NEWS
FIA GT1 2011: Portimao Preview
This weekend the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship travels to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve for the second time. The 4.7km circuit has become a firm favourite with the teams and drivers due to the exciting nature of the track that allows plenty of overtaking opportunities.
In 2010 victory in the Championship Race went to eventual World Champions Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini, while the honours in the earlier Qualifying Race went to the Nissan GTR and Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck. However the drive of the weekend went to Richard Westbrook, who stormed though the field in the Ford GT to secure a 5th and 2nd place alongside teammate Thomas Mutsch. This year Dumbreck is joined by Westbrook at JR Motorsport, while Krumm is partnered by fellow German Lucas Luhr in the second JRM Nissan.
Five manufacturers are represented on the GT1 grid this season, Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini and Nissan, with two teams of two cars for each marquee. The performance of the cars is balanced by the FIA to ensure close, action packed racing for each of the 60-minute races.
Aston Martin is represented by French team Hexis AMR and German team Young Driver AMR. The Hexis team travel to Portugal as leaders in Team Championship thanks to Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp’s victory at Yas Marina and a podium finish by the second car of Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini in Belgium. The Young Driver team scored valuable points in Zolder with Tomas Enge / Alex Müller taking two 3rd places and with Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner also scoring points, Young Driver AMR are currently third in the Team Championship.
The Corvette teams consist of Exim Bank Team China and DKR Engineering. Dutch pairing of Mike Hezemans and Nicky Catsburg had a strong showing in the opening round and followed this up with a second place finish in the Qualifying Race and a fighting 5th in the Championship Race. The DKR Engineering Corvette of Jaime Camara and Michael Rossi haven’t yet scored any points due to accidents in Abu Dhabi and at Zolder, they will be hoping for a change of fortune in Portugal.
Mike Hezemans- nr11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette C6R:
"Normally the Corvette is good on Algarve. Last year it had Pole Position, so it should be good for us. Zolder was already better for us with 20 kg less but we still suffered at the end of the race with the tyres because of the weight. I think the Lambos is the strongest car at the moment; the car of Pastorelli and Schwager should have won in Zolder and Abu Dhabi."
Live coverage can be found on our Live Racing page
