ProSpeed Competition clinches two great podium places

A mere three weeks following on from the 24 Hours of Spa the FIA GT teams travelled on through to Bucharest, the Rumanian capital this weekend to compete in the sixth round of the championship in a rather different environment. During 48 hours the streets in the centre of Bucharest were transformed into a spectacular street circuit on which the GTs competed exceptionally in two races of 60 minutes each.

Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook scored two third places, bringing their season total to four podium places. The French-British duo is now third in the FIA GT2 championship and has reduced the gap with the second placed in the intermediate rankings.

"A great pity that we had some trouble in trying to find that tenth of a second during the qualifying session, because otherwise the outcome might have been better. But all in all we cannot complain with our two podium places and being the strongest Porsche representative on hand.", was how Rudi Penders summarised this weekend in the boiling heat of the paddock in Bucharest.

The Belgian Porsche team experienced a rather difficult start to the weekend. With the short qualifying session Emmanuel Collard had to content himself with a seventh place on the grid whilst Markus Palttala hit the wall during his fast lap. Unfortunately the front of the #60 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of the Finish duo Palttala-Forsten was rather seriously damaged and the team were unable to repair the car in time for the start of the race.

"The problem lay in lining up the car, most important when it comes to the balance and realignment", Rudi Penders continued. "Without a perfect balance you can’t be competitive on the track and we therefore opted not to compete in the two races" But on the other hand Collard and Westbrook were able to turn the tide for ProSpeed Competition.

In the first race both Porsche drivers drove a solid race, finally taking the chequered flag in third place. On Sunday they repeated their performance and at the finish they were a mere one and a half seconds behind the winning car "We had no trouble in keeping to the pace of the two Ferraris", Rudi Penders emphasized.

"On top of that the team performed excellent changeovers, however a perfect ‘collaboration’ between the two Ferrari 430s resulted in us finishing in third place once more. The manner in which these podium places were gained was heavy going and we achieved a pretty good deal in the championship also. In fact we have overtaken the number three in the intermediate rankings and are gaining on the second placed, so as far as I’m concerned it is mission accomplished."

Something which also stuck in Rudi Penders’ mind was the highly warm reception received in Bucharest. "That’s for sure. You arrive here in an impressive environment, amongst the palaces of the capital and it appears as though the entire population is behind this event. There are no negative remarks, the show is perfectly organised and the grandstands are crowded.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sixth meeting of the FIA GTchampionship. It could well be that this Rumanian public appreciates motorsport far more than we have experienced in other venues..."

ProSpeed Competition now has a few days in which to prepare for the following race of the season. Next Saturday Rudi Penders, David Loix, Stéphane Lémeret and Franz Lamot will be competing in the 30th edition of the 24 Hours of Zolder and not without some pretty serious ambitions. "We want to finish up front, that’s for sure. Last year we finished in third place, and with the team we now have our intention is to improve on that score", Rudi Penders added.

1. Kirkaldy – Bell (Ferrari F430)

2. Bruni – Vilander (Ferrari F430)

3. Collard – Westbrook (ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)

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1. Kirkaldy – Bell (Ferrari F430)

2. Bruni – Vilander (Ferrari F430)

3. Collard – Westbrook (ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)

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1 Toni Vilander 59

Gianmaria Bruni 59

2 Matteo Malucelli 41.5

Paolo Ruberti 41.5

3 Richard Westbrook 36

Emmanuel Collard 36

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- JF Van Laere - photos ProSpeed

More photos on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS- FIA GT