A return to Oschersleben for the FIA GT3 European Championship

After four action-packed races, the FIA GT3 European Championship moves on to Germany, and the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. This is the second time the Championship has visited the track – the circuit was part of the inaugural season of the GT3 series in 2006. The track presents a dramatically different challenge to the previous races at Monza – relatively slow and narrow, making a clean overtaking move will be difficult.

All four races this season have been won by the Ford GT; the opening rounds at Silverstone were won by Ian Khan and Thomas Mutsch, with the Monza races being claimed by reigning British GT Champions Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer – but only after the intervention of the stewards. The Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Dino Lunardi and reigning FIA GT3 champion Gilles Vannelet was first across the line in the second race, but a time penalty for a pit-stop infraction dropped them to fifth. The good news for the competition is that the GT Bureau has decided that the three Ford GT cars, being run by Matech GT Racing, will carry an additional 70kg of ballast from Oschersleben onwards.

The two races at Monza saw tricky conditions as poor weather dogged the entire weekend. The stewards were among the busiest people at the circuit – in qualifying, no fewer than fourteen cars had their best times disallowed for cutting the chicanes. Then, some hours after the chequered flag had fallen, they ruled that the No.28 Marc Sourd Corvette Z.06R GT3 which had finished second was disqualified, for using the wrong set of tyres. And for the second race there were the time penalties which hit the first two finishers.

After the stewards had made their rulings it was Ellis and Mortimer who won both races, with the Martini Callaway Corvette of Arnaud Peyrolles and James Ruffier picking up two podium finishes. The other podium places went to the Tech 9 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of Dimitris Deverikos and Christopher Haase, and the Ford GT of Khan and Mutsch. That podium finish enabled Khan and Mutsch to retain their lead of the Drivers’ Championship, although the consistent finishes of Peyrolles and Ruffier has moved them to within two points of the leaders. Ellis is a further two points back, with Mortimer fourth.

The performance balancing again proved its worth at Monza, with the top seven places in the first race being taken by seven different makes of car. It was almost the same story in the second race, with seven different makes filling the top eight places. The additional weight to be carried by the Ford GT should give the rest of the field an excellent chance of making it to the top step of the podium; in 2006 the two races saw a 1-2 finish for the Dodge Viper, then a 1-2 finish for the Aston Martin DBRS9.

The first hour-long race will be held on Saturday, with the second race at the relatively early time of 11am on Sunday. The narrow, twisting nature of the track should make the two 20-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday morning even more action-packed than usual, as more than forty cars try to find a clear lap.

Maurizio FABRIS – No.46 Tech 9 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3: “At Monza, in free practice on Friday morning, we had a rear tyre blow out at 165mph, which put the car in the wall; the damage couldn’t be repaired, so we couldn’t race. The car had to go to the factory to be re-shelled, and the egine and gearbox also had to be replaced – luckily, we were insured. It was frustrating, because we were at least as quick as our other car, and they finished second, so we could have have had a good result. The Lamborghini is very good on the brakes, so it should be well suited to Oschersleben.”

Charles MORGAN – No.30 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero 8 GT3: “Jacques Laffite cannot race at Oschersleben, as he will be commentating on the British Grand Prix – so I’m taking his place, although I’m strictly a non-professional driver.I’ve never raced at Oschersleben before – in fact I’ve never been to the circuit! But since the GT3 Championship didn’t go there last year, it will be new to a lot of drivers. The cars are going well, and the team has picked up two fourth-place finishes. We had a pretty intensive test session at Magny Cours a couple of weeks ago, so we’re hoping to do well.”

Alex MORTIMER – No.21 Matech GT Racing Ford GT: “Neither Bradley nor I have been to Oschersleben before, so we’ll be trying to learn the circuit in Friday’s free practice sessions. It will be a tough learning curve, especially as our team mates have all raced there. So we’ll be on the back foot a bit, but we’ll be out there looking for more results. We’ve just got to hope that we don’t have any problems in the practice sessions, so we can do as much running as possible. It would also be good to have consistent conditions – either all wet, or all dry! The additional 70kg is an added complication – we’re going to be at a track we haven’t seen before, in a car which is in a less competitive form than it’s been any time that we’ve driven it. What’s frustrating is that while the Ford GT is quick, it’s not ground-breakingly quick; the reason we’re doing well is that Bradley and I can lap at the same pace, and the same is true for the other Matech GT pairings. It’s going to affect the car a lot – 70kg is like taking a passenger round. We won’t know how much it will affect us until we drive it.”

Bradley ELLIS – No.21 Matech GT Racing Ford GT: “We are definitely more settled going into the next rounds. With Alex familiar with the car, we are both comfortable and will be able to just jump in and get on with it. However, neither Alex nor I have raced at Oschersleben before, so our first aim will be getting to grips with the circuit during Friday practice. The extra ballast will affect the Ford GT, especially over a one-hour race as certain components bear the brunt of the weight, namely the brakes. We are hoping that it won’t make a massive difference to the Ford GT’s performance and we won’t lose too much time”

Marcello ZANI – No.17 Brixia Aston Martin DBRS9 : ““Regarding Oschersleben, I like that circuit. I won there in the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2006, and I set the fastest GT2 lap time in the FIA GT race last year, so I'm quite confident for this year. In addition, all the Brixia people are highly concentrated on all the details, and Aston Martin Racing will give us a brand-new traction control for that race. I’m still feeling bitter after the Monza race, and I would like to be on the Oschersleben racetrack right now!!”

Sascha BERT – No 2. Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3 : “We tested in Hockenheim two weeks ago with Alois, and it went very well.  We put a second seat in the Corvette, in order to give Alois further preparation for GT3.  He managed to make a really big  improvement, and things should be much better for Oschersleben.  I like the circuit; I was second in qualifying there in 2006 in the FIA GT Championship, despite having 70 kg penalty weight in the car.  The track should be good for the Corvette.”

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