to a 30-second penalty after the race, dropping the Italians down to 11th from 5th place. The nr7 Need for Speed Schubert Motorsport was excluded from the result for causing an avoidable accident.
The win gives Jeroen den Boer and Hoevert Vos (50 points) a five point lead over Edward Sandstoem and Abdulaziz Al Faisal (45 points) in the Driver Championship and the Faster Racing by DB Motorsport team has closed the gap to the Need for Speed Schubert Motorsport to just 8 points in the Team Championship.
The next two rounds will take place in Navarra on the 2/3 July.
CLICK HERE for result of Round 4
CLICK HERE for the Race Facts
CLICK HERE for the Championship Positions after Round 4
2011-06-05
Subscribe: Subscribe with small images: Subscribe with medium images:
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |