Quotes

Jiri Skula – No.38 MM-Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3, 1st: “The start was difficult – the Corvette behind me was quicker, and there was a bit of contact at the first corner. I was racing a Morgan, and there wasn’t much difference between our speeds. As soon as the safety car came out, I headed for the pits to hand over to Martin. He did a good job, and it’s a great result for the whole team.”

 

Martin Matzke – No.38 MM-Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3, 1st: “The timing of our pit-stop was very important – we were the first to get into the pits under the safety car, and that was the key to our race. I was working hard to keep the Marc Sourd Corvette behind me, but then he spun, which gave me a breathing space – especially when the Ascari got its stop-go penalty.”

 

Giuseppe de Pasquale – No.42 La Torre Motorsport Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, 2nd: “Gabriele drove a great first stint – he looked after the car and got through to the safety car period. Our team did a good pit-stop – but then, we got a bit of luck. We came out in twelfth, but managed to gain several places when the safety car came in. After that we overtook a few cars, and a few cars in front of us went off. It wasn’t easy – the Corvettes were very fast!”

 

Gilles Vannelet – No.43 La Torre Motorsport Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, 3rd: “I’m very happy to be on the podium again - the race was very exciting. La Torre is a very good team, and we have two cars on the podium – it’s a great result.”

 

Dino Lunardi – No.43 La Torre Motorsport Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, 3rd: “I started from thirteenth – there were cars all around, it was very busy. I tried to look after the tyres for Gilles, so we could get a good result. La Torre used an excellent strategy under the safety car, so I’m very happy with this result.”

 

Johan Charpilienne – No.28 Marc Sourd Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3, 5th: “The car was faster than yesterday, but it was not so easy to drive. I came in at the right moment under the safety car, which got us up to third; Marc made it up to second, and was fighting for the race win. It was maximum attack every lap – the Corvette and Vipers behind were very fast, so it wasn’t easy. He got just a bit too much kerb, which unsettled the car under braking and he spun. I did a mistake yesterday, today it was his turn! Fifth is a good result, although a podium would have been even better.”

 

Julien Rodrigues – No.9 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9, 7th: “We had a very good race – I made a good start and overtook several drivers. We got up to eleventh, but then we had a problem with the gearbox, which cost us some places. Then, after Manuel took over the car, he was able to get several places back, and we finished seventh – that’s a pretty good result.”

 

Mark Thomas – No.39 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S, 8th: “That was a good race. Jaromir did a great job – he was battling with the Aston Martins and Jaguars, which are much faster in a straight line, but slower under braking. You just had to wait – there was a lot of competition, a lot of people trying passing moves, so when it happened in front of you, you just had to take advantage.”

 

Richard Williams – No.6 Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S, 9th: “What can I say? We were doing very well, and it looked like we were on course for a good result, and a couple of small mistakes have cost us places. At one stage we were as high as fifth, which would have given us some good points in the overall championship; we always aim to be the first Porsche home, and we missed that by just one place.”

 

Martin Rich – No.26 Team Berlanga Ascari KZ1R GT3, 11th: “I’m very unhappy at the end of that. Andy drove a great stint and got us up to second, and I was still in second place after our stop. When I came out, I was in amongst the Corvettes and I expected them to be much quicker, but I was able to hold my own, and I was able to challenge them. But then we got the stop-go penalty, and that dropped us back. There were cars going in all directions down at the first corner when I dropped to third – we were all trying to dodge backmarkers, and the guy behind me just nipped past.”

 

Alex Mortimer – No.21 Matech GT Racing Ford GT, 17th: “Our race was a nightmare – we had a big problem with the brakes. The brake pedal was going to the floor, so we chose to take our pit stop early to see if the problem could be fixed. Unfortunately the timing was really bad – we came in just before the safety car came out, so we rejoined a lap down, and the problem was still there. I could get brakes by pumping the pedal, but that was the best we could do.”

 

Bradley Ellis – No.21 Matech GT Racing Ford GT, 17th: “We could have had some good points today, if it wasn’t for the brake problem. The mechanics said the pads and discs looked fine, so it may have been a problem with the brake fluid. We should be able to sort it out for the next race.”

 

Thomas Mutsch – No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT, 21st: “It wasn’t a good race. The start was okay, but it seemed there was oil down at the first corner, so I was sliding a lot. Round the next corner, I got hit by a Corvette, which gave me a puncture, so that dropped us a long way back. At least the No.1 Corvette didn’t finish higher than fourth, so the points gap isn’t too big.”

 

Luca Pirri – No.19 Matech GT Racing Ford GT, 30th: “It was looking good, but first an Aston Martin lost control under braking; he hit me and damaged the rear end of the car, which cost me a few positions. And then the No.11 Ferrari was paying too much attention to me, rather than watching where he was going – he spun, and I couldn’t avoid him. I’m very unhappy – it’s not good.”

 

2008-07-06
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