A scenic start to the second half of the season at Brno

The FIA GT3 European Championship moves into the second half of the season with two races on the challenging, sweeping circuit of Brno in the Czech Republic. And after the flat expanses of Silverstone, Monza and Oschersleben, the teams will be faced with a track which has some significant gradients.

 

In the previous event, on the narrow, twisting Oschersleben track in Germany, the Ford GT took yet another win, making five in a row – but then the sequence came to an end when the MM-Racing Corvette of Martin Matzke and Jiri Skula took the win, ahead of two La Torre Motorsport Dodge Vipers. Don’t write the Ford off just yet – despite the three Matech GT Racing cars carrying 140kg of ballast, they remain competitive, with Ian Khan and Thomas Mutsch lying second in the Drivers’ Championship.

 

Arnaud Peyroles and James Ruffier head the standings, just three points clear of their nearest rivals, and the Martini Callaway Racing Corvette pair head to Brno hoping to extend their lead; they scored a race win and a second place when the GT3 Championship visited Brno last season, when four of the six podium places were claimed by Corvettes.

 

The two races at Oschersleben proved to be action-packed, particularly the first race, where several cars were put out of contention by a melee at the first corner. Pirri and Von Gartzen stayed clear of the trouble to win the first race in their Ford GT, ahead of the Aston Martin DBRS9 of Accary and Mena, with Rich and Thompson in third claiming the first podium finish of the year for the Ascari KZ1R.

 

In the second race Matzke and Skula took victory in their Corvette, with the La Torre Dodge Viper of Sabatini and de Pasquale in second, with the sister car of Lunardi and reigning champion Vannelet in third. A safety car during the pit-stop window closed the field up, and the second half of the race saw a furious battle for the podium positions.

 

With the exception of the win for Pirri and Von Gartzen the weekend was a disaster for the previously all-conquering Fords; in the opening race Khan and Mutsch went out on the opening lap, as did Ellis and Mortimer. In the second race Khan and Mutsch picked up a puncture on the opening lap, Ellis and Mortimer struggled with serious braking problems, and just when Pirri and Von Gartzen looked on course to pick up more points, another car spun in front of them and the ensuing collision put them out. In addition, Khan and Mutsch were handed a five-place grid penalty for first Brno race for an incident.

 

One of the intriguing aspects of Brno will be how the Ford GT copes with the gradients, since it is carrying 140kg of ballast. In last year’s visit the top five places in both races were monopolised by the Corvette, Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari F430, so there is no guarantee the Ford will continue its winning ways. The MM-Racing team will be eager to put in a strong performance after its maiden win in Germany – the Brno meeting is the ‘home’ event for the Czech team.

 

Arnaud Peyroles – No.1 Martini Callaway Corvette Z.06R GT3: “I have happy memories of Brno, because last year we won one race and finished second in the other, so the Corvette is obviously well-suited to the track. I like the circuit very much, but all of the races in GT3 are very difficult in the opening laps – you have to be very careful. If we survive the first lap, it should be a good weekend for us.”

 

Ian Khan – No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT: “I always like going to Brno – it’s one of the more interesting circuits of the year. It’s a nice place to go to; it’s a very technical and challenging circuit. It will be interesting to see how we get on, going uphill in the Ford GT with 140kg of ballast.”

 

Martin Matzke – No.38 MM-Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3: “I am looking forward to the Brno event a lot – I like the circuit, not least because it’s my ‘home’ track. It’s very different to Oschersleben, because of the hills; it’s also a faster circuit, so I like it. The Corvette was very competitive at Brno last year, because the engine has so much torque, so we’re hoping to do well – the track should also suit the Lamborghini, because it’s light and fast.”

 

Richard Williams – No.59 Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S: “I can’t wait for Brno – it’s one of my favourite circuits. It’s a really decent track; last year was my first time there, and I absolutely loved it. I think we’re on for a good result, I feel the car will be good. Using the experience we gained in the 24 Hours of Spa, we’ll be looking for more decent results.”

 

Phil Hindley – Owner, Tech 9 Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo GT3: “We’re really looking forward to Brno – it’s a good circuit for the drivers, and I think it’s one of the highlights of the season. I feel the Lamborghini will be competitive there, because of its aerodynamic stability in fast corners. Brno is a fast, flowing circuit and the dynamics of the Gallardo should work well. We’ve got quite a lot of torque in the V10 engine as well, so the hills should work to our advantage. We should have the pace to come away with at least a podium, and we’ll be aiming to get both cars in the points.”

 

2008-09-12
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