FIA GT News
R3 : Oschersleben Preview
The third round of the FIA GT Championship will see the teams and drivers head north, for the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. This will be the tenth time that the Championship will race at the twisting, challenging circuit, having been the first international series to race at the new track in 1998. And to celebrate, there will be a full weekend of action, both on and off the track.
As far as the 2009 season of the FIA GT Championship is concerned, the competition is fiercer than ever. Silverstone saw the domination of the Czech-entered K plus K Motorsport Saleen S7R, driven by 2008 Oschersleben victors Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp. But in Adria, for the traditional evening race, Vitaphone claimed a fine win with their Maserati MC 12 and has regained the lead in both Teams and Drivers Championships. For round 3, the other main contender in 2009, the Corvette Z06, has received bigger air restrictors from the GT Bureau. Could this mean we would have three different winning makes in three races ? The Corvette teams and drivers are sure to be aiming for this, including new Luc Alphand Aventures signing Thomas Biagi, who has won at the circuit in 2003, 2005 and 2007…
The GT2 category, as professional and competitive as ever, has seen two wins out of two races for Belgian team Prospeed Competition, and the Porsche 997 GT3 driven by Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook. However, with success comes penalty weight, and the nr 60 car will carry a total of 90 kg around Oschersleben’s corners. This may give the rest of the competitors an opportunity for success, including the other Porsches, the Ferrari 430 GT2 cars and Hexis Racing AMR with their Aston Martin V8 Vantage. First and foremost of those hoping to reach the top step of the podium will be AF Corse’s reigning Champions of Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni, who suffered a non-finish in Silverstone. Currently, their rookie team-mates, Alvaro Barba Lopez and Niki Cadei, are second in the classification, after two strong performances.
The FIA GT3 European Championship will be racing in Germany for the third time; the series has seen four different winners in the races held at the circuit so far, with Dodge, Aston Martin, Ford and Corvette stepping onto the top of the podium. So what will 2009 bring ? With more German teams and brands taking part than ever before, including the Audi R8 LMS and the BMW Alpina B6 GT3, there will be plenty of drivers aiming for home success. The classification is extremely close, with the top six drivers separated by just two points, led by Morgan drivers Gael Lesoudier and Maxime Martin. Whatever happens, with a large grid and extremely closely balanced cars, plenty of racing excitement is guaranteed.
As for the GT4 European Cup, Oschersleben is a regular stop on the series calendar. A number of brands will be racing at the German circuit for the first time, including the Ginetta G50, the Corvette C6 and the Donkervoort D8GT. Last year, it was the Nissan 350Z which dominated the German races. So far this year, the Ginetta has claimed three wins, before the BMW M3 GT4 won through in the second Adria race. Ginetta driver Joe Osbourne leads the points, but everything is still to play for in this action-packed series.
Completing the programme for this third race meeting of 2009, three single-seater series will complement the GT action, with a chance to see the stars of tomorrow in action. The Formul’Academy Euro Series will bring an international grid of youngsters for the first of two shared rounds with the FIA GT Championship. The Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup will also be in action, along with the ATS Formula 3 Cup
So for open or closed-wheel action, the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben is definitely the place to be from June 19th – 21st !
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