Dodge and Porsche win in Dijon

The fourth round of the inaugural season of the FIA GT3 European Championship took the cars to the beautiful and challenging French track of Dijon Prenois.  The winding circuit, up hill and down, produced two stunning races, to the delight of the many spectators who crowded around the track.  With pole going to Barwell Motorsport’s Jonathan Cocker, and Riverside’s James Ruffier, wins were shared between the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, and the Porsche 997 GT3, maintaining the diversity in this first season. 

RACE 1 : RACING BOX INHERITS RACE WIN, PENDING APPEAL

The first Dijon race in the FIA GT3 European Championship saw Patrick Bornhauser take his third consecutive win, joined this time by his team-mate Jean-Luc Blanchemain.  The Racing Logistic duo finished ahead of the nr 27 Racing Box car of Ceccato and Livio, after a close and exciting race around the 3.8 km circuit.Third and leading Aston Martin was the nr 44 Barwell Motorsport DBRS9 of Machitsky and Cocker, ahead of the BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin of Seiler and Groppi.  The nr 19 Riverside Corvette of Ruffier and Terny was fifth, after an amazing stint from James Ruffier.The leading Lamborghini was the nr 13 Reiter Engineering car of Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Phil Bastiaans, with the leading Porsche the nr 9 Tech 9 car of Edwards and Keen.However, Further to protests from Pouchelon and Racing Box, the nr 10 and 11 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe cars were excluded from the meeting, due to non-conformity of the front brake calipers discs and pads. This gave Racing Box's Dodge Viper of Ceccato and Livio the win ahead of the Barwell Aston Martin of Machitsky and Cocker, with the BMS drivers Seiler and Livio third.  However, Racing Logistic has appealed this decision, and the results are therefore provisional, with the Racing Logistic cars reinstated and allowed to compete in the second race, under appeal.

RACE 2 : PORSCHE TAKES FIRST WIN AFTER THRILLING CHASE ROUND DIJON

A thrilling second GT3 race saw all seven makes finish in the top ten, with a nail-biting fight between the leading four cars.  But the win went to Tech 9 Motorsport and the Porsche 997 GT3 of Edwards and Keen - the first win for a Porsche in this inaugural season of the Championship. The Porsche was followed by the BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 of Groppi and Seiler, with the nr 10 Racing Box Viper of Bornhauser and Blanchemain.The race started with a big accident on the grid, which took out the nr 26 Racing Box Viper, the nr 18 Callaway Corvette and the nr 22 Aston Martin.  This brought out the safety car for 20 minutes.  Afterwards, the faster drivers had around 17 minutes of flat-out racing before they had to pit and hand the cars over to the slower drivers.  Campbell was leading ahead of Livio, Edwards and Groppi.The refueling took place relatively late.  A big fight ensued between the nr 10 Racing Logistic, the nr 27 Racing Box, the nr 9 Tech 9 Motorsport. Keen took the lead, then they were joined by Seiler in the Aston Martin, who overtook the two Dodges to move up to second.The results of this race are also provisional, as the appeal from race one effectively allowed the nr 10 and 11 cars to compete in race two. 

RACE 1 RUNDOWN:

The nr 29 Pouchelon Racing Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, was allowed to change its engine, as a result of which all times from both qualifying sessions were cancelled, forcing the car to start from last position. After his crash during the first qualifying session, nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 was not repaired.Starting from pole position, Leo Machitsky (nr 44 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9) made the best start, in front of the nr 13 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo of Albert von Thurn und Taxis, the nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 of Toni Seiler, the nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Patrick Bornhauser, the nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Andrea Ceccato, the nr 11 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competiton Coupe of Olivier Dupard and the nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of Phil Keen.On lap 2, at the end of the straight line, Albert von Thurn und Taxis overtook the leader, and for the first time a Lamborghini was leading the FIA GT3 European Championship.Seven cars were close together, and try to overtake each other…. Leo Machitsky had to fight very hard to keep Toni Seiler, Andrea Ceccato, Jean-Luc BLanchemain, Phil Keen and Olivier Dupard behind him.With the aspiration on the long straight line, the positions changed frequently, and on lap 4, Andrea Ceccato (nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe) managed to pass Seiler, for third position. Then Ceccato increased the rhythm, and passed first Machitsky then Thurn und Taxis, and became the new leader on lap 10. So the classification was now : first Andrea Ceccato Viper, second Albert von Thurn und Taxis Lamborghini, third Toni Seiler Aston Martin, fourth Leo Machitsky Aston Martin and fifth Olivier Dupard Viper, whereas Blanchemain and Keen where still fighting for sixth position. After 20 minutes, seventh cars were still in seven seconds.Hector Lester, in nr 34 JMB Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3 was the first to come to the pits to pass the wheel to Stephane Daoudi; and the nr 13 Reiter Engineering was first of the famous top 7 to come to the pits.After the drivers changed, the nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition of Stefano Livio was leading by 3.5 seconds over the nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin of Franco Groppi and the nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competition Coupe now driven by Patrick Bornhauser. In fourth position, the nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of Sean Edwards had a Stop & go, and went down to 10th position.Patrick Bornhauser was pushing very hard, he managed to overtake Groppi on lap 27, and pushed to come back on the leader, Stefano Livio. Ten minutes before the end, Livio was leading by 1 second over Bornhauser, and for third position, Cocker was coming back on Groppi.James Ruffier, in the nr 19 Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3, made an incredible comeback: in 20th position when he took the wheel, he climbed back up to fifth position.The positions changed when Bornhauser managed to take the lead, and Cocker overtook Groppi, to become the first Aston Martin.So, Bornhauser and Blanchemain won the race in the nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competition Coupe,, ahead of the nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Ceccato and Livio, while Machitsky and Cocker were the first of the Aston Martin cars in their nr 44 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9Flying James Ruffier and François-Xavier Terny finished 5th, first of the Corvette, and in 7th position, the nr 13 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo of Thurn und Taxis and Bastiaans was first of the Lamborghini. First of the Porsche cars, Sean Edwards and Phil Keen finished 10th in spite of their Stop & Go, just ahead of the first Ferrari, the nr34 JMB Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3. The first Maserati was the nr 76 of Roberto Sperati and Andrea Palma.   

RACE 2 RUNDOWN 

The poleman, James Ruffier, had a starter engine problem, and had to start from the pits, so the new poleman was other Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3 nr 21 of Christopher Campbell, who took the best start. But in the middle of the grid, an incident involved the nr 26 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, the nr 22 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9 and the nr 18 Team Carsport Callaway Corvette Z06 GT3. Three cars were badly damaged and stuck in the middle of the track, so the Safety Car went in action.Behind the safety car, the positions were: the nr 21 Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3  of Christopher Campbell, nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Stefano Livio, nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Patrick Bornhauser, nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of Sean Edwards and nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 of Franco Groppi.After 8 laps, and more than 20 minutes, the Safety car pulled in, and at the restart, Christopher Campbell kept the lead, in front of Stefano Livio, Patrick Bonrhauser and Sean Edwards. But quickly, Sean Edwards managed to overtake Patrick Bornhauser, for third position, but Bonrhauser did not give up, and both cars stayed together for a while. In fact, behind Christopher Campbell, on nr 21 Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3, five cars were grouped together. Campbell was leading by 3.2 seconds ahead of Livio (Dodge Viper), Edwards (Porsche 997 Cup), Bornhauser (Dodge Viper), Groppi (Aston Martin DBRS9) and the young Frenchman Julien Schell (Corvette Z06 GT3), who did well in sixth position for his only second GT race.The nr 13 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo was first to the pits, when Phil Bastiaans passed the wheel to Albert von Thurn und Taxis. But all the leaders stayed as long as they could on the track.The nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 and the nr 44 Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9, were the first cars from the top 10 to stop. Before coming to the pits, Christopher Campbell was leading by more than seven seconds from the nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, and the other Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3, of James Ruffier, was back from last to 7th position!All the leaders came on the same lap to the pits, whereas Patrick Bonrhauser chose to stop one lap after everybody.So after the driver change, the classification was : nr 10 Racing Logistic Dodge Viper Competition Coup, now driven by Jean-Luc Blanchemain, nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of Phil Keen and nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Andrea Ceccato. Those three cars were fighting close together, and anything could happen between them. A bit futher back, Toni Seiler, on nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBR9 was pushing hard, and overtook the Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3, now driven by Philippe Charriol and François-Xavier Terny.A Strong battle for first position was taking place. Keen tried to pass Blanchemain but could not, and finally Ceccato found a way to pass Keen! But two laps after Phil Keen’s Porsche overtook Andrea Ceccato’s Viper in the traffic, and few laps after, the nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche was in first position when Keen managed to overtake Blanchemain on the straight line.But the war was not finished yet, as Jean-Luc Blanchemain was not only threatened by the nr 27 Racing Box Dodge Viper, but also by the nr 24 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin of Toni Seiler, who was extremely fast and really motivated. 10 minutes before the end, four cars were in a good position to win this fantastic race! At the end, Toni Seiler overtook first Ceccato then Blanchemain, and pushed as much as he could, in order to catch the leader, the nr 9 Porsche. But, he could not do it, so for the first time of the season, a Porsche won a race when nr 9 Tech 9 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup of Sean Edwards and Phil Keen took the chequered flag.In second position, Toni Seiler and Franco Groppi were the first of the Aston Martin cars; third, Patrick Bornhauser and Jean-Luc Blanchemain were first of the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, and James Ruffier and François-Xavier Terny managed to be the first Corvette Z06 GT3, when Terny overtakes Philippe Charriol in the last lap.All the makes were in the top 10, as first Lamborghini, nr 13 Reiter Engineering of Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Phil Bastiaans were 8th, first Ferrari, the nr 39 JMB Racing of Loris Kessel and Gian Luca Giraudi- was 9th and nr 76 AF Corse Maserati Gransport Light of Roberto Sperati and Andrea Palma was 10th. All these results are provisional, as we now have to wait for the appeal result.  

Subscribe: