Aston Martin and Corvette claim poles at Nogaro

As ever, the popularity of the FIA GT3 European Championship means that traffic was a constant problem during the two qualifying sessions for races 7 and 8 of the series; on the tight, technical 3.6km Nogaro track, the shortest circuit of the season, it was even more of an issue than normal. That didn’t prevent the No.8 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9 from claiming pole position for the first of the weekend’s two races, Thomas Accary taking his second pole position in a row by an impressive half-second margin. By contrast, pole for the second race was far closer, the No.1 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3 of James Ruffier quickest by just 0.008sec.

 

FIRST QUALIFYING: ASTON MARTIN CLEAR OF FORD GT DUO

The first 20-minute qualifying session got off to a bad start for the No.3 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430 GT3 of Vadim Kuzminykh; on the exit of the Aviation curve, leading on to the long back straight, he took just a little too much kerb. That sent him across the grass and into the barriers that line the track, sending the Ferrari into a couple of spins. The driver was unhurt but the front of the car was extensively damaged, giving the team a race against time to repair the car for the first race, later the same day.

 

Fortunately the Ferrari came to rest against the barriers some way down the straight, so the session was allowed to continue. It was the No.14 S-Berg Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of Dominik Kraihamer which led the early running, but first the No.19 Matech GT Racing Ford GT of Luca Pirri, and then Thomas Accary in the No.8 Hexis Racing Aston Martin went quicker. Those two traded best times as each driver tried to find a clear lap; when the session ended Accary’s lap of 1:29.36 put him just over half a second clear. Third went to the No.21 Matech Ford GT of Bradley Ellis.

 

Arnaud Peyroles qualified the No.1 Martini Callaway Corvette fourth – he and James Ruffier are currently second in the championship, just two points behind the No.20 Matech Ford GT pair of Ian Khan and Thomas Mutsch; Khan could do no better than 13th position, still struggling to find the right rhythm for qualifying. Michael Petit was seventh in the leading Ferrari, the No.13 JMB Racing entry, while Gael Lesoudier was ninth, a great result for the No.29 AutoGT Morgan Aero 8 GT3.

 

SECOND QUALIFYING: CORVETTE AND ASTON MARTIN AHEAD OF FORD

For the first time this season Thomas Mutsch did not take pole position in the No.20 Matech Ford GT; he was forced to settle for third on the grid, just over a third of a second away from pole. The top two could scarcely be closer, with only 0.008sec separating the No.1 Martini Callaway Corvette of James Ruffier from Frédérick Makowiecki, in the No.10 Hexis Racing Aston Martin.

 

With Sascha Bert, in the second Martini Callaway Corvette, taking fourth, Johan-Boris Scheier reinforced his reputation for being a demon qualifier, putting the No.9 AutoGT Morgan in a great fifth position. Series newcomer Vincent Vosse, in the No.40 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S, did a remarkable job to take sixth place. Reigning champion Henri Moser, making a guest appearance in the No.4 Kessel Racing F430 GT3 in place of Chris Hyman, was the quickest Ferrari driver in the second session,

 

There were only two or three cars which spun in the second session, with no real damage being done. However some cars were afflicted with mechanical woes; the No.32 APEX Motorsport Jaguar XKR of Ben Clucas and Rob Hissom was restricted to just nine laps by gearbox problems, while the No.46 Tech9 Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 was unable to take to the track for the second qualifying session with an oil pressure problem – the team were intending to change the engine, hoping to have the work completed in time for the car to take the start of the first race.

 

Understandably the drivers on pole were delighted at the prospect of (hopefully) being able to stay clear of any first-lap incidents. “We must be very careful in the race, as we have a good starting position; My main target will be to stay on the track on the first lap,” said Thomas Accary. And James Ruffier was focused on their pursuit of the 2008 Drivers’ crown, saying: “Pole position is the best place to be for us, especially because of the Championship situation. We’re only two points behind the leaders, so the Championship effectively starts from here, with just four races to go.” In race six, at Brno three weeks earlier, Ruffier and Peyroles were put out in a first-corner incident – with the championship looking like it will go right down to the final two races, neither they nor Khan and Mutsch can afford such a disaster here.

2008-10-04
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