The FIA GT1 World Championship is going to set history this weekend, as its next round will be the first FIA world event to take place on a circuit in Russia. The premire reflects the growing interest of Russians for motorsports and the importance that this huge market is taking in the automotive world and motor racing. A brand new circuit means unknown territory for everyone and this may bring very interesting and open races. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT sees this situation as an opportunity to do well and return to the podium, something that was shortly missed at the last event at the Slovakiaring, despite the excellent work of Stphane Ortelli-Laurens Vanthoor, Frank Stippler-Oliver Jarvis and the entire team. The Belgian Audis R8 are really eager to get back where they should be
Located in Volokolamskiy, 70 km North-West from the Red Square, the Moscow Raceway was inaugurated only a few weeks ago, with an event of the World Series FR 3.5, and it is hoped that the unavoidable technical problems that arose in that first event have been solved. The track is 3,931 meters long and has been designed by international expert Herman Tilke. No surprise, then, that it is a mix of fast and slower sections, with corners of almost all typology. We will have to see how it works with GT cars in terms of rhythm, says Laurens Vanthoor, if the succession of braking and acceleration is not too harsh, it should suit the Audis. The young Belgian, as his team mates, has tried to learn as much as possible about this unknown track, using TV footage and simulations, but has the advantage of having received direct advice from former single-seater colleagues that raced there in the inaugural event.
We expect to be faced with some difficulties and it cant be otherwise when you go to a brand new circuit, in a country where there is still little tradition of competition and event organization at this level, explains WRT Sports Director Pierre Dieudonn, Logistics are not easy either. It has been a long journey for our trucks, which traveled on convoy and under escort with the trucks of the other teams from the Russian border to the circuit, but so far everything is under control. Weather conditions may also play a role, as predictions point to rainy and cold weather.
The objective, for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, is to do well and to aim at the podium. We had a good pace in Slovakia two weeks ago and only external factors prevented to be on the podium, continues Dieudonn, I hope we can capitalize on that. The small weight compensations announced by the FIA ahead of this round could help, although they do not solve the fundamental issues with the balance of performance. What is sure is that, contrarily to others, our fighting spirit is intact. We are not in the best position in the two championships, but as long as we can make it, well fight for them!
The event will follow an unusual 2-day format schedule, with both the Qualifying Race and the Championship Race taking place on Sunday, at 9:15 and 13:15 respectively (in Central European time, which runs two hours behind Moscows time. Also to be noted is that as from this race the FIA GT1 World and the FIA GT3 Europe are merging grids.
GT1 World - Round 7Moscow Raceway, Russia1-2 September 2012
Timetable (Local time = CET +2)
Saturday 1st September 201209:00-10:20 (07:00-07:20) Free Practice 111:50-13:10 (09:50-11:10) Practice 215:15-16:15 (13:15-14:15) Qualifying
Sunday 2nd September 201209:00-09:30 (07:00-07:30) Warm-up11:15-12:15 (09:15-10:15) Race 1 (Qualifying Race)15:15-16:15 (13:15-14:15) Race 2 (Championship Race)
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra#32 Stphane Ortelli (MC)Laurens Vanthoor (BE) #33 Frank Stippler (DE)Oliver Jarvis (GB)
Drivers Championship Standings after Race 12 of 18
1. Bartels-Buurman 121 points2. Winkelhock-Basseng 1053. Dusseldork-Makowieck 824. Pastorelli 805. Ortelli-Vanthoor 706. Jarvis-Stippler 567. Vilander-Salaquarda 55Teams Championship Standings after Race 12 of 18
1. All-Inkl Mnnich Motorsport 185 points2. Vita4One Racing Team 166 3. Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 1264. Hexis Racing 107 5. AF Corse 736. Reiter Engineering 52