09/05/2008: Raphaël van der Straten on Silverstone Raphaël van der Straten had his first two GT4 races in Silverstone, in the VDS Racing Adventures Mustang FR500C. The Belgian driver looks back over the event :  "Concerning Silverstone, the first thing that comes to mind is that I still have a lot to learn, both as far as the driving is concerned and in the management of sprint races. The car is still very new to me, as I have only driven it around ten hours in total.  But globally, I am satisfied with my weekend in Silverstone, despite the results not being as good as I had hoped.  But it is good to have finished both races, without a single scratch, unlike some other competitors.  My initial hope was to maintain the position I had in qualifying, but I could not manage that.  In the first race, the problem was my mobile phone, which was still in my pocket.  A friend, having forgotten the time difference, rang me up to see how the race had gone.  The vibrations distracted me, and I was overtaken.  In the second race, my tyres degraded rapidly, and at the end of three laps, I could barely steer the car.  I was waiting impatiently for the chequered flag, hoping my tyres would last.  I hope that I will manage to score some points this season; I would like a podium finish at least once - I still have some time, as I think there are 15 races to go !"   read more

07/05/2008: Mallock looks forward to Monza

Michael Mallock started off the GT4 season with two pole positions in Silverstone in his RS Williams Aston Martin N24, but his weekend came to an abrupt end with a heavy crash in race one. But the young British driver should be back in action for Monza. "I'm all good now," he explained. "I had quite a bit of bruising on my legs and feet and concussion, but it has all cleared now so I'm back on form! Unfortunately the car wasn't as lucky, the damage was too severe to salvage anything so we are shaking down a new car tomorrow for Monza. The guys at RSWilliams have been working flat out to get ready, so we are now in a position to run the car before they travel down to Monza next week."
 

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05/05/2008: Belgian Racing preparing for Sports Light in Monza

Belgian Racing, the official Gillet Vertigo racing team, is preparing its GT4 Vertigo, for the Monza round of the GT4 European Cup on 18th of May 2008, where it will compete in the Sports Light category.

The car will be powered by an Alfa Roméo V6 engine, and driven by two Belgian gentleman-drivers.

“For us, it is important to be present in the GT4 championship with our Vertigo. It will strengthen our presence on the international scene and reach the gentleman-drivers target. It is a logical opportunity.” said Tony Gillet.
Belgian Racing is already present in FIA GT Category G2 with its Maserati V8-powered Vertigo. The GT4 is the second Vertigo present during the FIA GT race week-ends. It benefits from the latest technologies developed and tested on the FIA GT car, in accordance with its specific regulation.

Homologation is under way at the moment, and should be completed in time for the car to compete in Monza.

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23/04/2008: Victory in Race 2 to Beechdean's Jamie Smyth

The second race of the GT4 European Cup at Silverstone was close and action-packed, with a race-long battle between reigning Champion Eric de Doncker's Mustang FR500 and the Aston Martin N24 cars of Klaus Engelhorn and Jamie Smyth.  However, on lap 13, contact between Engelhorn's Aston and the Mustang, which was in the lead, saw both cars spin. 

Engelhorn pulled away and took the chequered flag ahead of Smyth and De Doncker, but the Stewards of the Meeting later gave him a 15 second penalty for driving standards, which relegated him to third.  Jamie Smyth therefore took the win for Beechdean, with Eric De Doncker second and Engelhorn third.

In the Sports Light category, Catherina Felser took her first victory in the KTM X-Bow, ahead of Christopher Haase of Germany.

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19/04/2008: Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof wins first race of 2008

Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof claimed the first win of the 2008 season, crossing the line in his Jetalliance Aston Martin N24 after 13 laps of exciting racing around the Silverstone track.

He was followed across the line by Danny van Dongen in the Corvette C6, the car making its GT4 debut this weekend. Third place went to Jurgen van Hover of Belgium, in the Speedlover Aston Martin N24.

Some drops of rain fell, but not enough to make the race officially wet.  The start of the race saw a good battle between the Astons of pole sitter Michael Mallock and Mayr-Melnhof, but on lap two, Mallock's car went off, hitting the wall hard, and bringing the safety car out.  Racing resumed on lap seven.  The remaining six laps saw some excellent battles, especially between Engelhorn, De Doncker and Kenis.  Van Dongen got to within 0.7 of leader Mayr-Melnhof, but it was the Aston which took the chequered flag.  As for De Doncker and Kenis, the Mustang and BMW crossed the line side by side, De Doncker taking fifth by only 0.025 of a second - a real photo finish !

In the first Sports Light category, Dennis Retera took the win ahead of his team-mate Catharina Felser, both driving KTM X-Bow cars.    The nr 101 X-Bow finished in a fine 7th position overall, in the middle of the GT4 field, with Felser 10th overall.  A great start for the new car.

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19/04/2008: Double pole for Mallock

Michael Mallock made it two in a row when he placed his RS Williams Aston Martin on pole position for the second race of the 2008 GT4 European Cup in Silverstone.

Mallock set a lap of 2:02.130, 1.5 seconds ahead of second-placed Eric De Doncker, the reigning GT4 Champion, in his Mustang FR500C.  Third place went to Jurgen van Hover in an Aston Martin N24.  The leading Sports Light car was Christopher Haase of Germany in the nr 101 Reiter KTM X-Bow.

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