Quotes from Oschersleben

Winner GT1: Fabio Babini, nr 10 Vitaphone Maserati MC12

“I’m very happy to win my first race this year. It’s important for Thomas and myself after not finishing at Spa. The car was really good for the whole race – it was easy to put in fast laps and overtake other cars.”

 

Winner GT1: Thomas Biagi, nr 10 Vitaphone Maserati MC12

“I have to say that this is a lucky place for me – I won here back in 2003. The team, the car and Pirelli tyres worked really well today. I had a good battle with the Corvette; once I got past them, I started to really push, and stretch out a gap.”

 

2nd in GT1: Andrea Bertolini, nr 15 JMB Maserati MC12

“Today was really unbelievable for us, starting from eighth – it almost feels like a victory. Karl and I now have a good lead in the Championship. It’s a fantastic result, especially since we were carrying 100kg.”

 

2nd in GT1: Karl Wendlinger, nr 15 JMB Maserati MC12

“I was trapped in traffic in the first stint – it’s not very easy to pass other cars here. So the team called me in early, to get some clear track. The car and tyres were very consistent through the whole stint. That let me push right to the end and put the Corvette under pressure, and I managed to pass Kumpen with two laps to go.”

 

3rd in GT1: Mike Hezemans, nr 6 GLPK Corvette C5-R

“I had a perfect car and perfect tyres for 50 minutes and I think that the Vitaphone Maseratis were on a slightly harder tyre than we were. Then I just had a little bit less grip and made a little mistake coming out of a corner when Fabio [Babini] overtook me. I enjoyed my stint ! It was good racing ! Then, in his stint, Bert had a collision with a GT2 car which spun into him. He came in earlier as the bodywork was damaged and Anthony had to do one hour and five minutes. We chose a soft tyre compound because we were lacking grip due to the accident. Everything was good until ten minutes to the end when Karl [Wendlinger] finally overtook him and we finished third.”

 

Winner GT2: Tim Sugden, nr 88 GruppeM Porsche 996

“At the start, I was really keen to get some cars between me and Mike; once I’d managed that, I just pushed as much as I could and pulled out a gap before the first stop. We’re very pleased to have secured the Teams’ Championship; it’s been a good effort from everyone through the whole year.”

 

Winner GT2: Emmanuel Collard, nr 88 GruppeM Porsche 996 GT3 RSR

“Our first stop wasn’t good, and I came out right behind Marc [Lieb]. It’s really difficult to overtake on this track, and we had a small contact. But after that, I could pull away and got a 20s gap.”

 

2nd in GT2: Mike Rockenfeller, nr 66 GruppeM Porsche 996 GT3 RSR

“The start is difficult when you have GT1 cars behind you on the grid, because they have more power, so Tim managed to get away at the start. They were quicker the whole weekend, because we have 75kg ballast; there was no chance to close the 20s gap.”

 

2nd in GT2: Marc Lieb, nr 66 GruppeM Porsche 996 GT3 RSR

“Our first stop was great, so we took the lead, and we were fighting for a few laps. Emmanuel [Collard] gave me a little push into Turn 2 and the car started to slide; I thought I could catch it, but he still had the power down and pushed me out of the corner – I nearly went into the gravel. They were quicker this weekend, but we got eight points today, and we will be down to 50kg for the next round.”

 

3rd in GT2: Christian Ried, nr 69 Proton Porsche 996 GT3 RS

“We had some problems this morning with the gearbox, but it was fine in the race, so thanks to the team for doing a good job in fixing it. The race was good for us; we had some problems at the front of the car, but it didn’t stop us, so overall we’re very lucky.”

 

Winner G2: Shaun Balfe, nr 101 Balfe Mosler MT900R

“This was our last race in the FIA GT Championship this season unfortunately. We’ve really enjoyed the season, and we’re trying to put together a programme to compete in all the rounds next season.”

 

4th in GT1: Jean-Marc Gounon, nr 5 Konrad Saleen S7 R

“It was a good result for us and I would really like to thank Franz Konrad for asking me to race for him, and to show that the Saleen still has good potential. The race went very well; we’re down on power compared to the Maserati cars, but the car was well-balanced, and the lap times were good right to the end.”

 

8th in GT1: Peter Kox, nr 13 Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT

“It’s a shame we didn’t get qualifying right, because that didn’t give us a good start to the race. Norman then had a spin in the early laps, and that left us a long way back. The car is really good on the tyres – maybe too good, because it took a while for them to start to work. I double-stinted and we didn’t change the tyres, to save some time in the stop – but then I had a puncture, and had to come in for new rear tyres. It was important to finish, and to show that the car can be competitive.”

 

9th in GT1: Laurence Pearce, team principal, nr 14 Lister Storm

“Liz had a few problems in her session; she had contact with another car, flat-spotted tyres, a spin and two penalties, so that compromised our race. We had a very competitive final stint – I think we only lost about 10 seconds to the lead car over the whole stint.”

 

DNF: Michael Bartels, nr 9 Vitaphone Maserati MC12

“The race was going really well through the first two stints. The 90kg ballast we carried meant the tyres started to go off after about 20 laps, which was expected. But at the end of the second stop, the car couldn’t start without an external battery, which isn’t allowed, so we had to come back in; and on that stop, the electrical system just failed, so we were out. It’s a shame, but it’s good that the Vitaphone team could take another win after our victory in Spa.”

 

Claudio Berro – Head of Maserati Racing

“Just as at Spa, this was a 1-2 for Maserati cars. It’s looking very good in both the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships. I’m very sorry for Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider – they were doing a fantastic job with 90kg ballast, and they deserved a good result.”

 

11th in GT1: Christophe Bouchut, nr 17 Russian Age Ferrari 550 Maranello

“The first hour was good, and we were able to fight with other cars, but even though I was a bit quicker, it was just too dangerous to try to overtake. But in the last five laps of each stint, the tyres had no grip.”

 

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