NEWS

FIA GT1 2011: Argentina Championship Race Report

china exim bank gt1 argentina

Exim Bank Corvette's Yelmer Buurman and Francesco Pastorelli successfully negotiated an unruly championship race at San Luis, to complete a remarkable double victory in their World GT1 debut. The rookie duo escaped a wild startline crash to come home victorious by four seconds as several potential challengers were hit with penalties. "The team helped both Francesco and me enormously in learning the car," said a jubilant Buurman. "I really like this championship, but for the time being I am going to focus on single-seaters, though. No offence, but I can still do this when I am older, single-seaters is now or never."

Hexis Aston Martin overturned a substantial points deficit entering the meeting to win the GT1 teams' world title. Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp took third place for the French squad, behind the #47 DKR Lamborghini, while Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel brought their bonnet-less Hexis DBR9 home in fifth. The rolling start proved chaotic. A multi-car pile-up was triggered when Enrique Bernoldi's Sumo Power Nissan was squeezed on the right by co-champion Lucas Luhr, in the front row starting JRM Nissan, and on the left by the #37 All-Inkl Lamborghini of Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli.

Luhr was spun across Bernoldi's nose, and clipped Alex Muller's Young Driver Aston Martin into a spin. A number of unfortunate runners on the outside of the grid were also collected. Both All-Inkl Lamborghinis, Jonathan Kennard's similar DKR machine, Luhr and David Brabham's Sumo Nissan retired in the incident. Friday morning's pacesetting DKR Lamborghini of Manuel Lauck and Christopher Haase exited Turn 2 in second place behind Pastorelli, and the Germans would eventually emerge with the runner-up spot at the chequered flag. However, both Lauck and Pastorelli were overtaken under safety-car conditions by the recovering Muller Aston Martin, which led until lap 12 before serving a drive-through penalty for his infringement.

Peter Dumbreck's JRM Nissan then assumed the lead ahead of the Piccione/Hohenadel Aston and Haase's Murcielago in third. A lost wheel nut had cost Buurman considerable time in his pitstop, but the charging Dutchman scythed from fourth to second in two laps.

Scotsman Dumbreck's hopes of victory then ended when he was served with a drive-through penalty for an earlier indiscretion committed by team-mate Richard Westbrook. Like Muller, Westbrook had overtaken a number of cars behind the safety car on the opening lap.

Bernoldi and Nicky Catsburg's battle-scarred Sumo GT-R came home fourth, and the Markus Palttala/Antoine Leclerc Ford GT (Belgian Racing) completed the top six.

Additional drive quotes:

Francesco Pastorelli- nr11 Exim Bank Team Corvette C6R:

"I made a good start and then I saw a lot smoke in my mirrors from the accident. There was a long period of the Safety Car before I brought the car in for the stop. We had a small issue at the pit stop when one of the wheel nuts took a while to go on but in the end we are both happy with the job we did this weekend."

Yelmer Buurman- nr11 Exim Bank Team Corvette C6R:

"I am very happy, I didn't expect this, I was hoping for a top five finish because I know the level of drivers in this GT1 category is high. Just to come here, first time in GT1, new track, new car, new team and to win both races and also get the fastest lap is a good feeling. It's nice to be able to produce a great finish to the season for the team - they were fantastic. Hopefully I can come back next year."

Results - 22 laps:

Pos  Drivers                  Team/Car                  Time/Gap
 1.  Pastorelli/Buurman       Exim Corvette         1h02m00.695s
 2.  Lauck/Haase              DKR Lamborghini           + 4.043s
 3.  Piccione/Dusseldorp      Hexis Aston              + 13.224s
 4.  Bernoldi/Catsburg        Sumo Power Nissan        + 21.189s
 5.  Hohenadel/Piccini        Hexis Aston              + 24.786s
 6.  Palttala/Leclerc         Belgian Ford             + 29.243s
 7.  Hirschi/Nygaard          Belgian Ford             + 30.790s
 8.  Westbrook/Dumbreck       JRM Nissan               + 32.386s
 9.  Leinders/Risatti         Marc VDS Ford            + 34.467s
10.  Muller/Enge              Young Driver Aston       + 35.269s

Retirements:

     Martin/Clairay           Marc VDS Ford              21 laps
     Rossi/Verdonck           Exim Corvette               6 laps
     Luhr/Krumm               JRM Nissan                  0 laps
     Schwager/Pastorelli      All-Inkl Lamborghini        0 laps
     Winkelhock/Basseng       All-Inkl Lamborghini        0 laps
     Brabham/Campbell-Walter  Sumo Power Nissan           0 laps
     Kennard/Bruck            DKR Lamborghini             0 laps