NEWS

FIA GT1 2010: Spa Championship Race Report

Article written by: Gary Watkins- Autosport

Former grand prix driver Ricardo Zonta and Frank Kechele claimed victory for the Reiter Lamborghini team in the main event at the Spa round of the FIA GT1 World Championship. Zonta led from the front row in his Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV, but eventually lost out to Xavier Maassen in the DKR-run Mad-Croc Chevrolet Corvette C6R and Peter Kox in the Reiter sister car.

Kechele overtook team-mate Christopher Haase, who was struggling with engine problems, straight after their pitstops and was able to take the lead from the Matech Ford GT driven by Thomas Mutsch after a late-race safety car - by which time Maassen and Jos Menten had retired the Mad-Croc C6R with a puncture.

Zonta conceded that it was unlikely he would have been able to beat the Chevrolet but described the victory as "very important for the team". Second place went to the Vitaphone-run Hegersport Maserati MC12 driven by team boss Altfrid Heger and late stand-in Alex Muller, which qualified in last place. They finished 12th in the qualifying race and then an early pitstop in the championship race vaulted them up the order in the main event.

Mutsch and team-mate Richard Westbrook ended up third after Peter Dumbreck retired the best of the Sumo Power Nissan GT-Rs in the closing stages. Enrique Bernoldi and Miguel Ramos finished fifth in their Vitaphone Maserati.