2010 RAC Tourist Trophy

The 2010 RAC Tourist Trophy was an auto race held at the Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, Great Britain from 30 April–2 May. The event, the second round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship season, was among the first to use the revised 5.900 km (3.666 mi) Arena layout of the Silverstone Circuit that was completed in early 2010. The GT1 series was part of the larger Silverstone Supercar 2010 event, sharing the weekend with the FIA GT3 European Championship, GT4 European Cup, and the British Formula 3 Championship.[1] The Championship race also served to award an annual champion for RAC Tourist Trophy, awarded by the Royal Automobile Club.[2]

The new Arena layout of the Silverstone Circuit
The No. 22 Sumo Power GT Nissan GT-R driven to victory in the Tourist Trophy by Brits Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes.

The British manufacturer Aston Martin dominated much of the early event, winning pole position in Qualifying with Darren Turner and Tomáš Enge's Young Driver AMR entry before Hexis AMR swept the top two spots in the Qualifying Race, led by drivers Frédéric Makowiecki and Thomas Accary.[3] Turner and Enge would then go on to win the Championship Race, but were later excluded from the race when their Aston Martin failed technical inspections. This, as well as a time penalty for a Hexis Aston Martin, promoted initial third-place finishers Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes of Sumo Power Nissan to the race victory and the award of the Tourist Trophy. Aston Martin settled for second, while Lamborghini earned their first podium in the championship with a third place.[4]

Background

Success Ballast[5]
Entry Ballast
No. 5 Matech Competition 40 kg (88 lb)
No. 13 Phoenix Racing / Carsport 30 kg (66 lb)
No. 14 Phoenix Racing / Carsport 20 kg (44 lb)
No. 1 Vitaphone Racing Team 10 kg (22 lb)

Following the opening round in Abu Dhabi, the Nissan teams of Sumo Power GT and Swiss Racing Team voiced their opinions on the balance of performance which was used in Abu Dhabi. The teams believed that the tests held prior to race has unfairly allowed the Nissan GT-R to be too hindered heavily weighted compared to its competitors, receiving 30 kg (66 lb) of extra ballast weight. Sumo Power and Swiss Racing left Abu Dhabi without earning any championship points. Allen Orchard of Sumo Power GT stated that the team planned to protest to the FIA, while Othmar Welti of Swiss Racing Team even threatened to boycott the event if the ballast remained unchanged.[6] On 27 April the FIA made further changes to the balance of performance, making alterations to the weights of five of the six manufacturers. Corvette[7] and Maserati[8] both gained extra ballast while Aston Martin,[9] Lamborghini,[10] and Nissan[11] all shed some of their previous ballast weight. The Lamborghini and Maserati also had air restrictor modifications made.

Besides the adjustments made to the balance of performance, four entries also enter Silverstone carrying further ballast due to their success in Abu Dhabi. The No. 5 Matech Ford which won the Championship Race in Abu Dhabi will carry 40 kg (88 lb), while the No. 13 and No. 14 Phoenix Corvettes and No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati will also have success weight. The field for the event has also been diminished by one with the absence of the No. 6 Matech Ford following its heavy crash in qualifying at Abu Dhabi and the continuing recovery of its driver Natacha Gachnang.[12] Matech drivers Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch let the Drivers Championship with 33 points, five ahead of Phoenix drivers Marc Hennerici and Andreas Zuber. Phoenix Racing / Carsport meanwhile led the Teams Championship with 41 points ahead of Matech's 31.

Following the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull that caused disruption to air travel in Europe, the organiser of the FIA GT1 World Championship, Stéphane Ratel Organisation, expressed worries that cargo planes carrying cars and equipment would not be able to be transported to the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, two cargo planes were able to land in Luxembourg on the morning of 22 April and two charter flights arrived in Austria later that day, allowing the race to continue as scheduled.[13]

The 2010 running of the RAC Tourist Trophy included four former winners of the event, included two-time defending winner Karl Wendlinger attempting to win his third in succession. Vitaphone drivers Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini previously shared the win in 2006 while Peter Kox won the event in 2005.

Qualifying

The GT1 qualifying session was held early on Saturday, 1 May, with all 23 participants taking part in the initial twenty-minute first session. By the end of the first quarter of the session, local driver Oliver Gavin in the No. 12 Mad-Croc Corvette led the field with the fastest time of the weekend, the first lap under the 2:01 mark, then breaking under an even 2:00 within his next few laps. Halfway through the session the No. 37 Münnich Lamborghini of Christophe Bouchut and No. 3 Swiss Nissan of Karl Wendlinger came into contact with one another at the Brooklands corner, leading both cars to spin to a stop but eventually resume. With less than four minutes left in the session, the No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin, driven by Stefan Mücke, went to the top of the time charts with a lap of 1:59.694 where it would remain until the session ended. On the final lap of the session, Jos Menten in the Reiter Lamborghini climbed out of the bottom seven times, staving off elimination. The seven slowest cars at the end of the session, which are knocked out of the qualifying session per GT1 regulations, included both Marc VDS Fords, both Münnich Lamborghinis, both Swiss Nissans, and the No. 11 Mad-Croc Corvette.[14]

For the first time in the FIA GT1 World Championship, qualifying reached the second session, with the sixteen remaining cars running for fifteen minutes. Anthony Kumpen, driving the No. 14 Phoenix Corvette led the session early before having the top spot taken by a quick succession of drivers. Michael Bartels initially took the lead in the No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati, then was overtaken on the time charts by Peter Dumbreck in the No. 23 Sumo Power Nissan, before Frank Kechele in the No. 25 Reiter Lamborghini led the field less than a minute later. With approximately three minutes left in the session, Jonathan Hirschi put the No. 10 Hexis Aston Martin on top with a time of 1:59.796 and would be able to maintain the first position as the session came to an end. Teams knocked out at the end of the session included both Phoenix Corvettes and both Hegersport Maseratis, the No. 2 Vitaphone Maserati and No. 12 Mad-Croc Corvette, as well as the championship-leading No 5. Matech Ford and the No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin which had been quickest in the first qualifying session.[14]

Eight cars remained for the final ten-minute session, with Frédéric Makowiecki in the No. 9 Hexis Aston Martin setting the early pace with the first lap under 2:00. As the qualifying session ended and the cars completed their final flying lap, Darren Turner, who only brought the No. 7 Young Driver Aston Martin to the circuit in the final five minutes, earned pole position with a lap of 1:58.808, over four tenths of a second ahead of the No. 9 Hexis Aston Martin, giving Aston Martin the lead of all three qualifying sessions and a lockout of the front row of the grid, ahead of a Sumo Power Nissan and Vitaphone Maserati on the second row.[14]

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.

Pos No. Driver 1 Team Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Grid
Driver 2
1 7 United Kingdom Darren Turner Germany Young Driver AMR 2:00.076 2:00.089 1:58.808 1
Czech Republic Tomáš Enge
2 9 France Frédéric Makowiecki France Hexis AMR 2:00.594 2:00.210 1:59.287 2
France Thomas Accary
3 23 Germany Michael Krumm United Kingdom Sumo Power GT 2:00.185 2:00.026 1:59.501 3
United Kingdom Peter Dumbreck
4 1 Italy Andrea Bertolini Germany Vitaphone Racing Team 2:00.293 1:59.990 1:59.775 4
Germany Michael Bartels
5 22 United Kingdom Warren Hughes United Kingdom Sumo Power GT 2:00.995 1:59.826 2:00.459 5
United Kingdom Jamie Campbell-Walter
6 10 Monaco Clivio Piccione France Hexis AMR 2:00.709 1:59.796 2:00.566 6
Switzerland Jonathan Hirschi
7 25 Netherlands Jos Menten Germany Reiter 2:00.851 1:59.876 2:00.641 7
Germany Frank Kechele
8 24 Netherlands Peter Kox Germany Reiter 2:00.782 2:00.099 2:00.699 111
Germany Christopher Haase
9 13 Austria Andreas Zuber Germany Phoenix Racing / Carsport 2:00.471 2:00.220 8
Germany Marc Hennerici
10 8 Germany Stefan Mücke Germany Young Driver AMR 1:59.694 2:00.335 9
Denmark Christoffer Nygaard
11 14 Netherlands Mike Hezemans Germany Phoenix Racing / Carsport 2:00.856 2:00.637 10
Belgium Anthony Kumpen
12 34 Italy Matteo Bobbi Germany Triple H Team Hegersport 1:59.888 2:01.280 12
Belgium Bert Longin
13 2 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi Germany Vitaphone Racing Team 2:00.424 2:01.371 13
Portugal Miguel Ramos
14 33 Greece Alexandros Margaritis Germany Triple H Team Hegersport 1:59.868 2:01.899 14
Germany Altfrid Heger
15 5 France Romain Grosjean Switzerland Matech Competition 2:00.885 2:02.113 15
Germany Thomas Mutsch
16 12 United Kingdom Oliver Gavin Belgium Mad-Croc Racing 1:59.861 2:02.287 16
Finland Pertti Kuismanen
17 37 France Christophe Bouchut Germany All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport 2:01.158 17
Germany Marc Basseng
18 40 Belgium Bas Leinders Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team 2:01.175 18
Belgium Maxime Martin
19 4 Japan Seiji Ara Switzerland Swiss Racing Team 2:01.193 19
Sweden Max Nilsson
20 11 Netherlands Xavier Maassen Belgium Mad-Croc Racing 2:01.424 20
France Nicolas Armindo
21 3 Austria Karl Wendlinger Switzerland Swiss Racing Team 2:01.506 21
Switzerland Henri Moser
22 41 Finland Markus Palttala Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team 2:02.072 22
Belgium Renaud Kuppens
23 38 Germany Dominik Schwager Germany All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport 2:02.929 23
Netherlands Nicky Pastorelli
1.^ The No. 24 Reiter Lamborghini was given a penalty of three grid spots for crossing the pit entry line twice during qualifying.

Races

Qualifying race

The start of the Qualifying Race

From the rolling start, the pole sitting No. 7 Young Driver Aston Martin of Tomáš Enge led the field as they battled into the first corner, jumping out ahead of the No 9 Hexis Aston Martin and No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati. Further down the field the No. 33 Hegersport Maserati spun in the middle of the first turn after hitting one of the Reiter Lamborghinis, which then made contact with the No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin. The Aston Martin's left rear tyre was cut down by the contact and Christoffer Nygaard was forced to make an early pit stop for a new tyre. The Hegersport Maserati meanwhile, although briefly continuing, was forced to enter the team's garage several laps later with engine problems. On the tenth lap of the race, Abu Dhabi race winner Thomas Mutsch spun the No. 5 Matech Ford into a gravel trap outside Maggotts corner while defending 13th place. The Ford would lose a lap while being extracted and returning to the race.

By the time the pit window opened in the 25th minute, Enge led the field by over two seconds. Darren Turner was able to take over the No. 7 Aston Martin during the team's pit stop and retained the race lead but minutes later officials announced drive-thru penalties for the No. 7, No. 23 Sumo Power Nissan, and No. 34 Hegersport Maserati for all cutting the pit lane entry. All three returned to the pits to serve their penalty on the next lap, but while entering the pits Turner cut the entry and earned a stop-and-go penalty. After the two penalties the Young Driver Aston Martin had fallen to seventh, with the No 9 Hexis Aston Martin now leading. During pit stop window the No. 10 Hexis Aston Martin managed to take over second after the No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati stalled in the pits.

During the closing ten minutes of the race the two Swiss Nissans were attempting to catch the No. 37 Münnich Lamborghini for fourteenth place, but collided with one another in the Vale corner and spun Karl Wendlinger in the No. 3 car. Meanwhile, at the front of the field Darren Turner had begun to reclaim lost positions by passing the No. 23 Sumo Power Nissan for sixth place, then the No. 14 Phoenix Corvette for fifth. Turner would eventually claim the fourth position in the final two laps but would miss out on a podium finish for the race end. Hexis driver Frédéric Makowiecki led the field across the line for the race win, ahead of his teammate Clivio Piccione in second place, with the No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati in third.

Race result

Pos No. Team Drivers Manufacturer Laps Time/Retired
1 9 France Hexis AMR France Thomas Accary
France Frédéric Makowiecki
Aston Martin 30
2 10 France Hexis AMR Monaco Clivio Piccione
Switzerland Jonathan Hirschi
Aston Martin 30 −3.577
3 1 Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Germany Michael Bartels
Italy Andrea Bertolini
Maserati 30 −4.935
4 7 Germany Young Driver AMR Czech Republic Tomáš Enge
United Kingdom Darren Turner
Aston Martin 30 −27.880
5 22 United Kingdom Sumo Power GT United Kingdom Warren Hughes
United Kingdom Jamie Campbell-Walter
Nissan 30 −29.745
6 25 Germany Reiter Germany Frank Kechele
Netherlands Jos Menten
Lamborghini 30 −33.488
7 14 Germany Phoenix Racing / Carsport Netherlands Mike Hezemans
Belgium Anthony Kumpen
Corvette 30 −40.752
8 23 United Kingdom Sumo Power GT United Kingdom Peter Dumbreck
Germany Michael Krumm
Nissan 30 −40.852
9 2 Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Portugal Miguel Ramos
Brazil Enrique Bernoldi
Maserati 30 −47.687
10 24 Germany Reiter Netherlands Peter Kox
Germany Christopher Haase
Lamborghini 30 −49.958
11 13 Germany Phoenix Racing / Carsport Germany Marc Hennerici
Austria Andreas Zuber
Corvette 30 −50.581
12 11 Belgium Mad-Croc Racing Netherlands Xavier Maassen
France Nicolas Armindo
Corvette 30 −1:06.514
13 12 Belgium Mad-Croc Racing Finland Pertti Kuismanen
United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
Corvette 30 −1:10.589
14 4 Switzerland Swiss Racing Team Sweden Max Nilsson
Japan Seiji Ara
Nissan 30 −1:19.057
15 3 Switzerland Swiss Racing Team Austria Karl Wendlinger
Switzerland Henri Moser
Nissan 30 −1:27.997
16 34 Germany Triple H Team Hegersport Belgium Bert Longin
Italy Matteo Bobbi
Maserati 30 −1:29.062
17 37 Germany All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Germany Marc Basseng
France Christophe Bouchut
Lamborghini 30 −1:31.319
18 41 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Belgium Renaud Kuppens
Finland Markus Palttala
Ford 29 −1 Lap
19 40 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Belgium Bas Leinders
Belgium Maxime Martin
Ford 29 −1 Lap
20 38 Germany All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Netherlands Nicky Pastorelli
Germany Dominik Schwager
Lamborghini 29 −1 Lap
21 5 Switzerland Matech Competition Germany Thomas Mutsch
Switzerland Romain Grosjean
Ford 28 −2 Laps
22
NC
33 Germany Triple H Team Hegersport Germany Altfrid Heger
Greece Alexandros Margaritis
Maserati 21 −9 Laps
23
DNF
8 Germany Young Driver AMR Germany Stefan Mücke
Denmark Christoffer Nygaard
Aston Martin 14 Retired

Championship race

The No. 7 Young Driver Aston Martin was the initial Championship Race winner prior to exclusion

The Sunday Championship Race was held under colder damp conditions than Saturday's Qualifying Race, with the grid lining up in their finishing positions from the previous day. Four cars were awarded penalties by the race stewards following Saturday's race and demoted five grid positions from original position; both Mad-Croc Corvettes as well as the No. 24 Reiter Lamborghini were demoted, while the No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin was already starting from the back of the field.

At the start of the race Hexis' Jonathan Hirschi led into the first corner, followed by teammate and polesitter Frédéric Makowiecki and the fellow Aston Martin of Darren Turner. Andrea Bertolini in the No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati slipped from his third place grid position to seventh. Towards the back of the field Romain Grosjean was hit from behind by the No. 33 Hegersport Maserati, bouncing the Ford into the side of the No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin and Grosjean to spin to the outside of the first turn. Suspension damaged in the accident would render the Ford unable to restart the race. During the second lap Hirschi ran wide at the Stowe corner and allowed Makoweicki to take over the race lead, while Warren Hughes took fourth place from Jos Menten's Reiter Lamborghini. As the race entered the third lap, the No. 8 Young Driver Aston Martin was forced to make a pit stop to replace a tyre punctured in the earlier incident while the No. 14 Phoenix Racing Corvette began to billow smoke on the Hangar Straight. Mike Hezemans spun the Corvette and came to a stop where the rear of car became enveloped in flames. While Hezemans successfully exited the car, the clean-up by track officials required the intervention of the safety car, neutralizing the race.

The safety car was withdrawn on the seventh lap and Makowiecki once again led the field.

Race result

Pos No. Team Drivers Manufacturer Laps Time/Retired
1 22 United Kingdom Sumo Power GT United Kingdom Warren Hughes
United Kingdom Jamie Campbell-Walter
Nissan 28
2 9 France Hexis AMR France Thomas Accary
France Frédéric Makowiecki
Aston Martin 28 −1.885
3 25 Germany Reiter Germany Frank Kechele
Netherlands Jos Menten
Lamborghini 28 −10.284
4 34 Germany Triple H Team Hegersport Belgium Bert Longin
Italy Matteo Bobbi
Maserati 28 −10.875
5 8 Germany Young Driver AMR Germany Stefan Mücke
Denmark Christoffer Nygaard
Aston Martin 28 −11.051
6 33 Germany Triple H Team Hegersport Germany Altfrid Heger
Greece Alexandros Margaritis
Maserati 28 −11.787
7 1 Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Germany Michael Bartels
Italy Andrea Bertolini
Maserati 28 −19.310
8 40 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Belgium Bas Leinders
Belgium Maxime Martin
Ford 28 −22.413
9 4 Switzerland Swiss Racing Team Sweden Max Nilsson
Japan Seiji Ara
Nissan 28 −27.708
10 41 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Belgium Renaud Kuppens
Finland Markus Palttala
Ford 28 −28.790
11 11 Belgium Mad-Croc Racing Netherlands Xavier Maassen
France Nicolas Armindo
Corvette 28 −35.507
12 38 Germany All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Netherlands Nicky Pastorelli
Germany Dominik Schwager
Lamborghini 28 −58.724
13 10 France Hexis AMR Monaco Clivio Piccione
Switzerland Jonathan Hirschi
Aston Martin 28 −1:25.799
14 12 Belgium Mad-Croc Racing Finland Pertti Kuismanen
United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
Corvette 25 −3 Laps
15 2 Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Portugal Miguel Ramos
Brazil Enrique Bernoldi
Maserati 24 −4 Laps
16
DNF
24 Germany Reiter Netherlands Peter Kox
Germany Christopher Haase
Lamborghini 16 Puncture
17
DNF
3 Switzerland Swiss Racing Team Austria Karl Wendlinger
Switzerland Henri Moser
Nissan 16 Accident
18
DNF
13 Germany Phoenix Racing / Carsport Germany Marc Hennerici
Austria Andreas Zuber
Corvette 15 Engine
19
DNF
23 United Kingdom Sumo Power GT United Kingdom Peter Dumbreck
Germany Michael Krumm
Nissan 10 Collision
20
DNF
14 Germany Phoenix Racing / Carsport Netherlands Mike Hezemans
Belgium Anthony Kumpen
Corvette 2 Fire
21
DNF
37 Germany All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Germany Marc Basseng
France Christophe Bouchut
Lamborghini 1 Retired
22
DNF
5 Switzerland Matech Competition Germany Thomas Mutsch
France Romain Grosjean
Ford 0 Collision
EX 7 Germany Young Driver AMR Czech Republic Tomáš Enge
United Kingdom Darren Turner
Aston Martin 28 Excluded

Post-event

Despite failing to finish the championship race and earning no points in either race Thomas Mutsch and Romain Grosjean were able to sustain their lead in the Drivers Championship by a margin of five points, aided by a lack of points earned by Marc Hennerici and Andreas Zuber. However podium finishes in the Qualifying and Championship races have elevated Hexis drivers Frédéric Makowiecki and Thomas Accary and Vitaphone drivers Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini to even points with Hennerici and Zuber. Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes, by winning the Championship race and earning their first points for the season, now sit fifth in the Drivers Championship.

As in the Drivers Championship, Phoenix Racing / Carsport retained the Teams Championship lead without gaining any points at Silverstone. Vitaphone Racing Team moved from third to second after earning points in both the Qualifying and Championship Races, while Hexis AMR's three podiums in the two races promoted them to third in the standings.

Standings

References

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  9. "Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile GT Committee – Decision" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2010-04-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  10. "Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile GT Committee – Decision" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2010-04-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  11. "Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile GT Committee – Decision" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2010-04-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  12. "Matech single car entry for Silverstone". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2010-04-30. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  13. English, Steven (22 April 2010). "Silverstone GT1 round to go ahead". Autosport. Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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