Round 6 - Winners Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8
Navarra, Spain-Sat2nd Jul – Round 6- For the second time this weekend the race win has been decided on the final lap in an FIA GT3 race at Navarra. For Round 6 the battle was between Harrie Kolen in the nr36 Faster Racing by DB Motorsport BMW Z4 and the nr33 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 of Enzo Ide.
Kolen had been handed a 10 second lead by pole position holder Nick Catsburg at the pitstop and looked on course to take the victory. Ide emerged from the pits in 3rd place and spent a few laps trying to pass the Sainteloc Racing Audi of Jerome Demay.
As soon as Ide was clear he caught the leading BMW with two laps of the race remaining. After several attempts he finally moved ahead of Kolen at T8 on the last lap to take the chequered flag and claim the second win of the season for himself and Greg Franchi. Mike Parisy and Philippe Giauque and Mike Parisy were 3rd after starting 9th on the grid, with Giauque overtaking Demay’s Audi three laps from home to claim the final podium place.
Winners Reiter Engineering Lamborghini -Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis/Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof. Second place Need for Speed Team Schubert - Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal / Edward Sandstroem
Round 2 – Battle of the Princes
It was a contest between two Princes for victory at Navarra in Round 5 of the FIA GT3 European Championship as Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis in the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo managed to hold off the challenge of Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal in the nr6 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4. On lap 30 the gap between the two rivals was 4.7 seconds but by the time the chequered flag was shown at the end of lap 35 this was down to 0.459s as the Lamborghini struggled for grip on worn Michelin rear tyres. However an elated Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who is the reigning GT Masters Champion, celebrated his first FIA GT3 win with co-driver Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof on the podium.
At the start Mayr-Melnhof swept into the lead from P2, moving ahead of pole sitter Francesco Castellacci in the nr50 AF Corse Ferrari at the first turn and then opened up a comfortable 10 second gap by the time the pit window opened.
Third place went to Round 4 winners Hoevert Vos and Jeroen den Boer in the nr35 Faster Racing by DB MOTORSPORT BMW Z4. Having sat in the pitlane for an extra 15-seconds for winning at Silverstone, the BMW rejoined in 7th place and the Dutch driver spent most of his stint fighting his way past the cars ahead to secure the final podium place at the flag.
Abdulaziz Al Faisal: “I got the car in a good condition when we went out, and I could see him coming out of the corners in the distance. It stayed that way for 4 or 5 laps, then we started to catch up slowly. Then I knew that we had better conditions than they had, so I had to push. I gave it my all, just to try and get there, maybe push him into a mistake, but he drove very well and maintained the speed, and I think we had a very good battle. There was one incident that I looked into the inside, but I thought it was too risky, and thought to wait and see what would happen, but the Lamborghini is so fast in the straights…Congratulations to them, and it was a really good race. I think Portimao’s my best race, as this is my first year in the European championship, first full season FIA Championship, so to come to Portimao and win the first race was a big blast. Hopefully we’re battling well for the championship and the important thing for us is to get as many podiums as we can and stay ahead, and hope by the end of the season to be champions.”
Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4 GT3
Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place at Paul Ricard in France on 16/17 July 2011.
