FIA GT Championship
KplusK Motorsport withdraws Spa 24 entry
© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat
One week before the Total 24 Hours of Spa, round four of the 2009 FIA GT Championship the race has lost one of the big names as the KplusK Motorsport team has withdrawn its Saleen S7R from the race.
A statement issued by the Czech team makes it clear that the team came to its decision after long discussions which mainly focussed on three issues.
First of all the team has indicated that after the Spa-Francorchamps weekend the racing car needs a full revision. As most of the parts of the car, including the engine, have to come from the United States this will take some time. It could be impossible to do that in time for the first round after Spa at the Hungaroring. There is also the problem that the FIA GT regulations only allow the use of three engines per season without getting a penalty, the car run by Adam Lacko and Mario Dominguez is already using its third engine.
The second issue for the team is the reduced number of points for the race in 2009. In recent years there were more points to be won after several hours, this year only the top eight at the finish on Sunday will be awarded points. According to the team “it is evident that the costs of any points gained against other races are completely out of proportion.”
And the third issue that made the Czech team withdraw their car was the expected number of current-specification GT1 cars at this year’s event is below par. The team expected only eight GT1 cars at Spa and with three Vitaphone Maserati MC12s and other teams not running full-season the KplusK Motorsport team was not willing to run at Spa anymore.
According to the team they discussed all the pros and cons of a participation in the 24 hours race for a long time but after ‘careful consideration of all circumstances’ the team has decided to withdraw its entry and focus on the remaining races of the season.
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This doesn’t look good…
The race just got a whole lot less interesting…
Hate to say it, but im not really that bothered by there withdrawal as based on the last few races they wouldn’t have made it past the first few hours anyway, so weren’t really contenders in my eyes.
Honestly its the teams loss, not the races…the strongest will be taking the start.
It is, what it is….
A wise decision - the Race is not what it was and the entry list is dissapointing to say the least, shame a decent Saleen won’t be on the grid though.
Why are there not more points awarded at Spa? It is a 24 hour endurance race, not a two-hour sprint race. Larbre had to miss races last year after a warm-up crash at Spa. The parts took a lot of time to get. The Saleen S7R has won over 60 races around the world including the 2001 Twelve Hours of Sebring.