FIA GT1: First win for Reiter Engineering and Lamborghini at Spa

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Frank Kechele and Ricardo Zonta recorded the first FIA GT1 World Championship win for Lamborghini in Round 5 at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing ahead of the Triple H Team Hegersport Maserati of Altfrid Heger and Alex Muller and the Matech Competition Ford GT Matech of Thomas Mutsch and reigning FIA GT2 Champion Richard Westbrook.

Zonta got a good start to pass Xavier Maassen in the Mad-Croc Racing Corvette to head the field from second the grid. Maassen fought back but a puncture put him out of contention. Peter Kox in the nr24 Reiter Lamborghini was leading after storming through from 7th on the grid but a problem after the pitstops for Christopher Haase denied them the victor’s laurels.

The nr5 Matech Ford GT of Richard Westbrook and Thomas Mutsch made a blinding stop to come out of the pits in first place before a Safety Car period to remove debris from the track bunched the field up. At the restart Frank Kechele in the remaining Reiter Lamborghini put pressure on Mutsch and swept into the lead three laps from the flag. Mutsch also lost places to the Sumo Power Nissan GT-R of Peter Dumbreck and the Triple H Maserati of Alex Muller but a problem forced Dumbreck into retirement on the penultimate lap.

Frank Kechele crossed the line to take the first Lamborghini win, ahead of Alex Muller in the Maserati. Thomas Mutsch held off the challenge of Miguel Ramos in the nr2 Team Vitaphone Racing Maserati to collect the final podium place.

Ricardo Zonta – nr25 Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV

“It’s great to be back in this championship, especially winning, it’s a very good feeling. This victory is very important for the team. The team is very friendly and I feel very connected, and after this win, it’s just going better and better. Frank did a great job in his stint. My start was very good. When I saw green, I just went, and the other car had delayed a bit. I pushed so hard because I knew that the other cars had new tyres and I had to keep my pace. From the middle of my stint to the last laps I had a problem with the balance, because the tyre was just completely worm out. We decided to pit early because of that, and Frank just drove brilliantly and we won. The Corvette was so fast on the straight, so it just overtook me, and I was so behind the Corvette, that I lost the air in front and Peter overtook me as well. When I saw the Corvette on the back straight, smoking and slowing down, I saw it was a puncture, and so it was clean for us to take the race there.”

Frank Kechele – nr25 Reiter Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV

“The first information I got when I left the pits and saw the Ford ahead of me was that I shouldn’t attack him, because he was one lap down, but I wasn’t sure, because I saw him in the ranking in the top 10, and I thought that they might be in front, because they fought a lot with Christopher. And then up the Eau Rouge, there was a yellow flag, so I didn’t know if I could overtake him or not, so I didn’t take the risk to get a penalty, so I just stayed beside him. And then there was the Safety Car, which I was happy with because I didn’t know how the tyres would hold, but they lasted really good, and in the last laps I took on the pace, and my engineer told me to slow down, and I already was a bit. We didn’t want to take the risk with the engine blowing up, like the other car. We don’t know where it came from, but I was listening carefully to the car, drive a clear line. I’m looking forward to the Nurburgring, it’s one of my favourites.”

Altfrid Heger – nr33 Triple H Team Hegersport Maserati MC12

“First, I must congratulate Hans and his team, it’s also good for the championship that another manufacturer’s in the first place, and Alex and I were together for the first time, after Alex Margaritis finished after Paul Ricard. I think we’ve been a good team since the start. Yesterday, in the practice, we started in last position, and we overtook 11 cars, and today we overtook another 11 cars. Maybe it’s not necessary to do any practice for next time. Our team was working really well. It’s a championship for the whole team, it’s important to have a perfect pitstop, a car with a good setup to suit each track. Our engineer Florian, he set up a really good car for us, and he’s the reason why our car was really consistent and why we’re up on the podium.”

Alex Müller – nr33 Triple H Team Hegersport Maserati MC12

“First of all, I have to thank the team, they did a great job, and I’m happy to be back in the championship, as I had to stop after Abu Dhabi. The car was very consistent, and that was the target. Tyre degradation is the most important point in this championship, as you only have 4 sets of tyres for the weekend. Our advantage as that we just did a few laps in qualifying, which is why we still had 2 new sets and I think that was the secret. The car was balanced very well. My engineer called me to tell me I was the fastest car on track, which helped a lot. In these 2 three lap window, after I pitted quite early, I made a gap, and the safety car helped as well, because the gap had been too big to catch up. All over, the weekend we’ve been competitive in the races. We were lucky as well. You need luck. I have to thank the team as well, they did a great job. I’m happy to be in the Maserati family. Hopefully we can continue in the Nurgburgring.”

Richard Westbrook – nr5 Matech Competition Ford GT Matech

“Third place, I didn’t expect it at all. I just want to thank my team-mate and my team for giving me this opportunity. It’s a bit of a surprise. I don’t think it’s a track for the Ford. We lose a lot on the straights. I had a lot of fun in the first stint. It’s been very fun, very fair. I like the tyre situation, that they go off so much and have to change your driving style, and you drive one way when they’re new and another when they go off. I think it gives something for the spectators. That’s been the biggest thing to learn. It’s been a big start, with a lot to learn.”

Thomas Mutsch – nr5 Matech Competition Ford GT Matech

“First of all, I have to thank our team who did a great job and an amazing pit stop, I’m looking forward to getting the timings for it and to see where we rank amongst the teams. Also want to thank Richard who had a good start and got used very quickly to our car and did an incredible job during our stint. I’m looking forward to our next races. I was surprised when I came out first, I was expecting something around P2 or P3, because he was a bit stuck behind the Lamborghini in his last lap, so I was not sure about that, but then as Frank said, I was lucky in Eau Rouge because he was directly behind me and with the cold tyres, I had to handle his speed, but there was the yellow flags. The second and 3rd lap before the safety car were okay, during the safety car, the pressure went high and we were struggling with the tyres a bit. As Richard said, I find it nice that you have to care about the tyres. It’s the same for everyone, and not a problem, we just have to work with Michelin and they have to find a compound that works for the whole season.”

- FIA GT1

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