Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From Crash.net:
Corvette takes maiden pole at Imola
SATURDAY 28TH MAY 2005
Longin/Kumpen/Hezemans
Scorching heat and scorching times around the Imola circuit were the main feature of qualifying for the fourth round of the 2005 FIA GT Championship and, for the first time, a Corvette will start from pole.
Mike Hezemans set the best time of the day in the GLPK Carsport car, building on recent strong performances to keep Ferrari and Maserati off top spot. The Italian marques will start second and third but, with the top eleven cars qualifying within 1.7secs of pole, Sunday's race promises to be fascinating.
Hezemans set a time of 1min 45.835secs towards the end of the first qualifying session, and the target proved sufficient for the Dutchman to claim his eighth FIA GT pole, but the first since 2003, when he was running one of the venerable Chrysler Vipers.
"It's nice to be on pole, as the last one was a long time ago," Hezemans admitted, "This track really suits us, as you don't need so much top speed here. And Pirelli won here last year, so everything is working out. The lap was not easy, though, as I set it late in the session, and there was a lot of traffic."
Hezemans was less confident when asked about his prospects for the race, but admitted that he was hoping to stay in the top three.
"We hope the car will not break down, and we can go the full distance," he smiled, "It's difficult to say whether we can win, but I think we can aim for a podium."
Behind the yellow C5-R, qualifying proved to be extremely close and exciting, with the top eight cars within 1.1secs, and four different makes featuring in the top six. The Corvette will start alongside the #11 Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello, with Pedro Lamy setting a time nearly three-tenths slower than the US musclecar.
Third place went to the #16 JMB Maserati MC12, with Philipp Peter lapping in a time of 1min 46.227secs to confirm the benefit of running with little ballast. The top three cars were among the lightest in the category, with only the Larbre car carrying ballast - and only 10kg at that.
The leading trio were followed by the #9 Vitaphone Maserati, putting in an amazing performance to claim fourth despite having 80kg penalty weight on board. The Russian Age Racing Ferrari was fifth, despite a continuing electrical problem this weekend, while the #7 Graham Nash Saleen took sixth - its best qualifying of the season.
The GruppeM battle in GT2 temporarily swung in favour of the #88 car, with Emmanuel Collard taking his second pole of the season to move 3-1 ahead of the Marc Lieb/Mike Rockenfeller combo.
"We had a really good set-up and are happy with our race pace too," the Frenchman said afterwards, having set a time of 1min 51.082secs. The #66 sister car currently carries 50kg penalty weight - 35kg more than the Collard/Sugden entry - and set a time around seven-tenths slower than their team-mates, albeit second in class, split from the #88 by the GT1 class GNM Saleen of Becker and Hermann.
Both GruppeM cars qualified ahead of the #74 Ebimotors Porsche which, with Luigi Moccia setting a time of 1min 53.171secs, too third in class. The Lammertink Racing Porsche driven by Wolfgang Kaufmann and Luca Moro was fourth, but much further down the order, with several GT1 cars and the best of the G2 runners between it and the Ebimotors entry.
The Balfe Motorsport Mosler was the fastest in G2, setting a time of 1min 52.572secs and slotting in just behind the two GruppeM Porsches.
"It's gone really well," Shaun Balfe said afterwards, "It's my first visit to the circuit and I was surprised, but pleased, with my time during the first free practice session and through qualifying.
"We've got some new parts on the car for this weekend, which is helping the braking and a few other areas. We are still trying to narrow the gap to the GruppeM cars, but I don't think they've got to worry just yet."
The second G2 car, the Vertigo Streiff, was penalised for using the wrong tyres in the first qualifying session, and had to set its time in the second, slower 45-minute session. However, as the car actually improved in the afternoon - one of the few cars to do so - although the Vertigo's position remains the same, 20th and just behind the Ebimotors car.
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Corvette takes maiden pole at Imola
SATURDAY 28TH MAY 2005
Longin/Kumpen/Hezemans
Scorching heat and scorching times around the Imola circuit were the main feature of qualifying for the fourth round of the 2005 FIA GT Championship and, for the first time, a Corvette will start from pole.
Mike Hezemans set the best time of the day in the GLPK Carsport car, building on recent strong performances to keep Ferrari and Maserati off top spot. The Italian marques will start second and third but, with the top eleven cars qualifying within 1.7secs of pole, Sunday's race promises to be fascinating.
Hezemans set a time of 1min 45.835secs towards the end of the first qualifying session, and the target proved sufficient for the Dutchman to claim his eighth FIA GT pole, but the first since 2003, when he was running one of the venerable Chrysler Vipers.
"It's nice to be on pole, as the last one was a long time ago," Hezemans admitted, "This track really suits us, as you don't need so much top speed here. And Pirelli won here last year, so everything is working out. The lap was not easy, though, as I set it late in the session, and there was a lot of traffic."
Hezemans was less confident when asked about his prospects for the race, but admitted that he was hoping to stay in the top three.
"We hope the car will not break down, and we can go the full distance," he smiled, "It's difficult to say whether we can win, but I think we can aim for a podium."
Behind the yellow C5-R, qualifying proved to be extremely close and exciting, with the top eight cars within 1.1secs, and four different makes featuring in the top six. The Corvette will start alongside the #11 Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello, with Pedro Lamy setting a time nearly three-tenths slower than the US musclecar.
Third place went to the #16 JMB Maserati MC12, with Philipp Peter lapping in a time of 1min 46.227secs to confirm the benefit of running with little ballast. The top three cars were among the lightest in the category, with only the Larbre car carrying ballast - and only 10kg at that.
The leading trio were followed by the #9 Vitaphone Maserati, putting in an amazing performance to claim fourth despite having 80kg penalty weight on board. The Russian Age Racing Ferrari was fifth, despite a continuing electrical problem this weekend, while the #7 Graham Nash Saleen took sixth - its best qualifying of the season.
The GruppeM battle in GT2 temporarily swung in favour of the #88 car, with Emmanuel Collard taking his second pole of the season to move 3-1 ahead of the Marc Lieb/Mike Rockenfeller combo.
"We had a really good set-up and are happy with our race pace too," the Frenchman said afterwards, having set a time of 1min 51.082secs. The #66 sister car currently carries 50kg penalty weight - 35kg more than the Collard/Sugden entry - and set a time around seven-tenths slower than their team-mates, albeit second in class, split from the #88 by the GT1 class GNM Saleen of Becker and Hermann.
Both GruppeM cars qualified ahead of the #74 Ebimotors Porsche which, with Luigi Moccia setting a time of 1min 53.171secs, too third in class. The Lammertink Racing Porsche driven by Wolfgang Kaufmann and Luca Moro was fourth, but much further down the order, with several GT1 cars and the best of the G2 runners between it and the Ebimotors entry.
The Balfe Motorsport Mosler was the fastest in G2, setting a time of 1min 52.572secs and slotting in just behind the two GruppeM Porsches.
"It's gone really well," Shaun Balfe said afterwards, "It's my first visit to the circuit and I was surprised, but pleased, with my time during the first free practice session and through qualifying.
"We've got some new parts on the car for this weekend, which is helping the braking and a few other areas. We are still trying to narrow the gap to the GruppeM cars, but I don't think they've got to worry just yet."
The second G2 car, the Vertigo Streiff, was penalised for using the wrong tyres in the first qualifying session, and had to set its time in the second, slower 45-minute session. However, as the car actually improved in the afternoon - one of the few cars to do so - although the Vertigo's position remains the same, 20th and just behind the Ebimotors car.
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Click here to go to Club Crash
