Something different: the GT1 World Championship is this weekend only support quasi-series, if the lower GT classes start in one of the sports car season highlights, the 24 hour race at Spa-Francorchamps.
Since 1924, this traditional endurance race is held (with some gaps) and was subjected to while many changes: sometimes it was part of the sports car world championship, sometimes to the European Touring Car Championship, at times it was a stand-alone event, sailed in the last few years, then finally the top sports car of the FIA GT1 and GT2 in the Ardennes twice around the clock.
But after the latest redesign of the sports car classes by FIA and SRO in the year 2010, the race of the GT2 European Championship should have been. Since then - for lack of participants - was suspended for this year, the upcoming 24 hours are only the "GT2 European Cup" - in support of GT3 and GT4, and some vehicles in a class of GTN.
About 40 teams have been together so get it, and the entry list contains a number of big names. In the top GT2 class, there is the usual duel vs Porsche. Ferrari. F430 with two runs on the team Koperation AF Corse-ALD Vitaphone. Bruni / van de Poele / Longin / Vilander, certainly belong among the top favorites for the race, but interesting is also the first major European appearance of the two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip in the other vehicle on the side of his business partner Robert of Kauffmann and Nicola Cadei. Waltrip took part in this year already on the 24h of Dubai's major objective is Le Mans.
Among the strongest Porsche cars were supposed to nominally the BMS Scuderia Italia car (3rd in Le Mans!) Belong with Dumas / Bergmeister / Ragginger / Henzler, and one of the IMSA Performance Matmut-911 with Narac / Pilet / Long / Lietz. Should also be the second car of the home team Prospeed with Westbrook / Holzer / lover / Goossens not be underestimated. For track speed to go with Sebastian Asch and Tim Mister mountains including two German pilots GT Masters at the start.
Have a say for the overall victory but also a few teams who are enrolled in, based on national regulations GTN class, especially Schnitzer BMW with two M3 GT2 in the ALMS version and the driver trio J. Mueller / Lamy / salting and Werner / D. Mueller / Adorf.
Also heavily occupied in the GTN-class road, the Mosler MT900 of the Belgian Gravity International team pointed a triumphant in the GT1 Romain Grosjean and Diego Alessi, the zuletzte in the GT3 European Championship stronger performance, and the Belgians Radermecker and Marchal. The Jetalliance team, formerly in the FIA GT is the way in its class to have a Porsche 997 Cup with Lichtner-Hoyer/Eckert/Seefried/Rich.
In GT3, the most numerous class, the rules of the European Championship and the national series known diversity: are Audi, Porsche, BMW, Ford GT, Ford Mustang and Lamborghini here. Two of the R8 LMS are coming from Phoenix Racing, Kumpen / Fässler / Luhr / Rockenfeller and Margaritis / Hennerici / Piccini / Moser control the two, in one of three Audi of WRT teams sit among other things, the two German veteran Frank Biela and Frank Stippler
Which falls near the racetrack Muhlner Motorsports team uses two Porsche Cup S, and also MarcVDS who have already won the 1000km of Spa in the GT1 class here in front of home crowd, with two Ford GT at the start. For the U.S. United Auto Sports team are distributed with Mark Blundell, Eddie Cheever and Stefan Johansson, three ex-F1 drivers on the two Audi R8.
In the small GT4 class, only four vehicles at the start, noteworthy is primarily the Jota team with his new Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the control at the first exit Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock, Roger Wills and Joe Twyman, for the British team has already announced a few weeks ago, 2011 to compete for Aston Martin Racing in the GT2 class of the Le Mans Series, the long term aim is to achieve even a LMP1 commitment.
The weather should be on the popular Ardennes rollercoaster, as so often changeable, with the probability of rain on Sunday is higher than on Saturday. The race starts on Saturday at 16 clock, MotorsTV will happily transfer a good deal and live on the GT1-site it should be able to see parts. The TV times are in our TV preview. The timing should live it to the website of the GT2 European Cup type.
GT1 Championship
As mentioned before, the GT1 World Championship is this weekend in the shadow of their sub-race, and to bear its already out on Friday and Saturday. Again, the changing weather forecast, which could make for a great show.
There were two major changes in the entry list it: on the one hand, the spent at Silverstone second Phoenix Corvette finally rebuilt and ready for use and for others it is the first race of the newly sorted Matech-driver combinations: Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch, Time Placed in the drivers 'championship, were torn apart, Grosjean now forms a duo with Neel Jani in the former ladies' car # 6, Mutsch is paired with Richard Westbrook, Porsche drivers in the Le Mans Series in the # 5. This can have a big impact on the driver as well as the team standings, because even here Matech (62) behind Vitaphone (93) and Sumo Power (70) have title hopes.
The league leaders Bartels / Bartolini are after the victory at Le Castellet charged accordingly, but still always estimate high. As the changing weather even in the training sessions on Thursday slammed, they are probably not very meaningful. Fastest time was Bernoldi / Ramos in the Maserati, once Maassen / Verdonck in the Mad Croc Corvette, which results in each case by vigorous mixing and therefore not very meaningful. It will be interesting what the qualifying session on Friday morning, the qualification race in the afternoon and the main race result on Saturday. Hours are found in the Racing Blog-TV Guide, stream and timing as there are always on the GT1-site .
Review: ALMS at Lime Rock
As expected, caused the shortness and closeness of the racing circuit in northwestern Connecticut for an action-packed race, much of it, however, was more of the negative variety. Thus, early in the race promoted the GT2 championship leader Bruni / Melo sidelined, even the Corvette from Magnussen / O'Connell did not get far, as well as the last remaining border Alex Job Racing team Sweedler / Kapudjia. It was pushed and shoved and fun in the wet meadow was the lack of braking tire wall still achieved more quickly than usual.
Even with the LMPs were early problems: Jonny Cocker took over the lead but on lap 7 Highcroft from HPD, but lost a few laps later, together with the excavation. Unlike Dyson Racing, which were at their home event soon retired with turbo damage, the Drayson-Lola was similar to that of Intersport, however, go after you resolve the technical problems back into the race.
Forward but so were left only the Highcroft HPD and Cytosport Porsche, which accounted for the overall win in the consequence to themselves. By pit stop strategy and Klaus Graf was lapping at the dawn of the final phase flew about twenty seconds ahead of David Brabham, but around the track and caught up with him soon developed into a tough battle.
Brabham then took on the start / finish straight, while Count just a few GT cars lapped. It took the Black Forest such a wide arc that he Brabham, he imagined not by his side, on the grass abdrängte. The result: a stop-go penalty for Graf, quite rightly, and cursed when team owner and co-driver Greg Pickett at the helm like a fishwife. Although Graf had not acted intentionally, but there was no need to choose such a long line and also that he at the time of the incident to the left, not looking in the right rear view mirror, can hardly serve as an excuse.
But Highcroft, which would have given the victory, it caught even worse before the involuntary outing alongside the train, the team had told the Australian that the sensor can sign the right rear tire is a problem, Brabham, however, seemed to them at first no sign. Shortly after the incident - and probably accelerate through this - then the tire broke up into its components. Brabham had to close a round of limping around the track and lost more time when the penalty count. The lead of about half a minute he could get loose in the few remaining laps to the finish and rode so the first overall victory for Pickett's Cytosport team.
Won in the GT class, favored by the failures and problems of competition, the Flying Lizard Porsche of Bergmeister / Long. Behind the two BMW finished the race, the war on each other over long distance and quarreled over the division of the podium. If one had been here, "some" may have one - the first U.S. race with Le Mans aero package - possibly even had a chance at the class win, but was abandoned by Rahal-Letterman and BMW to team orders, except for a clear prohibition to clear up each other. The duel was definitely worth seeing.
In the LMPC won Jeanette / Julian for the Green Earth Team Gunnar, who ran out of fuel at the end yet, but had no influence, because they had moved out a lap ahead of Figge / Papadopoulus. In the GTC won the TRG duo Lally / Richard, after the Black Swan team this time had minor problems, including once was by Greg Pickett in the Porsche RS Spyder in the uphill chicane rudely pushed out into.
The competition scores are still very interesting: in the LMP, the Highcroft team only seven points ahead of Cytosport, in the GT2 lead well before Auberlen / Milner, while in the team standings in each of the two vehicles are involved in the drivers Bergmeister / Long Flying Lizard (Porsche), only one point ahead of Rahal-Letterman Racing (BMW) and eight points ahead of Risi Competizione (Ferrari) is located. Corvette Racing has markedly after another unfortunate race already back.
The next round this weekend at Mid-Ohio where the ALMS competes in the IndyCar Series is the way, like the Laguna Seca race again streamed live, so who cares about the series should be kept free Saturday night.
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Great Photo!
Is still from the 24h of Le Mans stocks, but I found it very beautiful and very fitting for this weekend, because there IMSA / Matmut said yes, with its two Porsche as imho is one of the favorites.
Quickly a supplement to the ALMS: MotorsTV has a great on-board video uploaded from BMW duel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyEPspdAphQ
The BMW duel was really great, but otherwise the race offered thanks to the (criminal) closely track a lot of action. The ALMS this year is really worth seeing.