Prospeed take seconed podium in a row at Paul Ricard
Daniel Keilwitz and
Christian Hohenadel took another win to score a maximum 50 points in
the two FIA GT3 European Championship races at Paul Ricard.
Keilwitz crossed the line in the nr101 Callaway Competition Corvette
Z06R GT3 ahead of championship rival Joakim Lambotte in the nr16 Graff
Racing Corvette, with Paul Van Splunteren finishing on the podium for
the second time in two races in the nr61 Prospeed Competition Porsche
911 GT3-R. The top 3 cars were covered by just 1.8 seconds at the
end of the 60-minute race. The race started with Diego Alessi in the Chad Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderia making a charge from 14th on the grid to exit the first corner in 2nd place. Two corners later the nr2 Hexis AMR Aston Martin DBRS9 of Thomas Accary was tapped into a spin and then hit by the unfortunate Jerome Policand in the nr10 Team S-Berg Racing BMW Alpina B6 GT3, who had no chance of avoiding the stationary Aston Martin bringing out the red flag.
The racing resumed with the leading Porsche being passed by the second placed Ferrari. However Alessi was judged to have strayed beyond the track limits at the initial race start and had to serve a drive through penalty, dropping the Italian out of contention.
The nr16 Graff Racing Corvette of Mike Parisy was, having passed Marco Holzer's Porsche, now at the head of the field, with the Need for Speed by Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4 of Edward Sandstrom in 3rd as the pit stop window approached. Championship leader Christian Hohenadel was the first to pit in the nr101 Callaway Corvette from 6th place to hand over to Daniel Keilwitz as the other front runners elected to stay out as long as possible.
With the pitstops complete the Graff racing Corvette, with Joakim Lambotte at the wheel, was still in the lead, followed by the Prospeed Porsche of Paul Van Splunteren, the Schubert BMW of Patrick Soderland and Keilwitz in the Callaway Corvette. Daniel Keilwitz moved ahead of the BMW and then the Porsche to get on terms with the leader. On lap 19 Soderland's BMW slowed and pulled off the track with a punctured left rear tyre, leaving Van Splunteren in 3rd.
The nr101 Corvette closed on
the leader and on lap 21 was right behind the nr16 Corvette as they
crossed the line. Keilwitz jinked left, then right and swept
around the outside of Lambotte's Corvette at the first corner to take
the lead. The top three cars then held station until the last lap
when Van Splunteren saw an opportunity as Lambotte stuggled on worn
tyres. The Dutch driver attacked but Lambotte held onto his hard
won second place and at the flag the top three cars crossed the line
just 1.8 seconds apart. Fourth place went to Csaba Walter in the
nr77 Need for Speed by Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4, who had to hold off
a determined challenge by Siso Cunill in the nr25 Argo Racing
Lamborghini Gallardo, the two drivers separated by 0.1 seconds at the
chequered flag. Christian Hohenadel - nr101 Callaway Competition Corvette Z06R GT3 – Winners
“I got stuck in the traffic at the start. I think the cars around me slept a bit in the start, and I got stuck behind the Lamborghini and Marco. Then Diego came up on the left side and I ended up 7th on the first lap. Having the safety car and managing to save the tyres for a bit was key to my stint I think. I think we went very good. I got stuck behind Albert von Thurn und Taxis. I was quite a bit faster, but I didn’t want to wear out the tyres so that Daniel had a good set. We waited and Daniel did a perfect job, to get from 4th to 1st.”
Daniel Keilwitz - nr101 Callaway Competition Corvette Z06R GT3 – Winners
“Things are looking really good for us. We’ve been lucky every time. Christian wasn’t pushing too hard and saved the tyres so I could push at the end and get in front again. It was a perfect race for us. Things were down to the tyres. I don’t know how Mike pushed with his tyres. I saw that Joakim was breaking earlier in the corners than me, so I went around the outside. It was also fair for him, he wasn’t blocking so hard on the inside.”
Mike Parisy - nr16 Graff Racing Corvette Z06R GT3 – 2nd place
“I had a very good start. And then I saw the Ferrari on my left at the last moment, so I tried to take it in the corner. I had the first position after Marco was faster than me in the first lap. During the safety car I tried to keep my tyres hot, and at the beginning of the second start, I took the first position. It was very difficult in the car, but it was better than yesterday. I kept 1st place. The fight was very hard, but I was proud of my race. The team, Graff Racing, did a very good job. It’s difficult for us, because the second driver of the other Corvette is very fast. We’re going to try to keep the second position. We’ll see. This operation hasn’t been good for us this weekend, but we have to be present to be strong and we’re going to continue to work with Joakim to improve.”
Joakim Lambotte - nr16 Graff Racing Corvette Z06R GT3 – 2nd place
“It was very hot in our car. Mike did a great job, as usual. I’m very lucky to be with him. I’m a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to keep the 1st position. I think the Callaway car was better than ours today. I was following them. I didn’t know how to save the tyres, and the setup could have been better, but they were faster. I think it was a very fair race. It’s a bad operation for us for the championship, but at least we’re on the podium. I’m very proud of all my team. We were showing that a new team in the FIA GT3 can win. And I want to congratulate the Callaway Corvette car.”
Marco Holzer - nr61 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R – 3rd Place
“I made a little mistake at the start. I was in first gear and I was still on the limiter at the green light, so I had to shift into second. Then I lost the position. Before the back straight, I overtook the Corvette again. Then I was in the leading position behind the safety car. At the restart, I meant to accelerate, but at the end of the straight, the Ferrari was at my door and that surprised me. It was really quick. Then he went to the pit, and I was following a Corvette, and making a good speed. But they also ran a very good speed…I’m very happy after Jarama, to get a 2nd podium. Paul did a fantastic job, as did the team. I’m really happy.”
Paul Van Splunteren - nr61 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R – 3rd Place
“It was really close, and my problem is that I’m sometimes too polite in racing. That’s what my friends tell me. But we did the fair thing, and I didn’t’ want to hit him, or have the risk of running both cars off. Especially after Jarama, the first race incident. Maybe I could have pushed through, but in the end, the Corvettes are really difficult to catch. I drove my lungs out to catch him and to approach him in the last lap. It was fun, it was great. I’m very lucky to have Marco as a team mate, because he always puts out a fantastic race. The car was great, until the end. We were afraid of the tyres, because of the temperature. But the car felt good. We had a good set for the hour. It was great fun and I’m enjoying the fact we’ve made it to the podium. But this is about it with our car. We just cannot get past the Corvettes.”
