NEWS
FIA GT1 2011: Silverstone Qualifying Race Report
Written by: Gary Watkins
Alex Muller and Tomas Enge claimed victory for the Young Driver Aston Martin squad in the qualifying race for Sundays Silverstone round of the FIA GT1 World Championship.
Muller trailed Lucas Luhr in the best of the JR Motorsports Nissans through the first half of the one-hour race, but a quick turn-around by the Young Driver crew, and two quick laps from Enge before Luhr pitted, sealed the victory for the German-run team.
The Nissan now driven by Michael Krumm rejoined nearly six seconds behind the Aston and did not make significant inroads on the lead until Enge backed off in the final stages.
Muller said: "It was impossible to pass the Nissan, so I waited for the pitstops and hoped for a good stop. The guys did a great job, otherwise we wouldn't have been ahead."
The Selleslagh-run Team China Chevrolet Corvette driven by Andi Zuber and Mike Hezemans finished third. Zuber started from pole after Hezemans topped the qualifying times, but dropped to third when he missed his shift from second to third. Fourth place went to Sumo Power Nissan shared by Enrique Bernoldi and Warren Hughes. The leading finishers from the Hexis Aston Martin and All-Inkl Lamborghini teams rounded out the top six.
Andreas Zuber- nr11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette C6R:
“I had a problem with second to third gear at the start which was a bit frustrating. At the beginning of the race I was between two Aston Martins and touched the one on the outside, so I had to check the car was okay. After that I could push again and I was close to the two boys in front of me, but then I lost the car on my final lap before the pits and that cost us time. We had a good stop, and the rest of the race was good for us. We lack a little bit of race pace, but let’s see tomorrow.”
Mike Hezemans- nr11 Exim Bank Team China Corvette C6R:
“We’re missing a little bit of race pace – we’re fighting with the car, and if you push you really feel it the next lap. It’s a general grip issue that comes in after four or five laps, and then you really have to ease it to the end. I have one idea for tomorrow, so let’s hope it works.”
Tomorrow's race for the famous Tourist Trophy starts at 2.45pm.
Results - 30 laps:
Pos Drivers Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Enge/Muller Young Driver Aston 1h01m48.056s
2. Krumm/Luhr JRM Nissan + 1.840s
3. Hezemans/Zuber China Corvette + 18.923s
4. Hughes/Bernoldi Sumo Power Nissan + 26.681s
5. Dusseldorp/Piccione Hexis Aston + 32.758s
6. Pastorelli/Schwager All-Inkl Lamborghini + 55.936s
7. Ickx/Nygaard Belgian Ford + 1m21.843s
8. Leclerc/Palttala Belgian Ford + 1m41.562s
9. Enjalbert/Rossi DKR Corvette + 1m50.177s
10. Hohenadel/Piccini Hexis Aston + 1 lap
Retirements:
Leinders/Hennerici Marc VDS Ford 23 laps
Makowiecki/Martin Marc VDS Ford 12 laps
Basseng/Winkelhock All-Inkl Lamborghini 8 laps
Campbell-Walter/Brabham Sumo Power Nissan 1 lap
Mucke/Turner Young Driver Aston 1 lap
Westbrook/Dumbreck JRM Nissan 0 laps
