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

Success Ballast^[1]
Entry	Ballast
No. 7 Young Driver AMR	40 kg (88 lb)
No. 24 Reiter	30 kg (66 lb)
No. 13 Phoenix Racing / Carsport	20 kg (44 lb)
No. 1 Vitaphone Racing Team	10 kg (22 lb)
No. 10 Hexis AMR	10 kg (22 lb)
No. 33 Triple H Team Hegersport	10 kg (22 lb)

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 12 kg (26 lb) of ballast.^[2] Further, six teams entered the Portimão round with success ballast. The No. 7 Young Driver which won the previous round at the Nürburgring carried 40 kg (88 lb), 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 10 kg (22 lb) 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

Phoenix'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.

Pos	No.	Driver 1	Team	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Grid
Pos	No.	Driver 2	Team	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Grid
1	13	Marc Hennerici	Phoenix Racing / Carsport	1:42.912	1:42.597	1:42.394	1
1	13	Alexandros Margaritis	Phoenix Racing / Carsport	1:42.912	1:42.597	1:42.394	1
2	40	Maxime Martin	Marc VDS Racing Team	1:42.802	1:43.022	1:42.424	23
2	40	Bas Leinders	Marc VDS Racing Team	1:42.802	1:43.022	1:42.424	23
3	23	Peter Dumbreck	Sumo Power GT	1:43.102	1:42.583	1:42.724	2
3	23	Michael Krumm	Sumo Power GT	1:43.102	1:42.583	1:42.724	2
4	2	Enrique Bernoldi	Vitaphone Racing Team	1:43.188	1:43.327	1:42.827	3
4	2	Miguel Ramos	Vitaphone Racing Team	1:43.188	1:43.327	1:42.827	3
5	1	Andrea Bertolini	Vitaphone Racing Team	1:43.088	1:42.721	1:42.843	4
5	1	Michael Bartels	Vitaphone Racing Team	1:43.088	1:42.721	1:42.843	4
6	38	Nicky Pastorelli	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	1:43.398	1:42.901	1:43.537	5
6	38	Dominik Schwager	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	1:43.398	1:42.901	1:43.537	5
7	34	Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof	Triple H Team Hegersport	1:43.439	1:42.465	1:44.605	6
7	34	Alessandro Pier Guidi	Triple H Team Hegersport	1:43.439	1:42.465	1:44.605	6
8	33	Altfrid Heger	Triple H Team Hegersport	1:43.557	1:43.153	No Time	7
8	33	Alex Müller	Triple H Team Hegersport	1:43.557	1:43.153	No Time	7
9	37	Christophe Bouchut	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	1:43.153	1:43.429		8
9	37	Marc Basseng	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	1:43.153	1:43.429		8
10	25	Frank Kechele	Reiter	1:42.750	1:43.510		9
10	25	Jos Menten	Reiter	1:42.750	1:43.510		9
11	7	Darren Turner	Young Driver AMR	1:43.110	1:43.581		10
11	7	Tomáš Enge	Young Driver AMR	1:43.110	1:43.581		10
12	11	Julien Jousse	Mad-Croc Racing	1:42.819	1:43.727		11
12	11	Xavier Maassen	Mad-Croc Racing	1:42.819	1:43.727		11
13	8	Stefan Mücke	Young Driver AMR	1:43.397	1:44.303		12
13	8	Pedro Lamy	Young Driver AMR	1:43.397	1:44.303		12
14	9	Frédéric Makowiecki	Hexis AMR	1:43.102	1:44.596		13
14	9	Yann Clairay	Hexis AMR	1:43.102	1:44.596		13
15	4	Seiji Ara	Swiss Racing Team	1:42.953	1:44.607		14
15	4	Max Nilsson	Swiss Racing Team	1:42.953	1:44.607		14
16	12	Laurent Cazenave	Mad-Croc Racing	1:43.568	1:45.124		15
16	12	Pertti Kuismanen	Mad-Croc Racing	1:43.568	1:45.124		15
17	6	Nicolas Prost	Matech Competition	1:43.762			16
17	6	Neel Jani	Matech Competition	1:43.762			16
18	41	Markus Palttala	Marc VDS Racing Team	1:43.796			17
18	41	Renaud Kuppens	Marc VDS Racing Team	1:43.796			17
19	3	Karl Wendlinger	Swiss Racing Team	1:43.812			18
19	3	Henri Moser	Swiss Racing Team	1:43.812			18
20	10	Jonathan Hirschi	Hexis AMR	1:43.904			19
20	10	Clivio Piccione	Hexis AMR	1:43.904			19
21	24	Peter Kox	Reiter	1:44.008			20
21	24	Christopher Haase	Reiter	1:44.008			20
22	5	Thomas Mutsch	Matech Competition	1:44.083			21
22	5	Richard Westbrook	Matech Competition	1:44.083			21
23	22	Jamie Campbell-Walter	Sumo Power GT	1:44.686			22
23	22	Warren Hughes	Sumo Power GT	1:44.686			22

Races

Qualifying Race

Alexandros Margaritis 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

Pos	No.	Team	Drivers	Manufacturer	Laps	Time/Retired
1	23	Sumo Power GT	Peter Dumbreck Michael Krumm	Nissan	34
2	1	Vitaphone Racing Team	Michael Bartels Andrea Bertolini	Maserati	34	−2.474
3	13	Phoenix Racing / Carsport	Marc Hennerici Alexandros Margaritis	Corvette	34	−9.222
4	7	Young Driver AMR	Tomáš Enge Darren Turner	Aston Martin	34	−26.210
5	5	Matech Competition	Thomas Mutsch Richard Westbrook	Ford	34	−29.079
6	33	Triple H Team Hegersport	Altfrid Heger Alex Müller	Maserati	34	−39.464
7	11	Mad-Croc Racing	Xavier Maassen Julien Jousse	Corvette	34	−39.581
8	38	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	Nicky Pastorelli Dominik Schwager	Lamborghini	34	−39.982
9	22	Sumo Power GT	Warren Hughes Jamie Campbell-Walter	Nissan	34	−40.108
10	9	Hexis AMR	Frédéric Makowiecki Yann Clairay	Aston Martin	34	−40.428
11	4	Swiss Racing Team	Max Nilsson Seiji Ara	Nissan	34	−40.680
12	24	Reiter	Peter Kox Christopher Haase	Lamborghini	34	−41.549
13	2	Vitaphone Racing Team	Miguel Ramos Enrique Bernoldi	Maserati	34	−43.590
14	25	Reiter	Jos Menten Frank Kechele	Lamborghini	34	−44.500
15	8	Young Driver AMR	Stefan Mücke Pedro Lamy	Aston Martin	34	−47.150
16	10	Hexis AMR	Clivio Piccione Jonathan Hirschi	Aston Martin	34	−58.365
17	12	Mad-Croc Racing	Pertti Kuismanen Laurent Cazenave	Corvette	34	−1:51.030
18	34	Triple H Team Hegersport	Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof Alessandro Pier Guidi	Maserati	33	−1 Lap
19	41	Marc VDS Racing Team	Renaud Kuppens Markus Palttala	Ford	33	−1 Lap
20	6	Matech Competition	Nicolas Prost Neel Jani	Ford	25	−9 Laps
21 DNF	40	Marc VDS Racing Team	Bas Leinders Maxime Martin	Ford	22	Retired
22 DNF	3	Swiss Racing Team	Karl Wendlinger Henri Moser	Nissan	18	Damage
23 DNF	37	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	Marc Basseng Christophe Bouchut	Lamborghini	13	Retired

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

Pos	No.	Team	Drivers	Manufacturer	Laps	Time/Retired
1	1	Vitaphone Racing Team	Michael Bartels Andrea Bertolini	Maserati	34
2	5	Matech Competition	Thomas Mutsch Richard Westbrook	Ford	34	−1.402
3	13	Phoenix Racing / Carsport	Marc Hennerici Alexandros Margaritis	Corvette	34	−15.482
4	23	Sumo Power GT	Peter Dumbreck Michael Krumm	Nissan	34	−24.623
5	40	Marc VDS Racing Team	Bas Leinders Maxime Martin	Ford	34	−31.945
6	9	Hexis AMR	Frédéric Makowiecki Yann Clairay	Aston Martin	34	−32.483
7	24	Reiter	Peter Kox Christopher Haase	Lamborghini	34	−32.850
8	25	Reiter	Jos Menten Frank Kechele	Lamborghini	34	−34.845
9	33	Triple H Team Hegersport	Altfrid Heger Alex Müller	Maserati	34	−41.948
10	7	Young Driver AMR	Tomáš Enge Darren Turner	Aston Martin	34	−43.495
11	8	Young Driver AMR	Stefan Mücke Pedro Lamy	Aston Martin	34	−44.434
12	6	Matech Competition	Nicolas Prost Neel Jani	Ford	34	−46.306
13	10	Hexis AMR	Clivio Piccione Jonathan Hirschi	Aston Martin	34	−47.565
14	11	Mad-Croc Racing	Xavier Maassen Julien Jousse	Corvette	34	−54.916
15	41	Marc VDS Racing Team	Renaud Kuppens Markus Palttala	Ford	34	−1:10.419
16	12	Mad-Croc Racing	Pertti Kuismanen Laurent Cazenave	Corvette	33	−1 Lap
17	37	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	Marc Basseng Christophe Bouchut	Lamborghini	32	−2 Laps
18	4	Swiss Racing Team	Max Nilsson Seiji Ara	Nissan	32	−2 Laps
19	34	Triple H Team Hegersport	Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof Alessandro Pier Guidi	Maserati	32	−2 Laps
20	3	Swiss Racing Team	Karl Wendlinger Henri Moser	Nissan	31	−3 Laps
21 DNF	38	All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport	Nicky Pastorelli Dominik Schwager	Lamborghini	13	Retired
22 DNF	22	Sumo Power GT	Warren Hughes Jamie Campbell-Walter	Nissan	1	Damage
23 DNF	2	Vitaphone Racing Team	Miguel Ramos Enrique Bernoldi	Maserati	0	Collision