Quotes

James Ruffier – No.1 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3: “That was complicated – there was just too much traffic. I think I had to overtake four or five cars every time I went for a quick lap. C’est la vie – now for the race.”

 

Sascha Bert – No.2 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3: “For the first ten minutes of the session, I was quickest – then second, then quickest again, but then back to second. We finished just a tenth slower than [Mutsch]; the car is working very well. I had some problems with traffic, but that’s pretty much expected when you have forty cars on track. I just feel a little unlucky not to have got pole position.”

 

Paul Warren – No.4 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430 GT3: “My car was one of the last ones into the pit lane to have the tyres changed, so I lost about five minutes of the session. I did a couple of laps to bed the tyres in, then put in a quick lap; I then made a stop to have the tyre pressures adjusted, and by then there was time for just one flying lap. Of course, when I was bedding in the tyres I had no traffic, and hit traffic on my quick laps!”

 

Richard Williams – No.6 Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S: “Qualifying was okay – we found a lot of time during free practice, although we’ve still got a small problem that we’re trying to resolve. Hopefully we’ll get it sorted out before the race. We’re the quickest Porsche, so that’s good, but we’re suffering on straight-line speed compared to the guys who have bigger engines.”

 

Ian Khan – No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT: “When I first went out, I was bedding in some new brake pads – and then the session was red-flagged. Once the session got started again, on my fastest lap I came across a spinning Aston Martin, so that didn’t help; not the best qualifying session I’ve ever had. But then Thomas [Mutsch] put it on pole for the second race; that’s why he’s a Gold driver and I’m a Bronze!”

 

Michael Greenhalgh – No.25 Team Berlanga Ascari KZ1R GT3: “Qualifying didn’t really go to plan – I was expecting to be much higher. I was struggling with mid-corner oversteer, caused by a lack of grip at the rear; hopefully we’ll get it right for the race. It will be better, that’s for sure.”

 

Georges Alexandre Sturdza – No.31 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero 8 GT3: “The car is absolutely fantastic, and the team are improving it a lot, in many ways. The drivers are improving, too - that was a learning experience!”

 

Mark Thomas – No.39 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S: “Qualifying was good – we made a big improvement from the practice sessions. The main problem is a lack of straight-line speed – all of the Porsches are suffering here. We’re good through the corners, but coming onto the long straights, we just don’t seem able to pick up to the fast guys. This is a fantastic track with nice elevation changes, it reminds me of some circuits back in Canada.”

 

Maxime Martin – No.44 Gravity Racing Ascari KZ1R GT3: “Qualifying was good, but it could have been better – we could have been a bit quicker. It’s an hour-long race, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m really pleased with how it went, since this is my first race in the car.”

 

Maurizio Fabris – No.46 Tech 9 Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo GT3: “I only put in a single flying lap! The positive side is that the changes we made overnight have made the car feel much more tractable coming out of corners, so that makes it easier to be more aggressive going in. I think that, with a bit more running, we’d be another couple of seconds quicker. The main problem today is that the engine has been switching to a ‘safety’ mode, so you have to park the car, switch everything off, wait 30 seconds and then restart.”

 

Dimitris Deverikos – No.47 Tech 9 Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo GT3: “Yesterday I had very worn tyres, so we gained a lot of time – but it’s not easy to get the feel for how to get the most out of the tyres, so I didn’t do a perfect lap, as I haven’t been in the car since Monza.”

 

2008-09-13
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