FIA GT Championship

Gollin and Hezemans win for Phoenix Carsport at Adria

Starting in daylight, finishing in the darkness. Temperatures way into the thirty degrees centigrade range. Twenty-seven cars were ready for the third round of the FIA GT Championship at the Adria International Raceway, some fifty km south of Venice, Italy. Just after 19:45 local time the cars were released by the pace car.

At the start things went well and coming into the first despite some heavy braking and dust being kicked up all cars stayed on track. Emmanuel Collard managed to squeeze through into the lead of the GT2 class but Bruni kept on his tail. After five minutes smoke came from the left front of the leadin Corvette. As Fässler slowed down Bertolini got through and took the lead of the race.

Bruni and Collard fought heavily for the GT2 lead with the Porsche driver not willing to give up his place. Twenty minutes into the race Bruni outbraked Collard and passed him. In the attempt Bruni went a bit too fast into the corner and moments after the Italian passed the French driver it was Collard who dove into a gap to get the lead again. Shortly after the Ferrari driver passed Collard once more and started to create a gap.

The Saleens were the first to drop out of the race. Only ten minutes into the race Piccini took the number 13 car into the pit. The car was retired with clutch problems. Five minutes later more drama out on the track. Negrao, stuck behind Kumpen, finally found a place to pass the Belgian but as he did so the two cars touched. Moments later Kumpen parked his Saleen in the grass and retired from the race. Negrao got into the pit, but as he went out the car stalled and it was pulled back into the box. It would cost the team almost fifteen minutes to get the number 2 Maserati back out on track again.

Behind Bertolini Fässler and Wendlinger tried to keep up with the Maserati while getting through the heavy traffic. Gollin followed the two just seconds behind. All of a sudden the Maserati slowed down and and an alert Fässler immediately took back the lead. His team mate Gollin was also ready to get to the front, but as Mike Hezemans was preparing himself in the pit to take over the number 6 Corvette, the Italian’s attempt to pass Wendlinger failed. Gollin clipped the Aston Martin and went through the gravel trap.

As the pit stops took place there was more drama for several teams. CR Scuderia was the worst hit team, their number 56 stalled after it was ready to go. A broken driveshaft ended their race. On the other side of the pit wall at almost the exact same moment Ryan Sharp, who had just taken over from Wendlinger, literally rolled his Jetalliance DBR9 across the straight. A retirement for the winner of the season opener.

At the half way point of the race the sun started to set. The standings: #1 Vitaphone Maserati, #5 Carsport Corvette, #6 Carsport Corvette. In GT2 it was #50 AF Corse Ferrari, #61 Prospeed Porsche, #51 AF Corse Ferrari. More drama down the field as the AT-Racing Corvette spun at the chicane and the Gillet Vertigo retired. After one hour and fifteen minutes the number 55 CR Scuderia Ferrari, with Niarchos onboard, tankslapped and spun off, missing the cars around him.

By then the GT1 leaders had caught the GT2 leaders again. While Bartels overtook them without any problem Deletraz had more problem and was stuck behind Vilander and Westbrook. As he finally managed to get through Westbrook slipstreamed with Deletraz and took over the GT2 lead, but he was soon called into the pit as one of the head lights on the Porsche did not work.

Fourty minutes before the end of the race the stewards handed a drive-through penalty to Bartels and as he came into the pit the two Corvette passed him out on the track. To make matters worse for Vitaphone the number 2 car, which had already lost a lot of time earlier on, was also given a penalty.

With 30 minutes remaining the two Phoenix Carsport Corvettes were in the lead, the number 5 leading the number 6. Bartels was third. In GT2 the number 51 AF Corse Ferrari was still leading, with the 77 BMS Ferrari in second and the 50 AF Corse Ferrari. But the pit stops meant another change at the front of the field. Both Phoenix Carsport Corvettes lost some time during their stops and as all teams had made their stops it was Gollin in the lead, ahead of Bertolini and Fässler. Shortly after the pit stops it was Müller in the number 36 Jetalliance DBR9 who parked his car in the grass, another Aston retirement.

It was now complete dark and with fifteen minutes to go Fässler tried to get back to Bertolini. But the Maserati was too strong. In GT2 Markus Palttala retired his Porsche with ten minutes to go and Thomas Biagi got back in second place. As the race entered its final minutes some teams tried everything but while Franchi tried to get around Bouchut and failed, Philipp Peter had a brake disc on fire on his Gigawave Aston nothing changed.

As Gollin crossed the line he had completed 96 laps and was the first to see the chequered flag. Flashing his headlights he greeted his team and the first win of the season for Phoenix Carsport, Bertolini took second for Vitaphone over 9 seconds behind Gollin while Fässler crossed the line in third place almost three seconds behind Bertolini. Gianmaria Bruni and Thomas Biagi secured a 1-2 finish for AF Corse with Ruberti getting BMS Scuderia Italia in third place.

Race results (provisional)

1 - #6 Phoenix Carsport - Corvette C6.R - 96 laps
2 - #1 Vitaphone Racing Team - Maserati MC12 - 9.435
3 - #5 Phoenix Carsport - Corvette C6.R - 12.333
4 - #3 Selleslagh Racing Team - Corvette C6.R - 1:07.624
5 - #7 Larbre Competition - Saleen S7R - 1:11.723
6 - #10 Gigawave Motosport - Aston Martin DBR9 - 1 lap
7 - #15 JMB Racing - Maserati MC12 - 1 lap
8 - #50 AF Corse - Ferrari 430 GT - 3 laps
9 - #51 AF Corse - Ferrari 430 GT - 3 laps
10 - #77 BMS Scuderia Italia - Ferrari 430 GT - 3 laps
11 - #62 Scuderia Ecosse - Ferrari 430 GT - 3 laps
12 - #61 Prospeed Competition - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR - 3 laps
13 - #78 BMS Scuderia Italia - Ferrari 430 GT - 3 laps
14 - #37 Escuderia ACA Argentina - Ferrari 550 - 4 laps
15 - #95 AE PeCom Racing Team - Ferrari 430 GT - 4 laps
16 - #55 CR Scuderia - Ferrari 430 GT - 4 laps
17 - #57 Kessel Racing - Ferrari 430 GT - 5 laps
18 - #59 Trackspeed Racing - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR - 7 laps
19 - #12 AT-Racing - Corvette C5-R - 8 laps
20 - #2 Vitaphone Racing Team - Maserati MC12 - 13 laps
21 - #60 Prospeed Competition - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR - 14 laps
22 - #36 Jetalliance Racing - Aston Martin DBR9 - 22 laps
23 - #101 Belgian Racing - Gillet Vertigo - 52 laps
24 - #33 Jetalliance Racing - Aston Martin DBR9 - 57 laps
25 - #56 CR Scuderia - Ferrari 430 GT - 60 laps
26 - #4 PK Carsport - Saleen S7R - 85 laps
27 - #13 IPOS Racing - Saleen S7R - 88 laps

Next meeting: Round 4 at Oschersleben, Germany in two weeks time.