FIA GT Championship

FIA-GT Monza qualifying report

© FIA-GT

A rather strange qualifying session saw Jetalliance’s Alex Müller set pole position as the chequered flag fell. Until shortly before the end of the session, it looked as if Emmanuel Collard would become the first GT2 driver to take overall pole since Antonio Garcia in 2001.

The GT2 and G2 drivers came out in dry conditions for the first time this weekend, with Emmanuel Collard setting the best time in the nr 61 Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, ahead of Christian Montanari in the nr 51 AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT2, and Tim Mullen in the nr 55 CR Scuderia Ferrari 430 GT2.

However, in the five minute gap between the sessions, it began to rain in the second sector. This meant that the GT1 drivers were faced with very slippery conditions on part of the track, while the other two sectors were dry. There were some casualties on the first lap, including the nr 4 PK Saleen S7R and the nr 6 Phoenix Corvette C6R. For much of the 15-minute session, the drivers were behind the GT2 cars in the classification, and it really looked as if the grid could be totally backwards, with GT1 behind GT2. However, in the final five minutes, times started improving. A battle then developed between Christophe Bouchut, in the nr 3 SRT Corvette, Alex Müller in the nr 36 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9, Allan Simonsen in the nr 10 Gigawave Aston Martin and Marcel Fässler in the nr 5 Phoenix Corvette, gradually climbing up the grid. Bouchut was the first to set a time faster than Collard’s GT2 pole time, with a lap of 1:49.555, with Fässler also moving up to second and demoting Collard to third.

However, as the chequered flag fell, Alex Müller put in a lap of 1:49.258 in the nr 36 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 to take his first FIA GT pole position in just his second outing for the team. Jetalliance therefore claimed its second consecutive pole at Monza. However, last year’s pole man was less lucky, with Karl Wendlinger suffering a cut tyre and starting from 28th position on the grid.

Bouchut took second for the second race in a row, while Alexandre Negrao put in a last-minute time of 1:49.737 to take the third spot on the starting grid in the nr 2 Vitaphone Maserati. GT2 pole man Emmanuel Collard will start from fourth on the grid in his Prospeed Porsche. All the way down the field, the GT1 and GT2 cars are mixed. Montanari, second in GT2, will start from sixth in his AF Corse Ferrari, alongside fifth-placed Marcel Fässler in the Phoenix Corvette. The Gigawave Aston Martin shares the fourth row with CR Scuderia’s Ferrari. They will be followed by three rows of GT2 cars, before the nr 1 Maserati of Bertolini and Bartels, which had pitted for intermediate tyres during the session, and which will start in 16th position.

The nr 111 ARC Saleen had set the best time in both G2 and the Citation Cup, with Sean Edwards at the wheel. However, the car lost its time due to pitting after the pit lane had closed. This means that the nr 12 AT Racing Corvette C5 of Kaufmann and Talkanitsa was on Citation Cup pole, while Renaud Kuppens took G2 pole in the Gillet Vertigo.

More rain is forecasted, meaning it could be a very interesting battle ! The race starts at 13:15 CET.