FIA GT race: Rydell/Kox convert pole
Prodrive Allstars' Rickard Rydell and Peter Kox turned their pole position into a race win at the A1-Ring in Austria on Sunday, their Ferrari 550 Maranello completing the three-hour race 48 seconds clear of Mike Hezemans and Jeroen Bleekemolen's Carsport Holland Viper
It was no mean an easy win for the Prodrive duo, however, with the Ferrari swapping the lead with the Lister Storm of Jamie Campbell-Walter and Tom Coronel for much of the early stages of the race.
However when Coronel pulled off the track on lap 63 with his car in flames, Rydell and Kox were virtually assured of victory in only the car's second race.
"It's fantastic," enthused Kox. "My win with Prodrive comes two years late, because I wanted to win in the BTCC with them. But I think Prodrive did a fantastic job, they have worked tremendously hard and showed what they are capable of."
The second Carsport Holland Viper of Sebastiaan and Michael Bleekemolen came home third, ensuring that five Dutch drivers made it onto the podium. So what's the collective noun for a group of Bleekemolens? Answers on a postcard...
Julian Bailey and Nicolaus Springer came home fourth in their Lister Storm, with FIA GT champions Christophe Bouchut and Jean-Philippe Belloc rounding out the top five, two laps back.
In the NGT class it looked as though the Porsche of Luca Ricitelli and Dieter Quester were going to take a comfortable win. But with half an hour of the race remaining their car suffered a serious leak of cooling liquid, forcing the pair to retire. That left the way for David Terrien and Christian Pescatori to take the win, leaving a Ferrari at the top in both classes.
Rickard Rydell/Peter Kox Prodrive Allstars Ferrari 550 Maranello 3h00m09.952s, 115 laps
Mike Hezemans/Jeroen Bleekemolen, Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper, +48.525s
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen/Michael Bleekemolen, Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper, +54.428s
Julian Bailey/Nicolaus Springer, Lister Storm, +1m31.465
Christophe Bouchut/Jean-Philippe Belloc, Larbre Chrysler Viper, +2 laps
Anthony Kumpen/Paul Belmondo, Chrysler Viper GTS-R, +2 laps
David Terrien/Christian Pescatori, JMB Competition Ferrari 360 Modena
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