FIA GT Championship 2009

Silverstone (GB) - 2 May 2010
Two Maseratis in the first four places at Spa’s sixty-first 24 Hours


Car N. 33 - Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad (Vitaphone Racing Team DHL) - pos. 2° Car N. 1 - Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/Negraõ (Vitaphone Racing Team) - pos. 4° Car N. 2 - Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy (Vitaphone Racing Team) - pos. 6° Weather: cloudy (18°), rainy and dry (26°) Length: 7,004 m Spa-Francorchamps, 26 July 2009 Two Maseratis in the first four places upon conclusion of Spa’s sixty-first 24 Hours, a race that counts as the fourth round of the FIA GT Championship. MC12 n° 33 driven by Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad ended up with second place, while Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/Negraõ’s car got fourth. The race was ultimately won by the Corvette Z06 driven by Hezemans, Kumpen, Menten and Mollekens.

This result confirms the Modenese cars’ excellent relationship with the Belgian racetrack and once again demonstrates the MC12’s great reliability. The race, which had started out with all three Vitaphone Racing Team’s cars in front, was conditioned by quite unstable weather conditions, with violent downpours during the first few hours and during the night. It was a rather unfortunate race for the Modenese cars, which had been great protagonists at every stage of the race up to at least the eighteenth hour. The first misfortune for the MC12s arrived at lap no. 186, just past midnight. Andrea Bertolini, at the wheel of car n° 1, slid on an oil slick in Pouhon and violently struck the barriers in Fagnes. The Italian driver, who had been in second position up to then, was unscathed, but the MC12 was heavily damaged. Repaired by mechanics in approximately two hours, the provisional rank leader was able to get back to the track but without hopes of winning due to loss of leading position. Much to the team’s chagrin, the Vitaphone pit became once again the focus point a few laps later when it became necessary to fix the MC12 driven by Pier Guidi, car n° 33, whose front was damaged in a back-marking manoeuver. MC12 n° 1’s inheritance was meanwhile taken up by Maserati n° 2. Alex Müller, Pedro Lamy and Eric Van de Poele were involved in a thrilling contention with Corvettes n° 3 and n° 4, managing to overcome them and leading the group near the twelfth hour. The following six hours featured heated contention between these three vehicles, with Lamy firmly in command as of lap 328 and driving in first position both at the start of the 15th and the 18th hour, while all this time the MC12 n° 33 regained fourth position and car n° 1, then driven by Sarrazin, was making time in line with the leaders, despite being behind by over sixty laps. Nevertheless, Maserati’s hopes of victory were dashed during the 419th lap, driven by Alex Müller at the time, MC12 n° 2’s back right rim exploded, irreparably damaging the back of the car and forcing the German driver to stop the car along the track. It was a rather unusual, unforeseen incident. A few hours later, after Corvette n° 3's pit stop which immediately seemed quite a long stop, MC12 n° 33’s chance of ending at the podium and MC12 n° 1’s chance at earning another position useful for the championship kept the Vitaphone Racing Team’s tension high. The tension eased only upon the appearance of the checkered flag, which marked the second place for Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad and the fourth place for Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/Negraõ. Ranking sixth despite its unfortunate setback, Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy’s MC12 n° 2 —as well as the reigning world champion duo— takes home precious points for the championship, which will resume in Budapest, Hungary, on 30 August. Stephane Lemeret: “At the start we hadn’t foreseen that our car could reach the podium, yet we made it. The other Maseratis met with misfortune while we did relatively okay. I am obviously thrilled with the result”. Alessandro Pier Guidi: “I am very happy because the pace of the race was incredible right from the start, just as if it were a two-hour race”. Vincent Vosse: “It’s great to be at the podium today in Spa, after the one earned in 2005. The team did an excellent job and right from the first few yards, I had a fantastic feeling driving the car.” RACE RESULTS: 1) Hezemans/Kumpen/Menten/Mollekens (Corvette Z06) 2) Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad (Maserati MC12) 3) Fassler/Moser/Margaritis/Basseng (Audi R8 LMS) DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP: 1) Kumpen/Hezemans - 43 points 2) Bartels/Bertolini - 36 points Photos and some text courtesy of Maserati.



Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad		Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad (Vitaphone Racing Team DHL)

Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad (Vitaphone Racing Team DHL)		Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy (Vitaphone Racing Team)

Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy (Vitaphone Racing Team)		Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/Negraõ (Vitaphone Racing Team)

Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/Negraõ (Vitaphone Racing Team)		Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy (Vitaphone Racing Team)

Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/Negraõ (Vitaphone Racing Team)		Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Pier Guidi/Lemeret/Vosse/Rosenblad (Vitaphone Racing Team DHL)

Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy (Vitaphone Racing Team)		Copyright Maserati / Studio Mazzi Ramos/Müller/Van De Poele/Lamy (Vitaphone Racing Team)

Hour 1 The first hour saw many changes of position including the leading six comprising three Maseratis and three Corvettes. At the end of the hour Oliver Gavin was in the lead in the no 3 SRT Corvette with a 23 second gap to second place man Alex Muller in the no 2 Vitaphone Maserati. Hour 2 Oliver Gavin still leads in the no 3 SRT Corvette 30 seconds ahead of the no 1 Vitaphone Maserati. In third position is the no 4 PK Racing Corvette. The no 2 Vitaphone Maserati found a way past the no 8 Sangari Corvette for forth place. The no 33 Vitaphone Maserati is sixth. Hour 3 The top six cars continued to do battle but on lap 56 the #8 Sangari Corvette crashed heavily at Raidillon. The safety car was immediately deployed as the marshalls needed to clear the debris as the front left wheel of the Corvette had been ripped off. After racing resumed on lap 64 the no 4 PK Racing corvette outbraked the #2 Vitaphone Maserati into Les Combes to take third place. Then the heavens opened at Spa Francochamps and by the end of the hour the top five were all in the pits switching to rain tyres. The safety car was again deployed right at the end of the hour after a three car incident which left the no 118 Gravity Racing Mosler MT900 stranded on the entry to the Bus Stop after hitting the wall. The #3 SRT Corvette led for the entire hour, with the #1 Vitaphone Maserati in second and the #4 PK Racing Corvette in third. Hour 4 As the forth hour started the safety car was on track as a result of the #118 Gravity Mosler crash. The conditions were very difficult even with the reduced speeds. When the rain finally eased Bert Longin in the SRT Corvette was leading but was being chased by Anthony Kumpen in the #4 PK Corvette. On lap 76 Kumpen took the lead on the exit to Stavelot. The #1 Vitaphone Maserati further demoted the SRT when he over took for third at La Source. Longin then dropped to fourth after being overtaken by the #33 Vitaphone Racing Team DHL. So from leader to fourth in less than one lap. On lap 83 the Corvette lead was finally ended by the #1 Vitaphone Maserati after overtaking the Corvette at the Bus Stop. Hour 5 After the #1 pitted the #4 PK Carsport Corvette took the lead. At the end of the hour Menten was leading ahead of Sarrazin and Soulet. The order is Corvette, Maserati, Corvette, Maserati. Hour 6 Hour 7 With a quarter of the race already run the #4 PK racing Corvette led for most of the hour, briefly handing the lead over #1 for a pit stop. when the Masertai pitted the lead was handed back to the corvette. Negrao in the Maserati managed to close the gap and on lap 159 found a way around the Corvette to go into the lead. The #3 SRT Corvette is in third. Hour 8 The battle for the lead of Total 24 hours of Spa continues. The #1 Maserati had contact with the #60 Prospeed Porsche at the Bus Stop, the Porsche headed to the pits for repair to the right rear, while the Maserati was able to continue. The Maseratis were posting some blistering lap times but Oliver Gavin was even quicker in his #3 Corvette and was only 0.4 s off the race's fastest lap. The pace was enough to leap frog the Corvette into the lead of the race. Hour 9 As midnight struck so did disaster for the no 1 Maserati when the car left the track at turn 12 and struck the barriers. Andrea Bertolini struggled to get the car back to the pits with front and rear damage and a tyre hanging off the rim. As a result Bertolini lost second place to the the Corvette of Mike Hezemans. The Maserati also suffered damage to the front suspension and axle and the car was in the pits for a long time. The barriers were damaged so yellow flags were displayed at that part of the track. Oliver Gavin led the race from Mike Hezemans. Hour 10 The tenth hour of the Total 24 Hours of Spa was spent behind the safety car as the barriers at Fagnes needed to be repaired. Oliver Gavin leads the race from Mike Hezemans, both drivers are the only two on the lead lap. The Vitaphone team are working hard to replace the pedal box in the #1 Maserati. Hour 11 Although driving through the night the GT1 cars were posting times similar to those during the day. Locked in a fight for the lead were #3 SRT Corvette, #4 PK Racing Corvette and #2 Vitaphone Maserati. In chasing down the Corvettes, Pedro Lamy set his car's fastest lap of the race. Half way through and with already 1,600 kilometres covered only two seconds separated the three cars. Hour 12 During this period the #1 Vitaphone Maserati was able to rejoin the race, although now 65 laps down. The top three cars remain close with the #2 Maserati moving ahead of the #3 Corvette on lap 262. Hezemans, Lamy and Gavin were all posting 2:17s. Hour 13 Fastest lap of the race was set by Anthony Kumpen on lap 276 with a time of 2:16.778. He improved again two laps later posting 2:16.462. Kumpen was followed by Soulet in the no 3 Corvette with Alex Muller in the #2 Maserati. On lap 282 the leaders were only separated by one second. Muller was able to pass Soulet to move into second position in the #2 Maserati. Drama followed for Maserati as the #33 Maserati spun at turn one, La Source with Stephane Lemeret driving. The car was able to continue. Hour 14 report As dawn broke at the Spa Francorchamps circuit it seems as though we have seen the last of the rain as the skies are clear and blue and it looks to be a beautiful day. Just at the start of the hour the #4 PK Carsport driven by Kumpen had a fire at the front left side. The car pitted on lap 296, everything was fine as it was just some loose rubber from the tyres. Menten took over the wheel. All three leading cars pitted at the same time. The #2 Maserati stalled on the exit and lost time but was able to take the lead of the race on lap 297 with Alex Muller driving. On lap 198 Alex Muller posted the fastest time with a lap of 2:16.067. The #33 Vitaphone Maserati being driven by Rosenblad went into the gravel at turn 13 but was able to rejoin. The car has dropped to 8th overall. As the hour closed Alex Muller is leading the two Corvettes of Menten and Soulet. Hour 15 The two leading cars changed drivers on lap 323, Pedro Lamy taking over from Alex Muller in the #2 Maserati, while Oliver Gavin took over the #3 Corvette from Soulet. Lamy is leading the race in the #2 Maserati ten seconds ahead of Oliver Gavin in the#3 Corvette who is 11 seconds ahead of Menten in the #no 4 Corvette. Hour 20 For the twentieth hour of the race the Corvettes continued to battle for the lead. The #4 took the lead on lap 445 soon after 11am when the no 3 pitted. When Soulet took the wheel he was soon reducing the gap by at least a second a lap. The #4 Corvette pitted just before midday for fuel and tyres and driver change, this handed the lead back to Soulet. With four hours to go Soulet leads but is soon to pit again. Mike Hezemans is second having just pitted is now 1:30 behind Soulet. In third in GT1 the #33 Maserati is lying fourth with Alessandro Pier Guidi having taken over the driving but the car is 15 laps behind the leader. On lap 471 the #3 Corvette came into the pits and Soulet handed over to Oliver Gavin. The pit stop put Hezemans back in the lead. At the same time the #3 car was reported to be smoking and losing fluid, it then spun at turn 19 but was able to continue. Only three laps after its last pit stop the #3 Corvette was forced to return to the pits. The car was pushed into the garage where the engine cover was removed to reveal an engine bay covered in oil. It was necessary for the team to remove the air intakes and the under-tray in an effort to find the oil leak, even the windscreen was removed. The car was able to rejoin but was now 14 laps off the lead. Less than three laps later the Corvette was once again in the garage. Regardless of all the bad luck suffered by the Vitaphone cars, the team once again had a car running in the top three. On lap 480 Pier Guidi in the no 33 Maserati overtook the leading G2 car, the no 111 Phoenix Audi R8. The Audi moved to third after the Maserati pit stop. During this hour the Corvette's run of bad luck continued and the car slipped further down the order, by the end of the hour the car was running seventh. Due to the stops made by the #3 Corvette the Phoenic Audi was able to rise to second overall with the #33 Maserati chasing close behind. The Maserati went past while the Audi pitted but it remianed dominant in its G2 class, 55 laps ahead of the Jetalliance Porsche. As the #3 Corvette sat in the pits the no 35 Nissan moved up to third in GT1. The no 160 Porsche had to stop to have an accelator problem fixed, the car is sixth in G3. At the end of the hour the race leader, the #4 PK Racing Corvette made a routine pit stop and Kurt Mollekens took the wheel.