First win of 2009 for AF Corse
Bruni, second on the grid, made a good start to take the lead. Ragginger, in the Brixia Porsche, took advantage of traffic to regain the lead, but the AF Corse Ferrari maintained position and really came to the fore once the rain started. With ‘rainman’ Toni Vilander behind the wheel, the nr 50 Ferrari was in command, Bruni taking over again at the end and bringing the car across the line with a 16-second lead over the nearest Porsche. This was the nr 61 Prospeed Competition car of Marco Holzer and Sean Edwards, the youngest driver pair on the grid. They put in a strong race to finish second despite an extra pit stop. ”I am really happy to win,” Toni Vilander commented. I feel bad for car nr 60, but it was good for us. That’s racing. The Championship is completely open again, with two points separating us, so from Spa on it will be flat out, and we’ll have to see who is the next to make a mistake.”
As for Edwards and Holzer, they were delighted with the result. “We were just pushing all the time. The car was great, with just a bit of understeer, but the conditions were really difficult. It was my first time with the Prospeed team and they did a great job, and we were a great pairing. I’m very happy with second.”
Third place went to the nr 80 Hexis Racing AMR Aston Martin V8 Vantage, claiming its first FIA GT podium finish and giving the category a rare sight of three makes in the top three. The car may have struggled in the dry, but was consistently fast in the difficult conditions, Mücke and Makowiecki behind the wheel. “Everybody is happy,” Stefan Mücke commented. “We never thought we’d finish in third position. The podium is a very good finish for Aston Martin and for Hexis Racing AMR, so everybody did a good job. The car still needs to improve. It is very good and competitive in the wet, but about 1 second off the pace in the dry. We know exactly in which direction we have to go, and it’s good for the future.”
AF CORSE CLOSE THE GAP IN THE POINTS
Aiming for a fourth consecutive title, Italian team AF Corse moved a step closer to the dominant team so far this season, Prospeed Competition, with their win in Germany. Bruni and Vilander now have 18 points, two behind double race winners Collard and Westbrook. The top of the tables are dominated by the two teams, as Prospeed’s Marco Holzer is third, two points behind the AF Corse leaders, while AF Corse’s second crew are currently fourth, on equal points with CRS Racing’s Bell and Kirkaldy.
In the Teams points, Prospeed have a seven-point lead over AF Corse, with CRS Racing a further ten points behind. As for the Manufacturers, Ferrari has 61 points, 13 ahead of Porsche, while Aston Martin has 8.
Text and photos: www.fiagt.com
Updated 22.6.2009
