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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WORLD</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">14/11/2000</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Spanish GT Championship – Barcelona</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">A Double For Cirtek</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"> The final race of the increasingly popular Spanish Championship on November 11/12 saw a rare but deserved pair of wins for Hubert Haupt and Andre Ahrle in the Cirtek Porsche 911 GT2. This is the car that took victory at Daytona in January 1999, but has since been seen to struggle in Privilege and occasional FIA races.<BR> <BR> So why the change of form, Rob Schirle? “It’s all down to power and weight. In Britain we have to run 34.2mm restrictors at 1100 kg, but in Spain we could use 36.9s at 1050. I actually chose to run the restrictors we’ll use at Daytona, which are 35.9mm, so there was potentially even more pace available.” With Ahrle and Haupt (“Hubert was awesome”) at the wheel, the car had more than enough speed to see off the strongest Spanish field of the year. Was Cor Euser running at full speed though? The Dutchman had both of his Mantaras present, but his main objective was to secure another GT title for Marcos, which Balba Camino and Miguel de Castro duly managed thanks to fifth and second places in the two races.<BR> <BR> The Mantaras were first and second in Qualifying for the first race, the Cirtek Porsche down in seventh after gearbox problems. The Castello / Palau Lister was third quickest, with Dominique Dupuy fourth in his Viper and Kaufmann / Bouchut fifth in another GT2 Porsche. Mauro Guarnieri and Javier de Castro were 12th in the Mike Haines Esprit. Major change in Second Qualifying was the silver Porsche up to second on the grid.<BR> <BR> The Esprit was out after one lap of race one, having been hit up the back by a Mustang. This was one lap more than Kaufmann and Bouchut managed, and with the Lister out after 13 laps, Haupt and Ahrle came home 35 seconds ahead of Euser / Villaamil, with Dupuy and Miguel Barbany third. Euser took fastest lap, four tenths quicker than Haupt.<BR> <BR> Haupt disappeared at the start of race two. Five car lengths after one lap became more than the length of the Barcelona straight after five. The final result was closer though, the Porsche only six seconds ahead of the new Spanish GT Champions, with the Lister third and Dupuy fourth. Euser and partner were a lap down in ninth. Haupt’s best lap was over a second quicker than anyone else. So what do you do now, Rob Schirle? “We’re getting the car ready to go to Adelaide for Shane Lewis and Vic Rice, then it will be Daytona, where David Warnock will join Haupt and Ahrle to try and win the class again.” PS. On hearing that the car he part owns has at last won another race, Warnock apparently made the remark, “It’s about time.” So we can expect Warnock to pressure the BRDC to increase the Porsche’s restrictors, can we? Er, no, probably not.</FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>