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Nurburgring

09/09/2001

Superpole

Report

Super Pole Report:

Even if the weather forecast gave us rain, rain, rain and some rain, one-hour before the start of the Super Pole, the sun is shining. This to tell you that the weather could play a more than important role today and tomorrow. The differences between GT and N-GT are not that huge in bad weather and this track is not a pure “engine-track”.

Kumpen’s car's time has been discounted from this morning, due to a measurement problem, so the team has to qualify the car in the 15 minutes left after the Super Pole. Only Paul Belmondo and Claude-Yves Gosselin will drive because they did not drive at all during the first qualifying.
The second Carsport Holland car takes the sixth place left in the Super pole.

The #3 Viper of Hezemans runs a new rear spoiler, but apparently it gives too much down force. But in a rainy race it could be effective.

Dry Conditions, windy, cloudy and cold.

Super pole

Nr 55 Neugarten: 1.46.984
Nr 50 (+ 25 kg) Dumez: 1.46.018
Nr 54 (+ 35 kg) Babini: 1.47.993
Nr 77 (+ 10 kg) Riccitelli: 1.44.692
Nr 57 Ortelli: 1.44.433
Nr 69 Peter: 1.45.251

Ortelli takes pole in the GT-N category.

Nr 3 (+ 100 kg) Hezemans (in the new green and white livery): 1.40.867
Nr 7 (100 kg) Belloc: 1.41.349
Nr 9 Jarier: 1.43.451
Nr 2 Bailey misses the last chicane, 1.43.810
Nr 4 (+ 40 kg) S.Bleekemolen 1.40.474
Nr (+ 40 kg) 15 Rydell: 1.39.651 (faster than the FIA GT1 in 1997)

So the Prodrive Ferrari on pole, and with a good margin on the Bleekemolen Viper. A good result after all for the Carsport Holland team because their second car went from sixth (seventh, before Kumpen was disqualified) to third on the grid. Lister missed a chance to take a top three position - sixth. Julian Bailey grazed the tyre wall, but did a considerable amount of damage.

Now the rest of the field is fighting for the other places, as the rain suddenly appears. With only 15 minutes, this could give a funny result.
And it does: The Lamborghini is 15th, Kumpen is 16th, and so on...

“Using my old tires from the morning session gave me a little advantage on the cold track,” said Ortelli after qualifying. Both Peter and Riccitelli were on brand new tires that gave them less grip. But Peter is very confident for the race: “My teammate Werner and I know the track and are both very fast in the rain, we’re optimistic for the race.”

Riccitelli tells us that he "hopes to get support from the other Porsches in our title chase.”

Weight of the car is one thing but “with my personal 20 kilos more than Mike (Hezemans) the difference between our cars is down to 40 kilos,” jokes Sebastian Bleekemolen. Both Dutch drivers were very pleased with the result, surely after the soccer result of Holland, last week, against Ireland.