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GT Racing
GT1: Exim Bank Team China Porsche Wins Zolder Championship Race
Matt Halliday, Mike Parisy give Muehlner Motorsport-run squad first victory in FIA GT1 World Championship...
Exim Bank Team China took top honors in Sunday's FIA GT1 World Championship Race in Zolder. (Photo: Markus Berns/SRO)
Using strategy and the speed of its Porsche 997 GT3-R to its fullest, Exim Bank Team China walked way as winners in Sunday's rather unpredictable Championship race in Zolder, Belgium.
Matt Halliday and Mike Parisy gave the Muehlner Motorsport-run squad its first FIA GT1 World Championship victory in a 60-minute sprint that started in damp conditions and saw the majority of teams start on wet tires, including the Chinese-backed Porsche.
A switch to slicks for the second half helped Parisy take over the lead with 22 minutes remaining, where the former GT3 European champion held off a hard-charging Yelmer Buurman for the win.
"It was incredible," Parisy said. "There was a lot of pressure during the race and the conditions were very difficult. I have to thank Bernhard Muehlner for his strategy. I think with my teammate we're very good. It's one of the best days of my life."
The No. 18 Vita4One BMW Z4 GT3 of Buurman and co-driver Michael Bartels, which won Saturday's Qualifying Race, was unable to match the pace of the Porsche, particularly in straight-line speed amid the changing weather conditions.
"With the half dry, half slick [conditions], we were very good," Buurman said. "But we struggled a bit with the wet tires. Everyone did a great job. I think we had the speed to win it but the Porsche was so quick in a straight line and there was no way by."
AF Corse's gamble to to start Toni Vilander on slicks paid off, as the Finn and co-driver Filip Salaquarda finished third in their No. 3 Ferrari F458 Italia GT3. Vilander led the middle stages of the race and was one of the last to pit.
Nicky Pastorelli and Thomas Jager, runner-ups on Saturday, came home fourth in their All-Ink.com Munnich Motorsport Mercrdes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, with the No. 1 Hexis McLaren MP4-12C of Fred Makowiecki and Stef Dusseldorp completing the top-five.
Mastering the changing track conditions was the key Sunday, with both of the WRT Audi R8 LMS Ultras also taking slicks for the opening stint.
However, it didn't play into the Belgian squad's hands. The No. 32 Audi of Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor only able to muster a sixth place result, thanks in part to a late-race move by Ortelli, which resulted in contact with the team's sister entry of Oliver Jarvis while battling for position.
Maxime Martin proved to be the star in the wet early on, as the Belgian pulled out to a 12-second lead in his Valmon Racing Team Russia Aston Martin DBRS9. However, the LMP Motorsport-run operation settled for 12th in the end after an off-course excursion by co-driver Alexey Vasiliev.
Despite the incident-filled day, Ortelli and Vanthoor maintain the championship lead, now 10 points over Zolder winners Parisy and Halliday heading into the next round of the championship in Navarra, Spain in five weeks' time.
RESULTS: Championship Race
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Matt Halliday and Mike Parisy gave the Muehlner Motorsport-run squad its first FIA GT1 World Championship victory in a 60-minute sprint that started in damp conditions and saw the majority of teams start on wet tires, including the Chinese-backed Porsche.
A switch to slicks for the second half helped Parisy take over the lead with 22 minutes remaining, where the former GT3 European champion held off a hard-charging Yelmer Buurman for the win.
"It was incredible," Parisy said. "There was a lot of pressure during the race and the conditions were very difficult. I have to thank Bernhard Muehlner for his strategy. I think with my teammate we're very good. It's one of the best days of my life."
The No. 18 Vita4One BMW Z4 GT3 of Buurman and co-driver Michael Bartels, which won Saturday's Qualifying Race, was unable to match the pace of the Porsche, particularly in straight-line speed amid the changing weather conditions.
"With the half dry, half slick [conditions], we were very good," Buurman said. "But we struggled a bit with the wet tires. Everyone did a great job. I think we had the speed to win it but the Porsche was so quick in a straight line and there was no way by."
AF Corse's gamble to to start Toni Vilander on slicks paid off, as the Finn and co-driver Filip Salaquarda finished third in their No. 3 Ferrari F458 Italia GT3. Vilander led the middle stages of the race and was one of the last to pit.
Nicky Pastorelli and Thomas Jager, runner-ups on Saturday, came home fourth in their All-Ink.com Munnich Motorsport Mercrdes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, with the No. 1 Hexis McLaren MP4-12C of Fred Makowiecki and Stef Dusseldorp completing the top-five.
Mastering the changing track conditions was the key Sunday, with both of the WRT Audi R8 LMS Ultras also taking slicks for the opening stint.
However, it didn't play into the Belgian squad's hands. The No. 32 Audi of Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor only able to muster a sixth place result, thanks in part to a late-race move by Ortelli, which resulted in contact with the team's sister entry of Oliver Jarvis while battling for position.
Maxime Martin proved to be the star in the wet early on, as the Belgian pulled out to a 12-second lead in his Valmon Racing Team Russia Aston Martin DBRS9. However, the LMP Motorsport-run operation settled for 12th in the end after an off-course excursion by co-driver Alexey Vasiliev.
Despite the incident-filled day, Ortelli and Vanthoor maintain the championship lead, now 10 points over Zolder winners Parisy and Halliday heading into the next round of the championship in Navarra, Spain in five weeks' time.
RESULTS: Championship Race
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
FIA GT Nogaro
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