The FIA GT Championship at Zolder over the years

This will be the FIA GT Championship’s fifth visit to Zolder, after three visits from 1999 to 2001, and last year’s season finale. During the first three years, the circuit witnessed the passage from the GT-only era in 1999, dominated by the only remaining manufacturer team, Chrysler Viper Team Oreca, through the start of the N-GT category, later to become GT2, to the start of the Ferrari 550 Maranello years, with the car claiming its first FIA GT pole position at the Belgian circuit.

In 1999, the fifth round took place at Zolder. And it for much of the race, it looked as if the Lister Storm would finally confirm its potential and win its first FIA GT race. However, the car, driven by Bailey, Wallace and Campbell-Walter, ended its race in flames, leaving Chrysler Viper Team Oreca to take their fifth win of the season, with Karl Wendlinger and Oliver Beretta regaining the Championship lead. A second Lister, driven by the Dutch pair of Mike Hezemans and David Hart, continued after a splash-and-dash, to take third place behind Amorin and Seiler in the Chamberlain Motorsport Viper.

For 2000, the Championship’s grid had been joined by additional cars, both Porsche 996 GT3 and Ferrari 360 Modena cars, and Zolder proved to be the ideal setting for an extremely close and exciting race. The Lister Storm of Campbell-Walter and Bailey started from pole, and survived a hectic first ten laps before pulling away. However, in the third hour, the car was suffering from brake problems, and Marc Duez, in the nr 11 Paul Belmondo Chrysler Viper, closed on the Storm.

A mistake at the Terlamenbocht saw Duez close the gap, overtaking at the next corner. The Viper pulled away while Bailey, clearly suffering badly with the brakes, tried to keep ahead of the second Paul Belmondo car. However, another turnaround in the final moments saw the race-leading Paul Belmondo Racing Viper reduced to three wheels when a tyre blew, leaving the #14 Lister to take its fourth win of the season.

Duez, on three wheels, waited by the line for the Lister to take the flag, finishing third behind Vosse and Derichebourg. Wolfgang Kaufmann and Bert Longin came in fourth in the Freisinger Porsche 911 GT2.

In GT2, Luca Riccitelli and Hans Willems drove a commanding race in the nr 77 RWS Porsche 996 GT3-R, leading throughout. But the final laps saw Christophe Bouchut closing at an impressive rate, crossing the line just 0.5 seconds behind the Red-Bull sponsored car.

The two Pennzoil Quaker- State G-Force Porsches came in third and fourth. It was also a good race for the two JMB Ferrari 360 Modenas, which drove a steady, reliable race to come in eighth and ninth in class, a promising result for the continuing development of these cars.

2001 saw another amazing race at Zolder, with one of the most incredible finishes in the history of the Championship. The event started off with a historic event : the first pole position for the Ferrari 550 Maranello, entered by Team Rafanelli. Emanuele Naspetti set a time of 1:30.994 round the Zolder track, two tenths of a second faster than Silverstone pole-setter Mike Hezemans during the Superpole session.

In the race, the nr 1 Lister Storm crossed the line just 0.119 seconds ahead of the Championship-leading Larbre Competition Chéreau Chrysler Viper GTS-R, having overtaken the car at the final corner. However, three hours after the race finished, the car was excluded for having failed the air-box test. Bouchut and Belloc inherited the win, with Hezemans and Bleekemolen taking second in the Carsport Holland Viper, while Marc Duez and Gunther Blieninger were third in the Rafanelli Ferrari 550 Maranello.

Having been among the frontrunners in the N-GT category all weekend, Fabio Babini and Luigi Moccia gave Art Engineering their second win in the FIA GT Championship this weekend, inheriting the first place after Riccitelli and Boldrini’s nr 77 RWS Red Bull Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R was given a time penalty.

Kaufmann and Ortelli took second in the Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3-R, while RWS was eventually classified third. This race saw Belgian team PSI Motorsport make their FIA GT Championship debut, with a Porsche 996 GT2 car. Kurt Mollekens was one of the drivers, with fellow Belgian Stephane Cohen alongside him. Another newcomer in that race was the Lamborghini Diablo GTR.

Returning six years later in 2007, many things had changed in the FIA GT Championship. The Vipers and Storms were long gone and the new stars were the Aston Martin DBR9, the Maserati MC 12 and the Corvette C6R. The season finale was held at Zolder, and 16,000 race fans turned up to watch the FIA GT Championship in Zolder for a title showdown that saw nine drivers in contention for the overall GT1 title and six drivers battling for GT2 honours.

Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp knew they had an outside chance of the title and maximised the performance of their Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 to put themselves in the best position by the end of the final weekend. However it wasn’t enough, as Thomas Biagi and Michael Bartels finished on the podium to secure Biagi’s second FIA GT Championship title in four years.

In GT2, the two AF Corse Motorola Ferrari’s of Dirk Müller and Gianmaria Bruni were at the front of the GT2. With both cars separated by just one point in the GT2 Drivers classification, an exciting race to the flag looked likely. However, a spin for Bruni on the opening lap left Müller out in front with the nr 63 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari of Andrew Kirkaldy as his nearest rival.

Müller pulled out a lead over the GT2 field before handing over to Toni Vilander who drove a good middle part of the race before handing back to Müller to bring the car home and to the GT2 title.

This year will see a cycle race take place as part of the FIA GT’s ‘Run for the Earth’ initiative – but this is not the first time the FIA GT field has raced on two wheels at Zolder. A race was held on the track in 1999 – among the competitors, Karl Wendlinger, last year’s winner.

Pole position : 1:34.314 – Lister Storm (Julian Bailey)

1: Olivier Beretta / Karl Wendlinger – Chrysler Viper GTS-R

2: Ni Amorim/Toni Seiler – Chrysler Viper GTS-R

3 : Mike Hezemans / David Hart – Lister Storm

Fastest lap : 1:35.636 Lister Storm

GT1 Pole Position : 1:34.527 – Lister Storm (Julian Bailey)

GT2 Pole Position : 1:37.746 – Porsche 996 GT3 (Luca Riccitelli)

1: Bailey/Campbell-Walter – Lister Storm

2: Vosse / Derichebourg - Chrysler Viper GTS-R

3: Duez / Gosselin – Chrysler Viper GTS-R

1 : Riccitelli/Willems – Porsche 996 GT3-R

2: Bouchut/Goueslard – Porsche 996 GT3-R

3: Neugarten / Nearn – Porsche 996 GT3-R

GT1 Pole position : 1:30.994 – Ferrari 550 Maranello (Emanuele Naspetti) – Superpole

GT1 fastest qualifying lap : 1:30.436 – Chrysler Viper GTS-R (Didier Defourny)

GT2 Pole position : 1:35.037 – Ferrari 360 Modena (Christian Pescatori)

GT2 fastest qualifying lap : 1:34.545 – Porsche 996 GT3-R (Luca Riccitelli)

1 : Bouchut/Belloc – Chrysler Viper GTS-R

2 : Hezemans/Bleekemolen – Chrysler Viper GTS-R

3 : Blieninger/Duez – Ferrari 550 Maranello

1 : Moccia/Babini – Porsche 996 GT3-R

2 : Kaufmann/Ortelli – Porsche 996 GT3-R

3: Riccitelli/Babini – Porsche 996 GT3-R

GT1 Pole position : 1:25.812 – Aston Martin DBR9 (Karl Wendlinger)

GT2 Pole position : 1:30.985 – Ferrari 430 GT2 (Dirk Müller)

1 : Wendlinger / Sharp – Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9

2 : Kumpen / Longin – PK Carsport Saleen S7R

3 : Biagi / Bartels – Vitaphone Maserati MC 12

1 : Müller / Vilander – AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT2

2 : Zani / Pompidou - Ebimotors Porsche 997 GT3 RSR

3: Aguas / Mediani – Advanced Engineering Ferrari 430 GT2

- Jacquie Groom, FIA -

photos from Zolder will be on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - FIAGT