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Lamborghini take first ever win

Lamborghini took their first ever FIA GT Championship race victory in the 2007 season-opener at Zhuhai

Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mucke's surprise triumph was partly a tactical one - having made early pit stops, they were able to leap to the front of the field when the leaders had to pit during a late safety car.

But once ahead, the Lamborghini had the pace to edge away from the chasing Philipp Peter/Luke Hines PSI Corvette in the final 16 laps and secure the win.

The Mike Hezemans/Jean-Denis Deletraz Corvette had led the early laps before being overhauled first by the polesitting Vitaphone Maserati of Thomas Biagi and Michael Bartels, then the older sister Corvette driven by Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen.

The latter car then emerged at the head of the field after the first stops, and resisted the chasing Maserati until the final pit sequence turned the order inside out.

Kumpen and Longin salvaged third place, but the Phoenix/Carsport Corvette and Vitaphone crews had to settle for fifth and sixth, behind Fabio Babini and Jamie Davies in the best of the Aston Martins.

The Scuderia Playteam Maserati squad also had a shot at victory early on, despite their lead car being spun at the first corner of the race. Second string pairing Alessandro Pier Guidi and Giambattista Giannoccaro moved into the top three before retiring after running out of fuel.

The GT2 order was shuffled by a first corner accident that delayed several of the main contenders. Emmanuel Collard and Matteo Malucelli fought back through the field and appeared to have taken the class win in the Scuderia Italia Porsche, only for the car to fail scrutineering due to a ground clearance issue.

The AF Corse Ferraris therefore moved up to take a GT2 one-two, with Dirk Muller and Toni Vilander leading home teammates Gianmaria Bruni and Stephane Ortelli.

Results:

Pos  Cl   Drivers                 Make                            Time
 1.  GT1  Bouchut/Mucke           Lamborghini Murcielago  2h 00:47.212
 2.  GT1  Peter/Hines             Corvette C6R                 + 2.453
 3.  GT1  Kumpen/Longin           Corvette C5R                 + 4.110
 4.  GT1  Babini/Davies           Aston Martin DBR9           + 10.230
 5.  GT1  Hezemans/Deletraz       Corvette C6R                + 11.833
 6.  GT1  Biagi/Bartels           Maserati MC12 GT1           + 13.982
 7.  GT1  Montanari/Ramos         Maserati MC12 GT1           + 15.526
 8.  GT1  Kane/Cocker             Aston Martin DBR9            + 1 LAP
 9.  GT1  Wendlinger/Sharp        Aston Martin DBR9            + 1 LAP
DSQ  GT2  Collard/Malucelli       Porsche 997 GT3 RSR          + 1 LAP
11.  GT2  Muller/Vilander         Ferrari 430 GT2              + 1 LAP
12.  GT1  Mondini/Monfardini      Aston Martin DBR9            + 1 LAP
13.  GT1  Kox/Menten              Lamborghini Murcielago      + 2 LAPS
14.  GT2  Bruni/Ortelli           Ferrari 430 GT2             + 2 LAPS
15.  GT2  Mullen/Enge             Ferrari 430 GT2             + 2 LAPS
16.  GT1  Lechner/Lichtner-Hoyer  Aston Martin DBR9           + 3 LAPS
17.  GT1  Macari/Aucott           Maserati MC12 GT1           + 3 LAPS
18.  GT2  Zani/Busnelli           Porsche 997 GT3 RSR         + 3 LAPS
19.  GT2  Kirkaldy/Niarchos       Ferrari 430 GT2             + 4 LAPS
20.  GT2  Edwards/Machitski       Porsche 997 GT3 RSR         + 4 LAPS

     Not Classified:

     G2   Leinders/Kuppens        Gillet Vertigo                D.N.F.
     GT1  Bertolini/Piccini       Maserati MC12 GT1             D.N.F.
     GT1  Pier Guidi/Giannoccaro  Maserati MC12 GT1             D.N.F.
     GT2  Basseng/Ried            Porsche 996 GT3 RSR           D.N.F.

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