Wendlinger takes pole at Monza
Karl Wendlinger gave the Jetalliance squad their first FIA GT pole with a stunning display at Monza today
The former Formula One racer set two laps that were good enough for top spot in the team's Aston Martin DBR9 and his best effort was a full half-second clear of the field.
Wendlinger and British co-driver Ryan Sharp had been quick throughout practice and Wendlinger believed the Aston would be strong. "We're very good under braking, have good downforce through the fast corners and are quick down the straights, which is what you need at Monza," he said after beating Peter Kox into second.
Kox took the runner-up position by the narrowest of margins. His 1:45.463 lap in the All-Inkl.com Lamborghini Murcielago was just one thousandth of a second faster than a late effort by Christian Montanari, who was the fastest of the Maserati runners. Alessandro Pier Guidi was the other Maserati star, qualifying fourth in his Scuderia Playteam car.
Having been quickest overall in practice, Mike Hezemans seemed to have secured pole early on in Carsport Holland's Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. But he then failed to get anywhere near his 1:45.595 lap, set on his first flyer, and he slipped to fifth as others improved.
Anthony Kumpen rounded out the top six in Peka Racing's older Corvette. The C5-R clearly still has the pace to challenge the frontrunners and Kumpen, like Hezemans, set his time early on.
The GT2 pole was also taken by a newcomer. Racing Team Edil Cris took their first FIA GT2 pole thanks to Paolo Roberti's last flying lap. The Ferrari 430 driver just pipped the similar machine of Dirk Muller in the final moments of the session by less than a tenth of a second. Muller was nevertheless happy with his effort, set with 78kg of success ballast.
Pos Drivers Car Time 1. Wendlinger/Sharp Aston Martin DBR9 1:44.945 2. Menten/Kox Lamborghini Murcielago 1:45.463 + 0.518 3. Ramos/Montanari Maserati MC12 GT1 1:45.464 + 0.519 4. Giannoccaro/Pier Guidi Maserati MC12 GT1 1:45.509 + 0.564 5. Deletraz/Hezemans Corvette C6R 1:45.595 + 0.650 6. Kumpen/Longin Corvette C5R 1:45.715 + 0.770 7. Bartels/Biagi Maserati MC12 GT1 1:45.738 + 0.793 8. Babini/Davies Aston Martin DBR9 1:45.746 + 0.801 9. Bertolini/Piccini Maserati MC12 GT1 1:45.775 + 0.830 10. Lichtner-Hoyer/Lechner Aston Martin DBR9 1:45.915 + 0.970 11. Toccacelo/Monfardini Aston Martin DBR9 1:46.099 + 1.154 12. Peter/Hines Corvette C6R 1:46.857 + 1.912 13. Bouchut/Mucke Lamborghini Murcielago 1:47.364 + 2.419 14. Kessel/Case Ferrari 575 Maranello 1:48.391 + 3.446 15. Jakubowski/Labhardt Ferrari 550 Maranello 1:48.920 + 3.975 16. MacAri/Aucott Maserati MC12 GT1 1:49.315 + 4.370 17. Cloet/Casadei Corvette C5R 1:50.433 + 5.488 18. Ruberti/Pasini Ferrari 430 GT2 1:50.959 + 6.014 19. Vilander/Muller Ferrari 430 GT2 1:51.017 + 6.072 20. Bruni/Ortelli Ferrari 430 GT2 1:51.028 + 6.083 21. Busnelli/Zani Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 1:51.206 + 6.261 22. Machitski/Edwards Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 1:51.541 + 6.596 23. Vannelet/Engelhorn Corvette C5R 1:51.579 + 6.634 24. Cressoni/Rugolo Ferrari 430 GT2 1:51.718 + 6.773 25. Collard/Malucelli Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 1:51.929 + 6.984 26. Mullen/Enge Ferrari 430 GT2 1:52.628 + 7.683 27. Waaijenberg/Kutemann Maserati MC12 GT1 1:53.251 + 8.306 28. Niarchos/Kirkaldy Ferrari 430 GT2 1:54.634 + 9.689 29. Penders/Lamot Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 1:55.487 + 10.542 30. Carcone/Stepec Chrysler Viper GTS-R 1:55.671 + 10.726
Share Or Save This Story
Autosport magazine: Verstappen’s future and the challenge of F1
Recalling the start of a new F1 era
Top 10 worst follow-ups to title-winning F1 cars
BTCC Brands Hatch: De Leon and Ingram looking strong in free practice
The real reason Verstappen is drawn to GT3 racing
MotoGP French GP: Bagnaia takes surprise pole in Ducati 1-2
Verstappen outlines his ideal future for Formula 1
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments