TotalMotorSport All the latest Motorsport news, race reports and photographs from around the world. Alms, Touring Cars, Formula One & Le Mans 24 Hours

Magny Cours

Eurosport Super Racing Weekends

01/05/2001

Monday

Qualifying Report

The weather continued to affect proceedings at Magny Cours: it was raining when the 45-minute First Qualifying session started, while tyre choice for the Superpole session in the afternoon was also a matter for considerable thought and debate.

The times fell in the first session as the track dried. After just four minutes, a ‘veritable crash’ at the Adelaide Hairpin between Raffaele Sanguiolo in the #67 Mac Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R and Marco Spinelli in the #14 Redolfi Orlando Porsche 911 GT2 damaged both cars. Both drivers are fine, but cars look in very bad condition. The team manager of #14 answered the question ‘Will you race tomorrow?’ with a sad look on his face, and no sign of a positive answer. After hours and hours of work , the Italian GT3R of Mac Racing looked ready but the FIA did not give its authorisation to race the car. The Orlando GT2 remained under a cover and will not race.

As the track dried, the two Lister Storms improved, but Christophe Bouchut took ‘provisional pole’ (in reality, the top slot for the Superpole) three minutes from the end. The #5 Coca-Cola Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R of Tomas Enge was fastest in N-GT on his last lap.

"We weren't looking to get provisional pole, just to make sure of our place in the top six for the Superpole," explained Bouchut. "I must say I'm quite satisfied with the set-up of the car. We've analysed and understood the problems that beset us at the start of the Brno race, and they should not reoccur. Actually, the situation turned to our advantage, as we saved fuel and had a winning strategy, but it was not our aim to be overtaken by N-GT cars at the start!"

The Carsport Holland cars were second and seventh, the #4 just outside the top six who would go through to the Superpole. "On my best lap I was seven tenths faster, but then I met traffic at the final corner. There were cars, cars, cars.... I think everyone had traffic problems, because everyone was trying to make the best of the drying track," explained Mike Hezemans.

Both Listers made the top six. “We had prepared a plan A and a plan B for qualifying,” Laurence Pearce explained. “But as it was, we didn't have time to put plan B into action. It's very frustrating.” Jamie Campbell-Walter set the third time with a lap of 1:52.900, while Julian Bailey was seven tenths slower in fourth place.

The Naspetti / Schiattarella Rafanelli Ferrari made it into the top six in the dying moments, the former at the wheel. “For sure, the conditions do not suit our car, and it is not easy to drive. But we are improving at every race, and the level of confidence is very high," said Naspetti. "It was very difficult out there - really, really wet at the beginning, and just wet at the end.” The #6 Ferrari was eighth, after the team put intermediate tyres on Marc Duez's car too late in the session to get the most advantage from them."

Belmondo Racing lost their record of all three cars in the top six, only the Vosse / Derichebourg Viper making it, at home in France. “We had all three cars in the gravel at the end of the session,” Vincent Vosse explained. “I was second overall twenty minutes into the session, and then I passed the car over to Boris Derichebourg, who did not run yesterday. He went off on his second lap, and so we dropped down to sixth. But we start this afternoon with a clean slate, so it should be OK. We have a real problem with the damp conditions. We're OK in the dry and the wet, but when it is humid, it's a big problem.” The other two cars were 15th and 24th.

Tomas Enge set the best N-GT time, and his #65 car beat off the challenge from both Larbre Porsches, the two RWS / Red Bull Porsches, and the faster JMB Ferrari 360. Michel Neugarten missed out on Superpole by a few hundredths in the Perspective entry. “It's a lot easier than F3000, because I'm not under so much pressure," said Enge. "Before a F3000 qualifying session, my blood pressure is really high, but here, you can take it easy.” Aaah, the relaxing world of GT racing. Not.

"Luca is not at all happy - he hates being third,” said team-mate Dieter Quester.

"We've found a good set-up for the car, which uses the tyres well, and is well balanced," said Benjamin Durand, Team Mager at JMB (of the #62 Ferrari). "The second car is slightly behind, as the car took part in the French GT Championship, and had to be changed to the FIA GT settings and tyres, so the drivers are taking it step by step.”

The Freisinger Team mechanics were drinking....champagne. The team decided to offer a box of champagne bottles in order to say "thank you" to their mechanics. Have they been in trouble? Why are Kaufmann / Ortelli down in 26th?

Light rain returned for the Superpole: slicks or intermediates seemed to be the choice. Jurgen von Gartzen was late taking up his position at the exit of the pit-lane, so the officials decided to give him the 12th place on the grid.

The conditions were tricky – Riccitelli spun on his out lap and explained, "it's difficult to decide which tyres to have." Mancini was the first in the #6 RWS Red Bull car, and he chose slicks – he was slowest. Christian Pescatori was a little quicker, on wets. Riccitelli was next, and took four seconds off Pescatori's time. Sebastien Dumez chose inters. on the drying track and beat Riccitelli’s time by over three seconds. Tomas Enge then set the N-GT ‘pole’, but his time was later disallowed after the car failed scrutineering. This gave Sebastien Dumez the N-GT pole position, but he was slower than all of the GT Superpole men, as track conditions continued to improve.

The GT cars finished up in more or less the reverse order that they went out in. The exception was the JC-W Lister, which was fourth out, but ended up fifth. Hezemans and Bouchut were the last two out, and the Frenchman took the pole by a couple of tenths.

More rain for the race? Changing conditions? It would seem entirely appropriate if that’s the way raceday pans out after the first two days of this meeting.

As conditions continued improving, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen set the best time of the day, but he’ll start 13th.

Olivier Beroud.