PROSPEED COMPETITION FIA GT – Round 7: Brno / FIA GT3 Round 4: Brno
The FIA GT weekend held in the Czech Republic did not provide ProSpeed Competition with the expected results. The strong performance put in by the drivers did not result in either victory or a place on the podium. In GT2 Collard – Westbrook were hit at the start of the race, resulting in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR disappearing from the race later on, whilst Forsten and Palttala finished in an excellent fifth place with their Porsche. In GT3 various incidents meant that neither of the cars scored points.
However the Finn Mikael Forsten, who competed in no less than three races, has shown that he has developed no end in his maiden year at an international level and the Finn was undoubtedly one of the stars of the weekend.
The weekend started off strongly for the Collard – Westbrook duo, with an excellent second place for the Brit in the qualifying sessions.
Richard Westbrook: "We have together with Porsche and this as compared to the previous year, taken an enormous step in the right direction. Exactly one year ago Porsche was some three seconds down and now we’re a hair’s breadth away from pole position. We have developed an excellent set-up and we’re really looking forward to tomorrow’s race."
It was a dramatic start for the #61 Porsche of ProSpeed Competition. "I was nudged at the front by another GT1 that recklessly came back on to the track following a spin, and the radiator was damaged", a highly disappointed Collard explained.
"The engine was heating up and I didn’t think we could hold out for long." During the middle stint Westbrook still managed to come up into second place, but halfway through the team had to throw in the towel.
In the #60 of Palttala and Forsten, which had started off from sixth place, Mikael Forsten had in the meanwhile driven an excellent relay. The Finn was permanently hovering in the vicinity of a podium.
"I’m really satisfied with this", he admitted after his first stint. The two Finnish drivers finally finished in fifth place, their best result of the season, with the knowledge that there has never been such a strong GT2 field in an FIA GT2 race before.
FIA GT3
In GT3 Rudi Penders was joined by Forsten for the fourth meeting of the year. Rudi Penders and Mikael Forsten respectively finished in 33rd and 20th during qualifying. In the first race Penders handed the wheel over to the Finn whilst in 25th place, and in a short while he was lying up in the top-15.
"Mikael was faster than me, that’s for sure", Rudi had to admit. "He’s really at ease here, whilst I’m pretty constant and really appreciate the circuit, I just can’t achieve his lap times. A sixteenth place is therefore not bad at all."
To avoid the chaos at the start of the second race Forsten was obliged to drive through the gravel trap, had to fight back up from the rear and Rudi finally crossed the line in eighteenth spot. The duo appeared twice on the podium of the Porsche Cup, where Rudi Penders is now lying in an excellent third place.
Stéphane Lémeret and David Loix qualified in eleventh and 23rd position, but bad luck and an accident forced them to retire from both races.
PROSPEED COMPETITION Results:
FIA GT2
1. Vilander/Bruni Ferrari F430
2. Janak/Bergmeister Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
3. Malucelli/Ruberti Ferrari F430
...
5. Forsten/Palttala Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
FIA GT3
Race 1
1. Alessi/Zani Aston Martin DBRS9
2. Lagniez/Mena Aston Martin DBRS9
3. Matzke/Skula Corvette Z06
….
16. Forsten/Penders Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Loix/Lémeret: DNF
Race 2
1. Khan/Mutsche Ford GT
2. Mena/Accary Aston Martin DBRS9
3. Bert/Meir Corvette Z06
….
18. Forsten/Penders Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Loix/Lémeret: DNF
- JF Van Laere - photo SRO
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