San Luis track delights GT1 drivers

The San Luis venue attracted plenty of praise when it was first used in the FIA GT Championship two years ago, but will be a new experience for most of this year's leading GT1 drivers.

Darren Turner, who races for the Young Driver Aston Martin team, described the 3.96-mile track around a lake in an extinct volcanic crater as "like Spa with walls" and "a place that takes your breath away". He said the track, near the city of San Luis, "was right up there in my list of top 10 circuits".

Sumo Power Nissan driver Peter Dumbreck said after the opening free practice session: "It's like Macau because you are constantly s****ing yourself as you try to keep it out of the wall. It's definitely an interesting track that has a bit of everything."

"An amazing place" was Reiter Lamborghini driver Peter Kox's description of a circuit revived after more than 20 years for the FIA GT Championship fixture in 2008.

"When I arrived, I thought what the hell is this?" he said, "but when I got out there, I thought this is fantastic. It's a real challenge."

The inaugural GT1 world series will be decided over two races on Sunday. Vitaphone Maserati drivers Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels lead the championship by 28 points, with 33 points up for grabs.