There are several to the grid for this weekend’s second round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Silverstone.
Practice began at the Home of British Motorsport’s new ‘Arena’ Circuit on Friday with just 23 cars after the withdrawal of the second Matech Competition Ford GT. The car didn’t race in the opening round in Abu Dhabi earlier this month after Natacha Gachnang was injured in a huge practice shunt, and it won’t race at Silverstone either after the Swiss squad withdrew its entry.
Five teams have also made changes to their driver line-ups.
The #25 Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago, raced by Brazilians Ricardo Zonta and Rafael Daniel in the opening round, will be shared 2007 Formula Renault NEC champion Frank Kechele and Polish driver Kuba Giermaziak this weekend. The pair have prior GT racing experience together in the German-based ADAC GT Masters series.
The #37 All-inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Murcielago also has a change, as Christophe Bouchut, unavailable for Abu Dhabi due to his American Le Mans Series commitments, replaces Thomas Jager alongside Marc Basseng.
Another man returning from ALMS duty is Oliver Gavin, who makes his debut with Mad-Croc Racing, replacing Mika Salo alongside Pertti Kuismanen in the #11 Corvette Z06, while Nicolas Armindo is in for Alex Muller in the team’s other car. The final change is GT3 racer Thomas Accary stepping up to GT1 in the #9 Hexis AMR Aston Martin DBR9 which he shares with Frederic Makowiecki.
FIA GT1 World Championship entry list – Round 2, Silverstone
1 Vitaphone Racing Team, Michael Bartels / Andrea Bertolini, Maserati MC12
2 Vitaphone Racing Team, Miguel Ramos / Enrique Bernoldi, Maserati MC12
3 Swiss Racing Team, Karl Wendlinger / Henri Moser, Nissan GT-R
4 Swiss Racing Team, Seiji Ara / Max Nilsson, Nissan GT-R
5 Matech Competition, Thomas Mutsch / Romain Grosjean, Ford GT Matech
7 Young Driver AMR, Darren Turner / Tomas Enge, Aston Martin DBR9
8 Young Driver AMR, Stefan Mucke / Christoffer Nygaard, Aston Martin DBR9
9 Hexis AMR, Frederic Makowiecki / Thomas Accary, Aston Martin DBR9
10 Hexis AMR, Clivio Piccione / Jonathan Hirschi, Aston Martin DBR9
11 Mad-Croc Racing, Xavier Maassen / Nicolas Armindo, Corvette Z06
12 Mad-Croc Racing, Oliver Gavin / Pertti Kuismanen, Corvette Z06
13 Phoenix Racing Carsport, Marc Hennerici / Andreas Zuber, Corvette Z06
14 Phoenix Racing Carsport, Mike Hezemans / Andrea Piccini, Corvette Z06
22 Sumo Power GT, Warren Hughes / Jamie Campbell-Walter, Nissan GT-R
23 Sumo Power GT, Michael Krumm / Peter Dumbreck, Nissan GT-R
24 Reiter, Peter Kox / Christopher Haase, Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV
25 Reiter, Frank Kechele / Kuba Giermaziak, Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV
33 Triple H Team Hegersport, Altfrid Heger / Alexander Margaritis, Maserati MC12
34 Triple H Team Hegersport, Matteo Bobbi / Bert Longin, Maserati MC12
37 All-inkl.com Munnich Motorsport, Marc Basseng / Christophe Bouchut, Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV
38 All-inkl.com Munnich Motorsport, Nicky Pastorelli / Dominik Schwager, Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV
40 Marc VDS Racing Team, Bas Leinders / Maxime Martin, Ford GT Matech
41 Marc VDS Racing Team, Markus Palttala / Renaud Kuppens, Ford GT Matech
Andy Wilkinson
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