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American LeMans
GT: Weekly World Of GT, 8.31
FIA GT1 World Championship and ADAC GT Masters action from Nurburgring, FFSA GT at Magny-Cours and British GT from Snetterton
John Dagys  |  Posted August 31, 2010   Chicago, IL
The FIA GT1 World Championship was in action at the Nurburgring last weekend. (Brecht Decancq)
This week, we have a quadruple dose of GT racing, with the FIA GT1 World, ADAC GT Masters, FFSA GT and British GT championships all in action. Check back every Tuesday for your weekly fill of GT racing!

FIA GT1 World Championship: Round 6, Nurburgring

Tomas Enge and Darren Turner completed a perfect weekend for Young Driver AMR, taking both Qualifying and Championship race wins at the Nurburgring. The factory Aston Martin duo gave the German-based team its first win in the new World Championship.

In Saturday’s Qualifying Race, the No. 13 Phoenix Racing Corvette of Alex Margaritis made a great start, jumping from third to the lead in the first corner. It dropped pole-sitter Enge to third, behind Michael Bartels’ No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati. But the Czech driver managed to take back the runner-up position on lap 2 and retake the lead just two laps later.
Young Driver AMR's Darren Turner and Tomas Enge swept both Qualifying and Championship races. (DPPI/GT1 World)

The face of the race turned upside down when rain started falling, just after the pit window had closed. It thus forced the majority of the field to come back in for wet weather Michelin tires, all but one, Andrea Bertolini’s Vitaphone Maserati, who braved it out on slicks.

It didn’t take long for Turner, now at the wheel of the No. 7 Young Driver AMR machine, to reel the Italian in. Turner made up 19 seconds in just two laps to take the lead and eventual win in the rain-soaked battle.

“I was coming around the last chicane and I got the call to pit so there must have been some rain on other parts of the track,” Turner explained. “We were the last car to pit and after we came out the tires were cold and I saw the Corvette closing in on me. I was then told to pit again to fit the wet tires which was a relief. From then on it was one of the those nervy races where you just watching the pit wall, watching your mirrors and just trying to keep the car on the track."

Qualifying Race Results:
1. Turner/Enge | Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9
2. Hennerici/Margaritis | Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette C6.R +10.356 sec
3. Kox/Haase | Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago +20.342 sec

With their win on Saturday, Enge and Turner again started on pole for Sunday’s one-hour Championship Race. The duo controlled the race from start to finish, taking a 9.547-second victory over the Reiter Lamborghini of Peter Kox and Christopher Haase. Despite a threat of rain in the closing laps, there proved to be no stopping Young Driver AMR this weekend.
Turner and Enge celebrate their double victory. (DPPI/GT1 World)

“I think I had 5-6 laps to go when it started to rain, I slowed down,” Enge explained. “But I think that everybody did the same because the gaps did not change. I want to say that we probably had the fastest car of the weekend but not as fast as it was obvious at the end of each race. I think that we just had two very clean races, we did not make any mistakes, we were very consistent and we had the fastest pit stop too.

“All the time we gained was thanks to the pit stops, so I want to say thank you to everybody. The team did a perfect job again, and we're also happy that we got closer to the top of the table at the Championship standing.”

Enge and Turner’s victory marked the first Championship Race win of the year for Aston Martin, with three of the Prodrive-built machines in the top-five. Hennerici and Margaritis slipped one position back to third after their runner-up on Saturday.

Championship Race Results:
1. Turner/Enge | Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9
2. Kox/Haase | Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago +9.547 sec
3. Hennerici/Margaritis | Phoenix Racing/Carsport Corvette C6.R +13.018 sec
4. Piccione/Hirschi | Hexis AMR Aston Martin DBR9 +14.182 sec
5. Nygaard/Mucke | Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9 +15.109 sec

Next up: Portimao, Sept. 18-19

British GT Championship: Rounds 9 & 10, Snetterton

Dan Brown and Tom Ferrier gave Chad Racing its first British GT victory of the season in Monday’s first race at Snetterton. Leading almost virtually from start to finish, the STP-liveried Ferrari 430 Scuderia edged out the similarly prepared Rosso Verde machine by 10.455 seconds.

Brown qualified the Ferrari in third but quickly moved up the running order, getting by Martin Short’s Mosler for second on the opening lap and taking over the lead from David Jones just one lap later. Brown then built up a 12-second lead by the time he pitted on lap 22 to hand over to co-driver Ferrier.
Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin scored the win in Race 2 at Snetterton. (British GT)

Despite building up a 20-second lead following the stop, it disappeared when the safety car came out for debris from a dramatic tire puncture for the MTECH Ferrari. When the field restarted, Ferrier stretched back into a comfortable lead to take the win.

“I’m just delighted to be back on the top step again,” said Brown, “It’s been a long time. My stint went very well, I pulled a gap like the team told me, so that after I pitted Tom could keep a pace to hold the lead. It was all going to plan until the safety car appeared and threw a spanner in the works but Tom coped well with it.”

Race 1 Results:
1. Brown/Ferrier | Chad Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderia
2. Lester/Simonsen | Rosso Verde Ferrari 430 Scuderia +10.455 sec
3. Walker/Mortimer | RPM Ford GT +12.173 sec
Hetherington/Hetherington | Century Ginetta (G4 Winner)

In Monday’s second Bank Holiday race, Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin scored their third victory of the season for MTECH, edging out a hard-charging Chad Racing Ferrari of Brown and Ferrier to take the narrow 3.99-second victory.

Dominating the 100-mile contest, the MTECH Ferrari led all but four miles, as Griffin passed the pole-sitting Predator CCTV Ferrari, driven by Adam Wilcox, on the opening lap to take an early lead.

Griffin then built up a six-second lead over the competition, enough of a margin to hand the Prancing Horse over to Cameron in the lead to take the win.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Griffin said. “I’m disappointed it’s been so long since we last won but it’s brilliant to come here and get on the top step of the podium and keep the championship alive.”

With their win, Griffin and Cameron have closed to within 20 points of Trackspeed’s David Ashburn with only three rounds remaining.

Race 2 Results:
1. Cameron/Griffin | MTECH Ferrari 430 Scuderia
2. Brown/Ferrier | Chad Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderia +3.99 sec
3. Jones/Jones | Preci-Spark Ascari +20.747 sec
Hetherington/Hetherington | Century Ginetta (G4 Winner)

Next up: Brands Hatch, Sept. 26

FFSA GT Championship: Round 9, Magny Cours

The French FFSA GT Championship held its first two-hour endurance race of the season Sunday at Magny Cours. Top honors in the action-packed contest went to Larbre Competition, but the Porsche 911 GT3 R only took over the lead following the fourth and final round of mandatory stops.
Larbre Competition celebrates the victory at Magny-Cours. (V-Images/FFSA GT)

It was Dino Lunadi in the No. 16 Sainteloc Phoenix Audi R8 LMS, who started second behind pole-sitter Stephane Ortelli, who led the early stages of the race. But different pit strategies shook up the field, with some teams electing to make the majority of the stops in the second half.

Bruno Hernandez in the Audi Team Oreca Audi R8 LMS held control until the final stop, when Bornhauser took over the top spot. It turned out to be a race of strategy for all competitors, with it going in favor of the Jack Leconte-led Larbre squad.

“It’s really a team victory,” Groppi said. “We had indeed racked their brains for the strategy because we missed qualifying. Jack [Leconte] and Patrick [Bornhauser] have worked really well on this key point and nothing disrupted our race.

“My first stint went very well. I made a good start which allowed me to pace myself in the right group and not too much into the lead. I stopped a little earlier than the others. Then Patrick drove very well, too. We attacked from start to finish, but it was again a big team win.”

Race Results:
1. Bornhauser/Groppi | Larbre Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R
2. Hernandez/Ayari | Audi Team Oreca Audi R8 LMS +7.609 sec
3. Lemeret/Granchi | WRT Audi R8 LMS +13.620 sec

Next up: Sept. 11-12, Albi

ADAC GT Masters: Rounds 11 & 12, Nurburgring

The BMW Alpina B6 scored its first-ever win in the ADAC GT Masters, sweeping both races last weekend at the Nurburgring. Running in support of the GT1 World Championsip, the GT3 cars put on two action-packed races in the Eifel region of Germany.
The privately developed BMW Alpina B6 swept the weekend at the Nurburgring. (Burkhard Kazan/ADAC GT Masters)

Andreas Wirth and Martin Matzke drove to a near 10-second victory in Race 1 over the Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS of Luca Ludwig and Christopher Mies. Despite some rain drops, the BWM Alpina held on for its maiden victory.

“It was very cool being in the lead of the race and wondering how big my lead actually was in the end,” Wirth said. “It was exciting, however, there were moments when it was raining lightly. You could never know where the places were wet.”

Race 1 Results:
1. Matzke/Wirth s-Berg Racing BMW Alpina B6
2. Ludwig/Mies | Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS +9.962 sec
3. Asch/Kentenich | a-workx/Weith Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R +11.149 sec

The second race of the weekend again saw Matzke and Wirth take top honors again, this time ahead of the a-works/Weith Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Sebastian Asch and Niclas Kentenich.

Toni Seiler managed to take third for he and Christian Hohenadel aboard their Callaway Competition Corvette Z06.R.

“The rain came right at the end, which cooled our well-worn tires pretty well,” Matzke said. “I saw Seiler was struggling with the car, but for me, the conditions were absolutely perfect.”

Race 2 Results:
1. Matzke/Wirth | s-Berg Racing BMW Alpina B6
2. Asch/Kentenich | a-works/Weith Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R +9.041 sec
3. Seiler/Hohenadel | Callaway Competition Corvette Z06.R +13.092 sec

Next up: Oschersleben, Oct. 2-3

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