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12.05.2008
MATECH An ‘almost’ perfect week-end! ADAC GT Masters 2008 / Oschersleben
This weekend, at the Oschersleben circuit the ADAC GT Masters, the German GT championship also governed by the FIA GT3 regulations, had its first outing. The Matech GT Racing team was present with two Ford GTs; the #5 to be driven for the entire season by Marc Hennerici and Kenneth Heyer, and for this meeting the #6 in the hands of two FIA GT3 European Championship drivers, namely Thomas Mutsch and Jürgen Von Gartzen. As from the free practice sessions the Swiss team showed the way thanks to Mutsch and Von Gartzen, the two drivers then following up this excellent performance during the qualifying sessions by each in turn clinching the pole position. As for Heyer and Hennerici, they would respectively be starting from the 9th and 3rd spots on the grid. Saturday’s round was marked by Kenneth Heyer’s spectacular accident, the front of his Ford GT #5 lifting up by a meter at the beginning of the straight as the result of coming into contact with a Lamborghini. Even thought the power beast weaved from left to right across the track luckily no other competitor hit him, everyone getting off lightly with just a fright. Soon to be forgotten when Thomas Mutsch and Jürgen Von Gartzen scored an excellent victory, with their closest rivals some 25 seconds down on them ! This Sunday the Matech GT Racing team managed even better, clinching a remarkable double. This time around all honours went to Heyer and Hennerici who finished on the top step of the podium, the Ford GT #5 taking the chequered flag just ahead of the #6 of Mutsch and Von Gartzen ! "Taking into account our results at Silverstone, as also those this weekend at Oschersleben, we have proven that the Ford GT, developed and built by Matech Concepts, is not only fast but definitely reliable ", Martin Bartek, the man in charge of the Swiss team commented, after the podium ceremony. And this weekend was even more perfect seeing that in South America, at the F1 Inrterlagos circuit, nearby Sao Paulo, the Ford GT of the ex- F1 driver Ricardo Rosset teamed up with the film maker Walter Salles twice gained pole position for the second meeting of the Brazilian GT3 championship. Notwithstanding the fact that the car, also emanating from the Matech workshops, experienced some bad luck during the first heat having been hit by a Lamborghini, the two drivers this Sunday managed to reset the clocks – with perfect Swiss precision - by grabbing a superb victory ! "I’m more than satisfied with the work put in by the team during the seasonal recess ", Martin Bartek continued."The countless overtime hours sacrificed in this project since December 2007 have finally come to fruition this weekend.
The Ford GT Matech Racing has proved to one and all that it is capable of imposing itself in a variety of fields at the same time, highly promising for the future. Next week the Monza circuit will play host for the second round of the FIA GT3, and the entire team, having started on a successful note has every intention of keeping it that way..."
- Vincent Franssen - photos SRO
Author: maggy (admin2)
Last modified: Monday, 12.05.2008 - 07:42 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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