Alois Meir Sets Fastest Time On Day 2 Practice At Oschersleben
Jul 05, 2008
Dark clouds were again threatening as the second session got under way, but the rain held off, and by the end of the session it was warm and sunny; the higher track temperatures meant more grip for the cars, and the lap times were correspondingly quicker. It only took 18 minutes of the session before the previous session’s quickest time was beaten – the No. 47 Tech 9 Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 of Haase and von Thurn und Taxis putting in a lap of 1:32.140.
That time remained quickest until just after the halfway point, when the No. 1 Martini Callaway Corvette of Peyroles and Ruffier lapped in 1:32.037. They remained fastest for almost 20 minutes when the No. 10 Aston Martin broke the 1:32s barrier with a 1:31.790. Only minutes later it was the turn of the No. 20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT of Championship leaders Khan and Mutsch to head the timesheets, Mutsch lapping in 1:31.447; four minutes later, with only seven minutes of the session remaining, the No. 2 Corvette put in a stunning lap of 1:30.945 to go well clear, a time that lasted to the end of the session.
The session was cut a few seconds short when the No. 30 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero 8 GT3 went off and stopped in a dangerous position; with not enough time for the car to be recovered, the red flags went out. By then, the No. 10 Aston Martin was second fastest, having improved to a 1:31.319, ahead of the No. 20 Ford GT.
Across the two sessions, it was difficult to conclude which cars are likely to go well on the difficult, tight Oschersleben circuit. The Corvette certainly looks like a good prospect for a race win – there were two in the top four of the first session, and three in the top seven of the second session, consistency no other car could match. The No. 10 Aston Martin was in the top two of both sessions – but no other DBRS9 could do better than eighth. Despite the extra ballast they must now carry, the Ford GT trio went well, with all three being in the top fourteen of both sessions. Of course, there is no telling who was really going for a quick time today, who found a clear track, who was using the best tyres; tomorrow morning’s qualifying sessions should be a better indicator… as long as the weather co-operates!
Alois Meir – No. 2 Martini Callaway Corvette Z. 06R GT3: “My sessions were quite good – I had a bit of understeer. I know the track quite well, from racing Porsches here, so I could get up to speed very quickly. The Corvette is more settled here than the Porsche was – the Porsche used to be very nervous in the high-speed corners. ”
Richard Williams – No. 6 Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S: “I could have done with more laps – we wanted to give David as much time as possible in the car. I got in towards the end and put in a few laps. The circuit is fun – I’m looking forward to qualifying tomorrow. So far, the changes made by the GT Bureau have made the car slower, which is frustrating – you might think the bigger restrictors would offset the extra weight, but it’s not working like that for us, so far. ”
Andrew Shelley – No. 7 Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S: “The sessions went really badly for us – I still haven’t done a flying lap around here, which is not good. Something broke at the back end of the car, which we’re still investigating, and then I got a puncture. ”
Ian Khan – No. 20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT: “We finished the second session third quickest, which says more about my team-mate, Thomas Mutsch, than the car. I can’t get within about five seconds of his time – the car feels terrible with the extra weight. It’s awful under brakes and acceleration, it feels like there’s no power – but obviously he knows his way around here, and he’s dragged the car round by the scruff of its neck. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re young and brave! ”
Johann Charpilienne – No. 28 Marc Sourd Racing Corvette Z. 06R GT3: “My two sessions were okay – this morning I was learning the track, as I’ve never been here before. So I was working out how to take the corners – it was a good feeling to discover Oschersleben with the Corvette. This morning it was a bit harder – because the track was dry, and the weather warmer, there was more grip. This afternoon was better to work on getting a good set-up on the car. We were seventh quickest in the afternoon – but we need to find another second off our lap times! ”
Charles Morgan – No. 30 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero 8 GT3: “The cars are going well – I’ve still got a lot of catching up to do, but the fastest of the three was sixth overall. Our fastest driver is Johan-Boris Scheier and we’ve put a lot of his set-up on the other cars, which has helped – this morning we were getting a lot of understeer, partly because of the cool track temperature. ”
Marguerite Laffite – No. 31 AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero 8 GT3: “We had a problem with the alternator this morning, so I didn’t get out on track – that wasn’t ideal, since I don’t know the circuit. This afternoon was almost perfect – I stopped a few laps early, to let the car cool down, but then the starter didn’t work, so we couldn’t get out again. I love the track; everyone had told me it was a fun track, difficult and technical – and it’s true. ”
Robert Hissom – No. 32 APEX Motorsport Jaguar XKR: “I didn’t crash, which is a good thing! I didn’t get out in the morning session, but the car seemed to be handling well. This afternoon, I had a successful session, and Ben has been dialling in the car for qualifying. With the engine we have, and the strength of it, this isn’t the best circuit for the car – it’s a bit tight for us, and I prefer Monza, but we have to race at all the circuits, so here we are. ”
Ben Clucas – No. 32 APEX Motorsport Jaguar XKR: “I think it will be interesting to see what happens in qualifying – for practice, some people had almost unused sets of tyres, because of all the wet running at Monza. I hope we can qualify some way above where we were in practice. This morning I made a mistake – I locked up the rear tyres when changing down, the back end started to slide wide, and with the track being wet off-line, once I had missed the apex of the corner I couldn’t keep it on track. It went through the gravel, which damaged the front splitter, and that meant Rob couldn’t get out in that session. ”
