KplusK Saleen wins FIA GT opener

The Austrian and the Scot easily had the fastest car in the form of the KplusK Motorsport Saleen S7R, but ended up having to work hard for their victory in the opening FIA GT Championship round.

Quicker pitstops by the Vitaphone Maserati squad and a mid-race safety-car period that fell kindly for the German team meant that Wendlinger had to come from behind in the closing stages to seal the win.

Wendlinger emerged from the final round of pitstops on the heels of Andrea Bertolini's Maserati MC12. The former FIA GT champion spent three laps on the Maserati's tail before driving past through Vale when Bertolini was held up by a GT2 car.

"It wasn't always easy," said Wendlinger. "There was always pressure from the Vitaphone car behind us. I got a bit lucky behind Andrea because he was blocked by a GT2 car."

The Maserati, co-driven by Vitaphone team boss Michael Bartels, ended up five and a half seconds behind at the finish.

The third-placed Luc Alphand Aventures Chevrolet Corvette C6.R driven by Guillaume Moreau and Xavier Massen was a further 20 seconds behind at the finish.

GT2 honours went to the ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3-RSR driven by Richard Westbrook and Emmanuel Collard. The Belgian-run Porsche battled with the lead AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT for much of the race, but ended up inheriting a clear victory when Gianmaria Risi retired the Ferrari with suspension damage in the closing stages.

Pos  Cl   Drivers                  Car                 Time
 1.  GT1  Wendlinger/Sharp         Saleen S7           2h00m10.556s
 2.  GT1  Bertolini/Bartels        Maserati MC 12       +    5.499s
 3.  GT1  Moreau/Maassen           Corvette Z06         +   25.956s
 4.  GT1  Hezemans/Kumpen          Corvette Z06         +   30.564s
 5.  GT1  Lacko/Dominguez          Saleen S7            +   59.628s
 6.  GT1  Longin/Ruffier           Corvette Z06         + 1m43.824s
 7.  GT1  Menten/Palttala          Corvette Z06         +     1 lap
 8.  GT1  Mutsch/Biagi             Ford GT              +     1 lap
 9.  GT1  Hines/Lemeret            Saleen S7            +     1 lap
10.  GT1  Leinders/Kuppens         Ford GT              +    2 laps
11.  GT2  Westbrook/Collard        Porsche 911 GT3 RS   +    3 laps
12.  GT2  Russo/Perez Companc      Ferrari 430          +    3 laps
13.  GT2  Bell/Kirkaldy            Ferrari 430          +    3 laps
14.  GT2  Malucelli/Ruberti        Ferrari 430          +    3 laps
15.  GT2  Barba Lopez/Cadei        Ferrari 430          +    3 laps
16.  GT2  O'Young/Holzer           Porsche 911 GT3 RS   +    3 laps
17.  GT2  Mucke/Makowiecki         Aston Martin V8      +    4 laps
18.  GT2  Ragginger/Lucchini       Porsche 911 GT3 RS   +    4 laps
19.  GT2  Mullen/Niarchos          Ferrari 430          +    4 laps
20.  GT2  Heyer/Romanini           Ferrari 430          +    4 laps
21.  G3C  Alexander-David/Lagniez  Corvette Z06 GT3     +    7 laps

Retirements:

     GT2  Bruni/Vilander           Ferrari 430          53 laps
     GT1  Monfardini/Orts          Saleen S7            39 laps
     GT1  Muller/Ramos             Maserati MC 12       28 laps
     GT1  Krumm/Turner             Nissan GT-R          28 laps
     GT2  Sugden/Ashburn           Porsche 911 GT3 RS   24 laps