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Turner/Enge win Interlagos race one

Young Driver Aston Martin duo Darren Turner and Tomas Enge maintained their slender GT1 World Championship title hopes by winning the Interlagos qualification race

Turner had pressured Xandi Negrao in the polesitting Vitaphone Maserati throughout the first stint, and then the Young Driver squad vaulted its car ahead as the two leaders pitted in unison just before half-distance.

Enge was subsequently able to edge away from Negrao's team-mate Enrique Bernoldi even before the Brazilian was given a late drive-through penalty for a pit procedure infringement - a crew member having thrown a tyre back into the garage during the stop rather than carrying it as the rules stipulate.

Bernoldi's delay elevated Sumo Power Nissan's Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck to second after a late tussle with the #10 Hexis Aston of Clivio Piccione and Jonathan Hirschi. Bernoldi fought back past the Nicky Pastorelli/Dominik Schwager All-Inkl Lamborghini to snatch fourth with two laps to go.

Championship leaders Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels were able to come through from 19th on the grid to finish eighth in the #1 Vitaphone Maserati, which still leaves them well-placed to clinch the title in tomorrow's main event, as their closest rivals had difficult afternoons.

Matech Ford's Thomas Mutsch was a very early retirement after clashing with Frank Kechele in the Reiter Lamborghini under braking for the Senna S, leaving Mutsch still 35 points behind Bertolini and Bartels with 58 available in the remaining races, while Turner and Enge are now 44 points down.

Phoenix Corvette driver Marc Hennerici could not reduce his 46-point gap to the #1 Vitaphone crew as he and team-mate Alex Margaritis were only sixth. Margaritis had been running in a four-car lead pack in the opening laps before being spun back to seventh in a tangle with Pastorelli.

Pos  Drivers                 Car               Time/Gap
 1.  Enge/Turner             Aston Martin  1h01m33.367s
 2.  Dumbreck/Krumm          Nissan            + 9.032s
 3.  Piccione/Hirschi        Aston Martin      + 9.736s
 4.  Bernoldi/Negrao         Maserati         + 22.763s
 5.  Schwager/Pastorelli     Lamborghini      + 24.814s
 6.  Hennerici/Margaritis    Corvette         + 27.297s
 7.  Jani/Armindo            Ford             + 27.390s
 8.  Bertolini/Bartels       Maserati         + 38.750s
 9.  Kox/Haase               Lamborghini      + 39.093s
10.  Heger/Muller            Maserati         + 42.679s
11.  Martin/Leinders         Ford             + 44.169s
12.  Nygaard/Mucke           Aston Martin     + 45.213s
13.  Ara/Nilsson             Nissan           + 56.430s
14.  Campbell-Walter/Hughes  Nissan           + 58.497s
15.  Makowiecki/Clairay      Aston Martin   + 1m01.422s
16.  Serra/Longo             Maserati       + 1m04.615s
17.  Wendlinger/Moser        Nissan         + 1m13.685s
18.  Huisman/Kuismanen       Corvette           + 1 lap
19.  Jimenez/Dahruj          Corvette           + 1 lap

Retirements:

     Bobbi/Palttala          Ford          36 laps
     Zonta/Kechele           Lamborghini   2 laps
     Westbrook/Mutsch        Ford          2 laps

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