Anderstorp: Second qualifying report

Super Pole And Second Qualifying
WEATHER : drying

LISTER TAKES POLE
Jamie Campbell-Walter took pole position for the fifth round of the FIA GT Championship at Anderstorp today, driving the nr 14 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm. The Briton set a time of 1:30.601 seconds in the car that he shares with German Nicolaus Springer, to beat the nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R of Fabrizio Gollin. Campbell-Walter's team-mate Bobby Verdon-Roe secured third spot on the grid in the nr 15 Lister Storm, though his co-driver Paul Knapfield is likely to take the start tomorrow. Italian Andrea Piccini was disappointed to be fourth fastest in the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello, while Belgian Marc Duez was fifth fastest despite a suspension problem on his Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R. Christophe Bouchut rounded out the top six in the Super Pole, carrying 90kg and using hard tyres in preparation for tomorrow's race.

FREISINGER SCORES 1-2 IN N-GT
Stephane Ortelli headed a Freisinger Motorsport 1-2 in the N-GT category, the Monaco-based Frenchman sharing with Emmanuel Collard this weekend in the nr 54 Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3-R. Stephane Daoudi was delighted with second fastest in the nr 55 Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3-R, just two tenths off Ortelli, during his first season of GT racing with the Porsche. Antonio Garcia was third fastest in the nr 76 RWS Porsche that he shares with Bert Longin.

Robin Liddell was fifth fastest, admitting that he was a little conservative on his first ever Super Pole lap in the nr 62 Cirtek Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R, which he is sharing this weekend with John Nielsen. The pair have a spare gearbox in their car, but it did not have the correct ratios for this circuit and the team is re-building yesterday's gearbox for the race. The two local teams to make it into the Super Pole, Podium Racing's Johan Sturesson and Team Eurotech Scandinavia's Pontus Morth, were fifth and sixth fastest in their Porsche 996 GT3-Rs.

SECOND QUALIFYING SESSION -- ROOS HEADS THE PACK
Henrik Roos watched his wife give birth to their second child at 9:30 this morning, then returned to Anderstorp to take part in second qualifying in the nr 29 Henrik Roos Chrysler Viper GTS-R. Co-driver Magnus Wallinder's time this morning, a 1:31.797 was enough to keep the car at the head of the non-Superpole time-sheets through second qualifying. Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen were second fastest, Kumpen unable to improve the time in the afternoon session in the nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R, while Paul Belmondo and Claude-Yves Gosselin were third in the Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R.

Kurt Mollekens was fourth in the nr 25 PSI Motorsport Porsche 996 Turbo, ahead of Jean-Pierre Jarier and Francois Lafon in the nr 9 Team ART Chrysler Viper GTS-R. Enzo Calderari and Lilian Bryner were sixth fastest in the BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello, having recovered from the misfire, traced to a cracked wire in the engine, that has plagued the car so far this weekend. Jurgen von Gartzen set fastest time in the N-GT category during the faster morning session before he suffered a drive-shaft failure. The nr 51 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena of Andrea Garbagnati and Andrea Bertolini was second fastest in the class, ahead of John Nielsen, who was complaining of wild-oversteer in the right-hand corners in his nr 62 Cirtek Porsche 996 GT3RS. Andrea Montermini and Christian Pescatori were able to set only fourth-fastest time in the nr 50 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena, still complaining of a lack of power from the Ferrari engine, while Walter Lechner and Toto Wolff were fifth in the nr 58 Autorlando Sport Porsche.

Bouchut, nr 1 Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper GTS-R: "We used a harder compound tyre than usual because we are working for the race. We are carrying 90 kilos and we lost a lot of time yesterday with the engine set-up, so if you put it all together, it all adds up. If it is raining tomorrow then I think that we will win. If it is dry, I think we can make a good race!"

Fabrizio Gollin, nr 4 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R: "I am very happy because I am very near the Lister, and they are very quick around this track. Tomorrow is going to be a long race, and it will be difficult for me and for my team-mate to remain quick throughout the race. However, I hope for a good race, and I don't really mind if it rains or stays dry, it will be the same.

Paul Belmondo, nr 11 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R: "It is going OK. Marc had a little problem with the suspension and could have gone quicker, but there are a lot of quick cars in front. For my car, we have got a good set-up now, but I have not gone as fast as I should have done. The track is OK, I like that, but the outside of the track is a problem. If you go off you can do a lot of damage. The local guys are going well. The set-up of the track is very particular with the banking in the corners which is unusual."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, nr 14 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm: "We have not had any major problems, we have just had a little problem with the brakes which has made me wary. It was quite a clean lap, and it was all very close. It is quite a short run to the first corner, but after that there is a long straight down to the second corner. There will be some slip-streaming, and it funnels down and it is bumpy so I am hoping that everyone behaves themselves and gives each other enough room. The key is to get a good exit from the first corner and break the slipstream.

Bobby Verdon-Roe, nr 15 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm: "As things stand, Paul will start tomorrow. I made a big mistake at the first corner and went through a puddle so I got very sideways at the first corner. I am sure I lost a couple of tenths but it was a good lap thereafter. That was as quick as I have been all weekend. The car has been fantastic from the very first lap. I have had a very good feeling about the car all weekend and we have made very few changes since the start, and Paul is going very well. If Paul is going to start, this is probably the best place to do it. If it rains tomorrow, the race strategy will not be clear cut."

Andrea Piccini, nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "I think that Jean-Denis will do two hours tomorrow and I will do the middle stint. It is his turn. I have never driven the car in the wet before, so it will be difficult. On a circuit like this, it is very easy to have a little spin at maybe 60km/h and cause an awful lot of damage, so I will be careful."

Kurt Mollekens, nr 25 PSI Motorsport, Porsche 996 Turbo: "We now have a 33.2mm air restrictor, which gives us another 25bhp. We are not up there yet, the Viper has got more than 600bhp and we are up at 580. On the straight we are as fast as them and we are not bad in the slow corners either, but in the medium speed corners and under braking, almost everyone in the GT class is better than us!"

Henrik Roos, nr 29 Henrik Roos Chrysler Viper GTS-R: "My daughter was born at 9:30 this morning. She is perfect and she weighs 3600 grammes. I think we have shown on the track that we can be competitive and it is good for next year. We have had to do a lot of things to the car to make it ready for this race, so I am a little surprised that we are so fast. Our local knowledge gives us a little advantage. I think that we can go this well on other circuits, but there are a lot of quick cars here. I hope we can come back and do more races this year. We would like to drive the 24 hours of Spa, but we are looking for two fast drivers who can bring some money."

Christian Pescatori, nr 50 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena: The car will be fine on full tanks, it is very good, but we don't have enough power from the engine. We will be OK in the race, but during qualifying, we don't stand a chance."

Stephane Ortelli, nr 54 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R: "It was quite an exciting session as you could see that the rain was coming. To have six Porsches in the top six positions is very good for my confidence. I think we have also done a good job compared to the Vipers in the GT class. This track suits the Porsche quite well. There are also five cars with Dunlop tyres in the top six, so we apparently have a tyre advantage too. The tyres have been a big help, because a lot of the advantage that I have had over the last four races have been in the second half of my stints. When you see Stephane Daoudi going so well, it is getting better and better with the young guys coming through."

Stephane Daoudi, nr 55 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R: "I am very happy because everything is new for me. This is the first season in the FIA GT Championship. Second is a very good result. We have been working all season to get closer to Stephane, and we hope to keep up the momentum to the end of the season. I hope that we are going to do very well in the race. We want to collect points, that is the most important for us and for the team."

Antonio Garcia, nr 76 RWS Motorsport, Porsche 996 GT3R: "I am a little bit disappointed because every time I go to a track, I want to be fastest. We are in third position, it is not so far back for us, but we are not able to do our quickest time on the first lap like the others. I hope that we can beat the Freisinger cars. The whole weekend, I have got more and more confident in the car. My team-mate Michele Merendino is doing quite, but he has not had much time in the car. I think I will have a long stint like in Jarama."

-fia gt-