Mutsch-Khan and Matech GT Racing lead the championship!

FIA GT3 Championship / 4. Brno

This last weekend the FIA GT3 championship was back on track at the Brno circuit, in the Czech Republic. A natural and undulating track which seemed to go down well with the Ford GTs entered by the Matech GT Racing team, as was handsomely proven during the various free practice sessions.

However this trend was not to be confirmed during the qualifying sessions, especially for the Ford GT #19 driven by Luca Pirri et Jürgen Von Gartzen, who experienced two broken belts resulting in not only their absence for the second timed session but also the start of the first of two races, scheduled on the Saturday .

A first race which did not go down well for the Swiss team, the Ford GT #21 of Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis being pushed off into the sand trap by an Ascari in problems, whilst Ian Khan was climbing up through the pack into 10th place at the wheel of the #20 (having started in 20th place), prior to handing over to Thomas Mutsch.

The latter made a small mistake but this did not deter him from slotting into 7th place, notwithstanding a lengthy driver change-over. In the final bend, and trying to get the better of an Ascari, both the Ford and the latter spun, relegating the power beast built and prepared by Matech GT Racing into 10th place. Frustrating!

However this Sunday matters where different for the Ford GTs, their drivers having put in great performances. Having started off from the back of the grid for not having been on track for the second qualifying session, the #19 of Pirri and Von Gartzen climbed back up into 9th place as the result of an excellent effort lasting 60 minutes, and just failing to cash in on the points.

Finally being ranked 8th in qualifying as the result of a penalty for overtaking during a yellow flag, the #21 of Bradley and Ellis were involved in a collision... but still managed to take the chequered flag in 7th spot, the Brits scoring two points.

As for the #20 of Thomas Mutsch and Ian Khan, it took a great start only to be hit by an Aston Martin. Notwithstanding that the German driver soon took over the lead of the race, building up a 10 seconds lead before handing over the wheel to his Monegasque team mate. The latter took full advantage of a perfect driver change-over, holding the lead and finally crossing the line in 1st place!

"Full proof that one should never give up hope ", Martin Bartek, the team owner commented."The first day’s racing wasn’t favourable to us, as compared to the second. We are back leading the drivers’ and teams’ championships and we clinched another victory.

On the other hand on a technical track which did not allow them to make full use of their power the Mustang FR500GT3s experienced a difficult weekend, not made any easier due to clutch problems. Notwithstanding all that Eric De Doncker and Scott Maxwell managed to make the finish, with a top 20 in the 2nd race, whilst their other team mates Graham and Bera had bad luck..."

In the FIA GT3 drivers’ championship Ian Khan and Thomas Mutsch are back in front, taking full advantage of the poor result of Ruffier and Peyroles in the second race. They are now two points clear of the French duo.

On the team front the Matech GT Racing domination continues, with a 27 points lead over their nearest rivals.. The following rendezvous is scheduled on the French circuit of Nogaro on 4th and 5th October.

- Vincent Franssen - photos Steven Nesta