FIA GT SERIES 2007

BIAGI WINS GT1, VILLANDER/MULLER WIN GT2
Maserati 4 wins, Aston 3 wins, Corvette 2 wins & Lambo 1 win in GT1
AF Corse Ferrari F430GT2 wins 9 out of 10 rounds, but Spa 24h to Porsche

STOP THE DECLINE OF GT RACING NOW!

July 7,2008 - There is something totally wrong with GT racing as organised this year by S.R.O. If it was their intention to kill GT racing immediately they took a good start at Oschersleben. What Jean Vinatier did at post-race scrutineering reduced the FIA GT series to a joke. Waiting until night to tell the press that both the winner and the third were disqualified was more than ridiculous: it made a fool of the complete motoring press which announced after the race that Kumpen/Longhin and their #4 Corvette were the winners, but which had to apologise one day later that Bartels/Biagi were the winners and that the fourth finishing #11 Maserati MC12 of Bertolini/Piccini was at once second since the third finishing #7 Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT of Bouchut/Mücke was disqualified too. 
Both disqualifications give full evidence what a nit-picker is Vinatier. He may have been an excellent racer on the Alpine-Renault A210 and A110 in the 1960s, but as scrutineer he's completely unacceptable. Needing more than five hours to see that the fuel tank of the Corvette was two 20cl Coca-Cola bottles too large is no proof of good management. That should have been seen BEFORE the start, not hours after arrival. All what was to be done was sealing the fuel tank after the pre-race inspection. And what to think about the disqualification of the Lamborghini? Why excluding on Sunday night the Lambo because its gearbox has some ratios that are not homologated. I fully agree with what was written by Michael Cotton: "If M. Jean Vinatier wants to take a look at a Lamborghini’s cogs. Friday is the day, not in gathering gloom on Sunday night. Seal the gearbox, by all means, after inspection."
Oschersleben ended in a pure farce. Suck kind of racing is a late expression of the purest surrealism. But things go already wrong since the start of the season. Reducing all rounds, except Spa, to two hours, was a serious mistake. Most teams like endurance racing, not sprint races à la DTM.   

Several former FIA GT teams moved to LMS where races go over 1,000-kms and receive a much better coverage at TV. Best example is Proton-Felbermayr, having been in FIA GT racing since the first year, but having quit this year to make the move to the LMS. Teams as Modena (with the #59 Aston Martin DBR9), as Oreca (with their two Saleens), as Racing Box (also with Saleen), Larbre Compétition (with their two Astons) are no longer interested in the playground races of Ratel and his SRO. Actually 29 cars (LMGT1 and LMGT2 together) show at all rounds of the LMS. Their number increases from year to year and is now already higher than in FIA GT racing. Vinatier's hairsplitting will cause - if nobody stops him in his pre-senile madness - the withdrawal of still more teams from SRO to ACO. A good reason for most teams to do so is, that in LMS racing, they can join a third driver to the car, what in most cases means a third budget.
Two hour races, with their stupid rule of two obligatory pit stops, are more exercises in strategy than in pure racing. TV is not interested in such fairground attractions. The public wants 1,000-kilometre races where the reliability of the car plays a substantial role, not such strategically games where Michael Bartels comes into the pits after only one lap. How a reporter can explain such tactics to a broad public? If Ratel holds on his two hour races, going without any substantial TV coverage, he'll reduce FIA GT racing to the churchyard Bernie Ecclestone made of it in 1997-1998. Ratel and his SRO are busy to put GT racing to death. Without serious TV covering teams can find no sponsoring money and without sponsoring money racing is condemned to disappear. 
Another point is that in GT1 works teams are an absolute must. By focusing on the Citation Cup the gentleman drivers have still a function in the concept. What a difference between the Astons seen at Le Mans and the Astons seen in the SRO circus. How you wish to attire the Brittons if you refuse their best works team. It's time to change the whole concept THOROUGHLY! [JPVR]

BEFORE THE START: 2007 Edition more professional than previous years?

May 29, 2007 - What stirs on looking on this year's FIA GT Series is that the approach is more and more professional. The venue of such cars as the Sara Maseratis MC12 and the Edil Cris Ferraris 430 GT2 - last year still involved in the Italian GT Championship - is certainly a gain for the 2007 FIA GT Series. Those cars are run by professional teams and excellent drivers. This year we find in GT1 six Maseratis MC12, five Aston Martins DBR9, four Corvettes (two C5R and two C6R), two Lamborghinis Marcielago R-GT and two old Ferraris (a 575 GTC and a 550 Maranello). That means at least 19 GT1 cars with 18 entering in principle all rounds. Last year that was only the case with 9 GT1 cars. New are the two Sara Maseratis (#11 and #12), the Barwell Racing Aston Martin DBR9 (#17), the two Lambos (this year entered at all rounds, #7 and #8), a second Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 (against only one last year), the two JMB Maseratis MC12 (#15 and #16, raced by gentlemen drivers), the Carsport Holland Corvette C6R (#5), the SRT Corvette C5R (#18), the PSI Corvette C6R (#19, this year to be entered at all rounds instead of two) and Loris Kessel's Ferrari 575 GTC (#21, coming from the Italian GT Championship). That means twelve new seasonal entries. Of last year's GT1 cars the two Vitaphone Maseratis (#1 and #2), the two BMS Aston Martins DBR9 (#22 and #23), the Belgian GPLK Corvette C5R (#4, now in another colour scheme) and one of the Jetalliance Astons (#33, in other colours) are maintained. The two Saleens (Zakspeed's and Balfe's) are no longer present, just as the Phoenix Racing Aston. No more old Lister Storm either. So the GT1 class has doubled its number of regular entrants, what's a good thing. The increase of professional drivers inspired the organising SRO to install the newly created Citation Cup for gentlemen drivers. Up to now six cars entered this interesting sub-competition: among them the two JMB Maseratis (#15 and #16), the two Ferraris (#14 and #21), the SRT Corvette (#18) and an old Dodge Viper GTS-R (#102 racing in class C2). More cars may be expected in this competition during the course of the year.  New is that, except for the Spa 24 hours, all rounds go over 2 hours with never more than two racers per car.

Last year it seemed that Stéphane Ratel had found a solution for the GT2 class, where in 2005 there were only six regular entrants after the semi-works Porsches of Gruppe M were allowed. So in 2006, after the expulsion of the works cars, there were at once no less than twelve entrants doing all rounds. That is no longer the case this years. The two JMB Racing Ferraris 430 are no longer in, just as Autoracing Bratislava Porsche 996GT3, as the second Ebi Motors Porsche 996GT3, as the two Renauer Porsches 996GT3 and as the Race Alliance similar machinery. The superiority of the new Ferrari 430 GT2, having won eight of the nine rounds, was that high, that except for Felbermayr-Proton all Porsches 996GT3 have been retired from competition. The six retired 996 Porsches have been replaced by three new Porsches 997GT3 (#74, #97 and #99). The two lost Ferraris 430 GT2 of JMB Racing have been compensated by the venue of the two Edil Cris Ferraris 430 GT2, coming from the Italian GT Championship. For this year the GT2 class is restricted to ten regular entrants, intended to do the complete series: the two AF Corse Ferraris (#50 and #51), the two Scuderia Ecosse Ferraris (#62 and #63), the two new Edil Chris Ferraris (#52 and #53), the three new Porsches 997 and one or two old Felbermeyr-Proton Porsches 996. In G2 the Belgian Gillet Vertigo, now powered by Porsche, is alone. In Bukarest we got full evidence of the potentiality of this car. Under the rain it reached at a given moment a 6th spot overall, heading some of the best GT1 and GT2 cars. Without a wrong tyre choice under heavy rain the car lost in extremis its eighth place overall to finish eleventh. It's a pitty that this car can win no champion-ship's points. Why not admitting that it's raced together with the GT2 cars? The lonely other G2 competitor, up to now, is the old Dodge Viper GTS-R of France's Red Racing (last year seen with an even old Lister Storm), competing in the new Citation Cup. Last remark: Last year we saw the Spyker C8 Spider GT2, the Panoz GT2 and the Nissan 350Z at some rounds. Up to now none of those cars was seen in GT2.

Concerning the drivers, great number of last year's top guns found no longer a wheel for the 2007 series. At Vitaphone Jamie Davies has been replaced by Christian Montanari, but found a seat in the #23 BMS Aston Martin DBR9. Andrea Bertolini has been fired and is replaced by Miguel Ramos, coming from BMS. During the first rounds there is a problem with Michael Bartels, in hospital after some kidney chirugy. They used Mika Salo and Fabrizio Gollin as substitute drivers, since both lost their seat in a 2006 team. At BMS they fired three of the four drivers (Christian Pescatori, Fabrizio Gollin and Miguel Ramos) to hold alone Fabio Babini. The new drivers are Giorgio Mondini, Giancarlo Monfardino and Jamie Davies, coming from Vitaphone. Ramos found a seat for the whole season in the Vitaphone Team. New at the All.inkl.com Lambo team is Stefan Mücke (ex-DTM), whilst Benjamin Leuerberger is no longer in.  Also David Brabham is no longer involved in the Lambo project. Bertolini found a new seasonal seat in the Sarafree Maserati. Andrea Picini, coming from the Phoenix Aston Martin DBR9 did the same. New are Giambatista Giammoccaro and Alessandro Pier Guidi. The other Phoenix racer of 2006, Jean-Denis Deletraz found a place in the new Carsport Holland Corvette C6R. There his team mate is Mike Hezemans, coming from the GLPK Corvette C5R, where there are no longer three racers (the new rule book) but two: Kumpen and Longin as last year. Now that JMB Racing stopped racing its Ferraris 430 GT2, but replaced them by the team's Maseratis (raced in 2005), the Dutch amateurs Peter Kutemann and Dirk Waaijenberg could switch from GT2 to GT1. New in the team are the amateurs Joe Macari and Ben Ancott. In the new Barwell Racing Team the rookies are Jonny Kane and Jonathan Cocker. New too is the Belgian SRT team, racing a Corvette C5R with Tom Cloet and Pettri Kuismanen as drivers. Another new Corvette is PSI's C6R. Here Luk Hines is the new comer, with Philipp Peter (coming from the Red Bull Aston) as team mate. New too this year, coming from the Italian GT Championship are the amateurs Loris Kessel and Massimo Cattori. On the #33 Aston Karl Wendlinger has a new team mate: Ryan Sharp (replacing Philipp Peter). On the team's other car Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer comes from the team's 2006 Porsche 996, whilst Robert Lechner stays with the team. Last year's Saleen drivers Sascha Bert, Jarek Janis, Shaun Balfe and Jamie Derbyshire are all out of competition. The same holds for Jean-Philippe Belloc, last year still third driver on the PSI Corvette, and for Frank Diefenbacher no longer in the second Red Bull Aston. Conclusion: at least 16 new comers in GT1, whilst 11 racers lost their seat.

Even more drivers lost their wheel in GT2. AF Corse changed its four racers (Matteo Bobbi, Rui Augas, Jaime Melo and Mika Salo) to replace them by four real cracks having raced earlier in the FIA GT Series: Stéphane Ortelli and Dirk Muller, and by new comers Toni Vilander (last year winner of the Italian GT Championship) and Gianmaria Bruni. At Scuderia Ecosse Nathan Kinch was replaced by Tomas Enge and at the TT even by ex-F1 world champion Nigel Mansell. Felbermayr/Proton continues with the same racers as seen in the previous year. The four new comers from the Edil Cris Team are Paolo Ruberti, Damien Pasini, Matteo Cressone and Michele Rugolo. On the Porsches 997 we note that Marcello Zani replaces Luigi Moccia (suspended by FIA for drugs abuse) that Russia's Leo Machitski and England's Sead Edward are new, that Emmanuel Collard makes his come back in FIA GT racing and that Matteo Matucelli is new. Now that JMB races no longer in GT2 Tim Sugden, Iradj Alexander and Toine Gosse are no longer present. The same holds for the Renauer Porsche drivers Wolfgang Kaufmann, Luca Morio, Hans Knauss and Manfred Jurasz. Luca Ricitelli, last year still with Emmanuel Collard on the second Ebi Motor Porsche 996, is out now that the team enters only one car. Among the several other racers coming not bacjk this year we mention among others Jan Vonka, Daniel Model and Jaromir Jirik of the Vonka Team. Michel Lieb has been seen at the wheel of one of the Felbermayr/Proton Porsches, realising the team's best performance in ten years. In G2 the drivers of the Gillet Vertigo are the same as last year.
If one looks at the drivers per nation Italy with 16 racers (against 15 last year) and the U.K. with 12 racers (just as last year) are the best represented. Austria has no longer 10 racers, but only 6. France comes back from 9 to 5 (but is always present with Christophe Bouchut!). Germany drops from 8 to 5, Switzeland from 5 to 4. This year there are 5 Belgians and 5 Dutchmen in competition against 4 last year. New are one racer from Canada, one racer from Luxembourg, and one racer from Russia. It stirs that Scandinavia has only 2 drivers (both from Finland) but nobody from Norway, from Sweden and from Denmark. There no more racers from Spain and only one from Portugal. Racers from Slovakia and Poland all disappeared. On such way SRO looses contact with several important European countries. [JPVR]