Kessel Ferrari and Matech Ford GT take Brno poles

The two qualifying sessions at Brno proved one thing: no matter how long the circuit, when you give 40 cars just 20 minutes to go for pole position, traffic will be a problem for everyone. At the end of the sessions, which set the grid for rounds 7 and 8 of the FIA GT3 European Championship, almost every driver said that they hadn’t managed to find a clear lap – and yet, the times were still significantly quicker than last year. When the sessions were over it was the No.8 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9 which was quickest, Thomas Accary putting in a lap of 2:01.002. And in the second session Thomas Mutsch went even quicker, his 2:00.007 taking pole for the second race for the No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT.

 

FIRST QUALIFYING – ASTON MARTIN QUICKEST IN ACTION-PACKED SESSION

The weather on Saturday was significantly cooler and breezier than the day before – that meant everyone was expecting quick times, due to engines making more power when fed with cool air. However, some cars didn’t seem to like the conditions; the No.46 Tech 9 Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 stopped on its first lap for about a minute, and then the No.41 La Torre Motorsport Dodge Viper pulled over. The Lamborghini managed to restart, but when the Dodge could not immediately be removed, the session was stopped; however, with the clock still running, the red flag meant an even more frantic end to the session than usual.

 

When the session did restart, there were just ten minutes remaining, so almost every lap had to be a quick one. Sure enough, the times soon began to tumble; first it was an Ascari which topped the times, then a Ford GT. But then Accary put in a sequence of three stunning laps – the slowest was over 0.4sec faster than anyone else, and his quickest time put him over 0.6sec clear. Second quickest was the No.5 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430 GT, piloted by Claudio Ricci, with the No.17 Brixia Racing Aston Martin third.

 

However, many cars had been given a three-place grid penalty for failing to respect yellow flags during free practice – no fewer than ten cars were penalised, and the No.8 Aston Martin was amongst them. So the No.5 Kessel Ferrari will start from pole position, ahead of the No.17 Brixia car, with the No.8 Hexis Racing car down to fourth behind the No.28 Marc Sourd Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3. Championship leaders Peyroles and Ruffier start fifth in the No.1 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette, while their nearest rivals, Khan and Mutsch, are down in 19th spot in the No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT.

 

SECOND QUALIFYING – ANOTHER POLE FOR FORD GT

Thomas Mutsch maintained his perfect record – four qualifying sessions, for pole positions for the No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT driver. His lap of 2:00.007 came part-way through the session, putting him just over a tenth clear of the No.2 Martini Callaway Corvette of Sascha Bert. Third place went to Fred Makowiecki in the No.10 Hexis Racing Aston Martin – but only just; the No.44 Gravity Racing Ascari KZ1R GT3 of Maxime Martin was 0.001sec slower!

 

Unlike the first session, the second session was almost free of incidents; hobbled by an electronics problem, the No.46 Tech 9 Motorsport Lamborghini only managed a single flying lap. Even that was better than the No.19 Ford GT – in the first session, the drive to the engine oil pump failed, wrecking the engine. The resulting engine change meant that it did not go out in second qualifying, and will also miss the first of the weekend’s two races.

2008-09-13
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