2010 FIA GT1 Algarve round


The 2010 FIA GT1 Algarve round was an auto race held at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão, Portugal on 17–19 September 2010. Serving as the seventh round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship season, the FIA GT1 race served as part of the larger Portimão Supercar event and was joined by the FIA GT3 European Championship, GT4 European Cup, and Superleague Formula. The former FIA GT Championship previously raced at the Algarve circuit in 2009.

Background

As part of the FIA Balance of Performance, Ford GTs were allowed the team to increase the size of their air restrictors for more power, although the cars also had to carry an extra of ballast. Further, six teams entered the Portimão round with success ballast. The No. 7 Young Driver which won the previous round at the Nürburgring carried, while further top four finishers Reiter, Phoenix, and Hexis also gained ballast. The No. 11 Vitaphone entry, which led both the Drivers' and Teams' Championships entering Portimão, retains of the 20 previously carried in the previous round, while the No. 33 Hegersport car shed 40 kg of ballast carried over from the Nürburgring.
Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini of Vitaphone retained the Drivers' Championship lead they had held since the Paul Ricard round, holding a fourteen-point gap over Thomas Mutsch of Matech. Tomáš Enge and Darren Turner shared third place a further twelve points behind Mutsch. In the Teams' Championship, Vitaphone also held the points lead by a margin of 26 points over Reiter, while Young Driver were four points further back.

Qualifying

's Marc Hennerici was able to put the team's sole Corvette on pole position in the final qualifying session by a margin of three hundredths of a second. Marc VDS initially earned their best qualifying position to date by claiming the front row in the No. 40 Ford GT, but were later penalized to the back of the grid after their car failed a stall test during technical inspection. The penalty promoted the No. 23 Sumo Power Nissan to the front row, while the Vitaphone duo locked out the second row on the grid.

Qualifying result

For qualifying, Driver 1 participates in the first and third sessions while Driver 2 participates in only the second session. The fastest lap for each session is indicated with bold.
PosNo.Driver 1TeamSession 1Session 2Session 3Grid
PosNo.Driver 2TeamSession 1Session 2Session 3Grid
113 Marc Hennerici Phoenix Racing / Carsport1:42.9121:42.5971:42.3941
113 Alexandros Margaritis Phoenix Racing / Carsport1:42.9121:42.5971:42.3941
240 Maxime Martin Marc VDS Racing Team1:42.8021:43.0221:42.42423
240 Bas Leinders Marc VDS Racing Team1:42.8021:43.0221:42.42423
323 Peter Dumbreck Sumo Power GT1:43.1021:42.5831:42.7242
323 Michael Krumm Sumo Power GT1:43.1021:42.5831:42.7242
42 Enrique Bernoldi Vitaphone Racing Team1:43.1881:43.3271:42.8273
42 Miguel Ramos Vitaphone Racing Team1:43.1881:43.3271:42.8273
51 Andrea Bertolini Vitaphone Racing Team1:43.0881:42.7211:42.8434
51 Michael Bartels Vitaphone Racing Team1:43.0881:42.7211:42.8434
638 Nicky Pastorelli All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport1:43.3981:42.9011:43.5375
638 Dominik Schwager All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport1:43.3981:42.9011:43.5375
734 Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof Triple H Team Hegersport1:43.4391:42.4651:44.6056
734 Alessandro Pier Guidi Triple H Team Hegersport1:43.4391:42.4651:44.6056
833 Altfrid Heger Triple H Team Hegersport1:43.5571:43.153No Time7
833 Alex Müller Triple H Team Hegersport1:43.5571:43.153No Time7
937 Christophe Bouchut All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport1:43.1531:43.4298
937 Marc Basseng All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport1:43.1531:43.4298
1025 Frank Kechele Reiter1:42.7501:43.5109
1025 Jos Menten Reiter1:42.7501:43.5109
117 Darren Turner Young Driver AMR1:43.1101:43.58110
117 Tomáš Enge Young Driver AMR1:43.1101:43.58110
1211 Julien Jousse Mad-Croc Racing1:42.8191:43.72711
1211 Xavier Maassen Mad-Croc Racing1:42.8191:43.72711
138 Stefan Mücke Young Driver AMR1:43.3971:44.30312
138 Pedro Lamy Young Driver AMR1:43.3971:44.30312
149 Frédéric Makowiecki Hexis AMR1:43.1021:44.59613
149 Yann Clairay Hexis AMR1:43.1021:44.59613
154 Seiji Ara Swiss Racing Team1:42.9531:44.60714
154 Max Nilsson Swiss Racing Team1:42.9531:44.60714
1612 Laurent Cazenave Mad-Croc Racing1:43.5681:45.12415
1612 Pertti Kuismanen Mad-Croc Racing1:43.5681:45.12415
176 Nicolas Prost Matech Competition1:43.76216
176 Neel Jani Matech Competition1:43.76216
1841 Markus Palttala Marc VDS Racing Team1:43.79617
1841 Renaud Kuppens Marc VDS Racing Team1:43.79617
193 Karl Wendlinger Swiss Racing Team1:43.81218
193 Henri Moser Swiss Racing Team1:43.81218
2010 Jonathan Hirschi Hexis AMR1:43.90419
2010 Clivio Piccione Hexis AMR1:43.90419
2124 Peter Kox Reiter1:44.00820
2124 Christopher Haase Reiter1:44.00820
225 Thomas Mutsch Matech Competition1:44.08321
225 Richard Westbrook Matech Competition1:44.08321
2322 Jamie Campbell-Walter Sumo Power GT1:44.68622
2322 Warren Hughes Sumo Power GT1:44.68622

Races

Qualifying Race

led the field away from pole position, taking command for the first half of the race. After the pit stop and driver change, Sumo Power's Peter Dumbreck was able to catch up to leader Marc Hennerici, eventually passing the Corvette into Turn 1 in the final ten minutes of the race. The Vitaphone Maserati of Andrea Bertolini, following close behind the two, was eventually able to also pass Hennerici and secure second place

Race result

Championship Race

Following the Qualifying Race win, the Sumo Power Nissan led into the first turn, ahead of the No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati. Further down the field the No. 38 Münnich Lamborghini spun onto the outside runoff where it was collected by the No. 2 Vitaphone Maserati. Jamie Campbell-Walter's Nissan was also hit in the first turn, causing steering damage and forcing the team's retirement. At the opening of the pit window, the two leaders pitted together, but Sumo Power suffered from a tire change problem which dropped them down the race order, handing the lead to Vitaphone's Andrea Bertolini. The Phoenix Racing Corvette was promoted into second after the pit stops before being overtaken by Richard Westbrook in the No. 5 Matech Ford. Westbrook attempted to chase down the leading Maserati, but was only able to come within a second and a half at the end of the race.

Race result