Pirri and Von Gartzen keep the fight alive in Dubai

We are used to incredible races, and plenty of suspense in the FIA GT3 European Championship, and the penultimate race of the season was no exception. Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen claimed an important win and maintained a good position in the Championship battle. The Championship leaders, Gilles Vannelet and Henri Moser, in their nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari, also put in a great race. Starting from the back after post-qualifying scrutineering, they managed to finish third and keep the Championship lead by four points. Another good surprise today, Jonathan Lang and Rory Bertram, in nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari KZ1R GT3, finished second, the best result for an Ascari so far.

Important win for von Gartzen and Pirri
To maintain their Championship hopes in the last race, Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen needed this victory, their third success of the year. But the start was quite difficult when Luca Pirri spun, after contact with Diego Alessi’s Aston Martin. But as Jürgen von Gartzen explained, Pirri did his best to recover after that difficult start : “Luca did the best job today. After his spin, I thought it was all over for us, but he never gave up”. Rejoining in tenth position after his spin, Pirri managed to get back up to second position before the driver change, then von Gartzen took the lead when he overtook the nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari. “I saw I was quicker than the Ascari, so I had to wait for the right place to overtake him without any risks” he said. After that, the Martini Callaway Racing simply had to maintain position until the chequered flag, in order to score ten important points. The last race will be decisive. The strategy will be simple for von Gartzen and Pirri, as they both said : “We have no choice, we have to win”!

From last to third !
After the post-qualifying scrutineering, the Stewards decided to place the Vannelet and Moser’s Ferrari at the back of the grid, because their rear wing did not comply with the homologation form for the vehicle. This meant that Gilles Vannelet was more motivated than ever at the start, and he was 13th after just one lap ! “The first laps were just incredible. I do not know how many cars I overtook!” he said. Then Vannelet maintained his pace, climbing up to sixth position before the driver changeover. And as always, Vannelet took good care of the tyres and the car during his stint, to give the best possible car to Henri Moser. Moser pushed really hard, in order to score as many points as possible. “I knew the Corvette was in front, and as Jürgen von Gartzen is a really, really good driver, I knew he wouldn’t make any mistakes. I saw those two cars in front of me so I took risks to pass them” explained Moser.
With this third position, Moser and Vannelet are still leading the Championship, but they need a good result tomorrow to win this Championship. “We are going to race with our heads tomorrow, and if we had the same car as we did today, we could do a good job” conclude Henri Moser. As James Ruffier and Arnaud Peyroles retired today, only Moser / Vannelet or von Gartzen / Pirri can still secure the title.
In the FIA GT3 European Team Championship, Martini Callaway Racing is now leading, three points ahead of Kessel Racing.

Best result for an Ascari so far
Since the beginning of the weekend, the Ascaris have been on the good pace. During this race, three Ascari KZ1R cars were in the lead for a while. Jonathan Lang, in nr 31 Team Berlanga, was leading in front of Phil Quaife and Howard Spooner. Although Jonathan Lang managed to keep the lead until the driver change, it was then more difficult to contain Jürgen von Gartzen’s Corvette, after the driver change to Rory Bertram. “I saw that the Corvette was much quicker in the straight line. So I had to let the Corvette go,” said Bertram. But the young driver from the Netherlands, in only his second race in the Ascari, stayed quite close to von Gartzen. Bertram and Lang crossed the line in second place, the best result for an Ascari so far. Both men are confident that victory is possible for the last race of the season.

In 5th position, Lagniez and Makowiecki were first of the Aston Martins, and in 10th position Jean-Denis Deletraz and Lloyd la Marca were first of the Lamborghini. The first Ford GT, Heyer and von Campenhoudt, was in 13th position, and the first Porsche, Pickford and Williams, was 15th. Scott and Ryan finished first of the Jaguar cars, and Jean-Claude Ruffier and Kevin Morel were the first Dodge.

Subscribe: