FIA GT1 / Nürburgring – Lamborghini premiere

The qualifying race for the penultimate round of the FIA ​​GT1 world championship, at the Nürburgring, was contrasting to say the least for Hans Reiter, the boss of Reiter Engineering. On the first lap, at the wheel of the No. 24 Lamborghini Gallardo, Jeroen Bleekemolen made a mistake and pulverized his car into the piles of tires. The Dutchman is unhurt, and the safety car appears for around twenty minutes.

At the restart, Stef Dusseldorp (McLaren MP4-12C Hexis Racing n°1) maintains the advantage of its pole position, and even opens up a small gap on the two Audi R8 LMS WRTs. Alas, the Dutchman had to abandon his machine following what appeared to be a broken wishbone. The two Audis find themselves in the lead, with an advantage for that of Ortelli-Vanthoor. But at the end of the pit stops, it was Peter Kox, at the wheel of the #25 Lamborghini Gallardo, who came out on top. After a good first stint from Stefen Rosina, the mechanics made a quick pit stop.

Kox will not give in, and will go, without trembling, to offer Lamborghini and Reiter Engineering a first victory this year. The podium is completed by the pair Stéphane Ortelli-Laurens Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS n°32) and by the duo Marc Basseng-Marcus Winkelhock (Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 n°38). In the final laps of the race, Basseng held off an unleashed Yelmer Buurman at the wheel of his Vita4One Racing BMW Z3 GT4. The Hexis Racing McLaren MP4-12C of Grégoire Demoustier-Alvaro Parente closes the top five.