Qualifying Sessions report

The CORVETTES are unbeatable

The fastest track of the season seems to suit the Corvette very well, as in both sessions, a Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3 got the pole position. And while the first session, where Italian Driver Luca Pirri was the fastest, eight different makes were in the eight first positions, in the second qualifying session, the Corvettes set the three fastest times. So, it is clear that over one lap the Corvettes are fast here, but in a one hour race, everything could be different!

FIRST POLE FOR LUCA PIRRI

Italian driver Luca Pirri has not raced in Monza for 14 years! So for his return to his home track, the Martini Callaway Racing driver was really happy to set the pole position with a lap of 1.54.207. “In 14 years a lot has changed here ! For me it is really special to get the pole position here, and now we are concentrating on the race, we want to win both of them” declared Luca Pirri. But with eight different cars in the top 8, and eleven cars in two seconds, the first race is going to be tough. “Over one lap the Corvette are fastest, but we will see how consistent they are going to be in a one hour race” analysed Erik Janis, second in the nr 15 S-Berg Racing Lamborghini Gallardo. Third in this session, Gilles Vannelet, in the nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari had the same feeling : “With Henri Moser we are homogeneous, and our car is really consistent. At the end of the race, the Ferrari is as good as at the beginning.” On another hand, the Championship leader will not take any risks, as they need points. So the danger may come from the outsiders; Diego Alessi, his 4th time in the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 or Bradley Ellis, who is in the nr 8 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe for the 5th time.

KLAUS LUDWIG AS EXPECTED

Since the start of the day, Klaus Ludwig was the fastest driver on the track. First in both free practice sessions, the former FIA GT Champion really wanted to succeed in pole position, with a lap of 1.52.158. “My last pole position was a long time ago, in Silverstone last year, for the opening round of the Championship. So I really wanted to get another pole position. This Championship is really close, and there are not a lot of drivers with several pole positions!” said Klaus Ludwig. With all his experience, Klaus Ludwig will do his best to keep his advantage of the pole position at the exit of the first chicane.
On this fast track (Klaus Ludwig’s average speed in his fastest lap was more than 185 km/h), the Corvette Z06R GT3 seems to be on its favourite playing ground, as three Corvettes were in the top 3 : Klaus Ludwig and Jürgen von Gartzen in the nr 16 & nr 18 Martini Callaway Racing Corvettes, and James Ruffier in the nr 19 Riverside Corvette.
In the nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari 430, Henri Moser was the first “non-Corvette” driver. “The Corvette has a great engine, it is impossible to beat them in one lap here, but it is possible to beat them during the race” declared Henri Moser.
Another good surprise is the Dodge. On this track, this American car seems to be on its favourite playing ground, with Ed Morris, in the nr 8 RPM Dodge Viper in 5th position. Thomas Mutsch was first of the Ford GTs, Andrew Thompson set the fastest Ascari time, and Italian driver Alex Frassinetti finished first of the Aston Martins in 7th place. With electrical problems in his JMB Racing Ferrari 430, Stephane Daoudi could not manage to do better than setting the 8th time. If Daoudi & Khan want to come back on Moser / Vannelet, they will have to take a lot of risks during both races, in order to score big points.
Jaromir Jirik was first of the Lamborghinis, Tom Ferrier the fastest of the Porsches, and Johan-Boris Scheier was happy with his first session in the FIA GT3 European Championship in the nr 51 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero V8. He was first of the three Morgans, and 20th in the overall classification. “This is the first day of the season where we managed to run with nearly no problems. The team has worked hard on the car, the Morgan is getting better and better, even if it is not a track for us” declared Scheier.

Quotes

Qualifying 1:
Luca PIRRI – nr 18 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3, 1st: “I did two laps to get the pole position. My last pole position was in Shanghai, in the Chinese GT Championship, and it is my first pole position in the FIA GT3 European Championship. Last time I raced in Monza was in 1993, so I’m pleased to be back on my home track, and to get the pole position. I hope we will do well during the race, and I hope we will manage to beat the Ferraris, which are one again really fast. We are also concerned about the reliability of the car, as we had quite a lot of problems since the beginning of the season. But Monza is our track, and we’ll do our best. Both of us have proven that this track is very good for our Corvette. That is why this Championship is good; we have a lot of different tracks.”

Erik JANIS – nr 15 S-Berg Racing Team Lamborghini Gallardo, 2nd: “The Corvette set an amazing time, but I’m satisfied with my second place, it is not bad. In the second session we are 17th, so it is going to be a lot harder in the second race. Both races on the same day: it could be a disadvantage if something happens during the first race, so we have to think about that, as we need points in both races. So we have to be careful in the first race, even if we are going to fight! We will see during the race, one hour it is different than one lap.”

Gilles VANNELET – nr 38  Kessel Racing Ferrari 430, 3rd: “The pole was possible. On my fastest lap I was blocked by a Porsche, but I managed to improve my time, and on my second lap I got stuck behind a Morgan which was much slower than me. So the pole was possible. In my session it was possible to beat the Corvette, but not in Henri Moser’s session. During the race we will have to put pressure on the Corvette. In one lap they are fastest, but we will see in a one hour race.”


Qualifying 2:
Klaus LUDWIG – nr 16 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3, 1st: “I had a good first lap, but I lost some time behind a Dodge, then I choose to do a slower lap, then I pushed as much as I could, and I got the pole position. The car is very well suited to this track, I was very smooth in the curves, and I took care not to go over the race line, as we were told by the race director! Our top speed is good here, and it is a real advantage. Since the start of the day I have been on a good pace, so I really wanted that pole. My last pole position was last year in Silverstone, so I’m pleased today! 1,2,3, it is good for Corvette !

James RUFFIER – nr 19 Riverside Corvette Z06R GT3, 3rd: “We had a lot of trouble since the start of this week-end: gearbox, throttle, spoiler… everything!  In the qualifying session, I had my first fast laps of the week-end. So I did not know where to brake, I did not know which gear I had to choose in the corner, and I could not find a good set-up for the car. So it was not great, but I managed to set the 3rd time. If we had had time to work on the car, I’m sure that I would have been able to fight for the 1st position. The Corvette is made for this track.”

Henri MOSER – nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari 430, 4th: “In one lap it is impossible to beat the Corvette. They have a great engine. I was following really close to a Corvette in the “Parabolica” and after the second chicane I was 200 meters behind him, in one of my fast laps. In all the fast part, they are unbeatable. Our main advantage, with Gilles Vannelet, is that we are very close in time. I think that Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen will be very hard to beat, as both of them did a really good qualifying session.”

2007-06-24
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