2008 FIA GT Championship

The 2008 FIA GT Championship season was the twelfth season of the FIA GT Championship. It featured a series for Grand Touring style cars broken into two classes based on power and manufacturer involvement, called GT1 and GT2. Invitational G2 and G3 classes were also allowed to participate but cars in these classes were not eligible to score points. The Championship began on 20 April 2008 and ended on 23 November 2008 after 10 races.

Schedule The official 2008 calendar was released by the FIA on 24 October 2007. All races were two hours, with exception of the Spa 24 Hours and the Bucharest City Challenge, the latter being a combination of two one-hour races, each awarding half points. The Adria round remained as a night event and the Argentinian finale was the first South American race in FIA GT Championship history.

Rnd Race Circuit Date 1 RAC Tourist Trophy Silverstone Circuit 20 April 2 Monza 2 Hours Autodromo Nazionale Monza 18 May 3 Adria 2 Hours Adria International Raceway 21 June 4 Oschersleben 2 Hours Motorsport Arena Oschersleben 6 July 5 Total 24 Hours of Spa Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 2 August3 August 6 Bucharest City Challenge Bucharest Ring 23 August24 August 7 Brno 2 Hours Masaryk Circuit 14 September 8 Nogaro 2 Hours Circuit Paul Armagnac 5 October 9 Zolder 2 Hours Circuit Zolder 19 October 10 San Luis 2 Hours Potrero de los Funes Circuit 23 NovemberSource:

Entries GT1

A † symbol and gray background denotes an entry and driver competing in the Citation Cup.

Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds Vitaphone Racing Team Maserati MC12 GT1 Maserati 6.0 L V12 1 Michael Bartels All Andrea Bertolini All Stéphane Sarrazin 5 Eric van de Poele 5 2 Alexandre Negrão All Miguel Ramos All Stéphane Lémeret 5 Alessandro Pier Guidi 5 Team Vitasystems 17 Pedro Lamy 9 Matteo Bobbi 9 Selleslagh Racing Team Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8 3 Christophe Bouchut 1–9 Xavier Maassen 1–9 Maxime Soulet 5, 10 Christophe Pillon 5 Armand Fumal 10 Christian Ledesma 10 PekaRacing nv Saleen S7-R Ford 7.0 L V8 4 Anthony Kumpen All Bert Longin All Fredy Bouvy 5 Kurt Mollekens 5 Phoenix Carsport Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8 5 Marcel Fässler 1–4, 6–10 Jean-Denis Délétraz 1–4, 6–9 Alexandros Margaritis 5 Jos Menten 5 Robert Schlünssen 5 Uwe Alzen 5 Ricardo Risatti 10 6 Mike Hezemans All Fabrizio Gollin All Marcel Fässler 5 Jean-Denis Délétraz 5 Larbre Compétition Saleen S7-R Ford 7.0 L V8 7 Grégory Franchi 1–5, 8–9 Vincent Vosse 1–5, 8–9 Pedro Lamy 5 Steve Zacchia 5 Frédéric Makowiecki 10 Roland Bervillé 10 IPB Spartak Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT Lamborghini 6.0 L V12 8 Roman Rusinov 1–2, 5–6 Peter Kox 1–2, 5–6 Jan Lammers 5 Tomáš Enge 5 DKR Engineering Chevrolet Corvette C6.R Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8 9 Julien Canal 8 Jean-Philippe Dayraut 8 Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 10 Philipp Peter All Allan Simonsen All Darren Turner 5 Andrew Thompson 5 AT Racing Chevrolet Corvette C5-R Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8 12† Alexander Talkanitsa 1–4, 7 Wolfgang Kaufmann 1–4, 7 Team Rbimmo / B-Racing Saleen S7-R Ford 7.0 L V8 13 Andrea Piccini 1–3, 7 Jos Menten 1–3 Bernhard Auinger 7 JMB Racing Maserati MC12 GT1 Maserati 6.0 L V12 15 Ben Aucott 1–5 Peter Kutemann 1 Stéphane Daoudi 2, 5 Alain Ferté 3–5 Kessel Racing Ferrari 575 GTC Ferrari F133 GT 6.0 L V12 21† Loris Kessel 2 Andrea Chiesa 2 Lanza Motorsport Chrysler Viper GTS-R Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10 22† Maurizio Strada 2 Massimo Morini 2 Mauro Simoncini 2 Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 33 Karl Wendlinger 1–9 Ryan Sharp 1–9 Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer 5 Alex Müller 5 36 Alex Müller 1–4, 6–8 Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer 1–4, 6–7 Jiří Janák 8 ACA Argentina Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello Ferrari F133 5.9 L V12 37 Esteban Tuero 1–3, 7–8, 10 Gastón Mazzacane 1–2, 8 José María López 3–4, 9–10 Martín Basso 4, 7, 9 38 Gastón Mazzacane 10 Martín Basso 10 ARC Bratislava Saleen S7-R Ford 7.0 L V8 111† Miroslav Konôpka 1–2 Sean Edwards 1–2Sources:

GT2 Entrant Car Engine Tyre Drivers Rounds AF Corse Ferrari F430 GTC Ferrari 4.3 L V8 50 Gianmaria Bruni All Toni Vilander All Mika Salo 5 Jaime Melo 5 51 Thomas Biagi All Christian Montanari All Matías Russo 5 Dominik Farnbacher 5 Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team 95 Matías Russo 1–4, 6–10 Luís Pérez Companc 1–4, 6–10 CR Scuderia Ferrari F430 GTC Ferrari 4.3 L V8 55 Tim Mullen All Chris Niarchos 1, 3–7, 10 Tim Sugden 2 Gordon Shedden 5 Andrea Piccini 5, 8 James Sutton 9 56 Andrew Kirkaldy All Rob Bell 1–6, 8–10 James Sutton 5 Dirk Müller 5, 7 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC Ferrari 4.3 L V8 57 Henri Moser All Fabrizio Del Monte 1–7 Gilles Vannelet 5 Andrea Palma 5 Maurizio Mediani 8 Marcello Zani 9 Niki Cadei 10 Trackspeed Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 59 Richard Williams 1–5, 7–8, 10 David Ashburn 1–5, 7–8, 10 Tim Sugden 5 Xavier Pompidou 5 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 60 Markus Palttala All Mikael Forsten 1–8, 10 Wolf Henzler 5 Geoffroy Horion 5 Marc Lieb 9 61 Richard Westbrook All Emmanuel Collard 1–7, 9–10 Marc Lieb 5 Alex Davison 8 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari F430 GTC Ferrari 4.3 L V8 62 Jamie Davies All Fabio Babini All Ferdinando Monfardini 5 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 66 Marc Lieb 6 Horst Felbermayr Jr. 6 69 Richard Lietz 6 Horst Felbermayr 6 Easy Race SRL Ferrari F430 GTC Ferrari 4.3 L V8 70 Maurice Basso 5 Paolo Tenchini 5 Roberto Plati 5 Bertrand Baguette 5 Juniper Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 75 Craig Baird 5 Shaun Juniper 5 Max Twigg 5 Rodney Forbes 5 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 76 Raymond Narac 5 Richard Lietz 5 Patrick Long 5 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari F430 GTC Ferrari 4.3 L V8 77 Paolo Ruberti All Matteo Malucelli All Davide Rigon 5 Joël Camathias 5 78 Joël Camathias 1–4, 6–10 Davide Rigon 1–4, 6–7 José Manuel Balbiani 8–10 K plus K Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 79 Jiří Janák 7 Tim Bergmeister 7 ARC Bratislava Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 88 Miroslav Konôpka 7 Karl Reindler 7 Victor Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 99 Victor Coggiola 2 Giovanni Coggiola 2 Giorgio Coggiola 2Sources:

Team & driver changes BMS Scuderia Italia entered two Ferrari F430 GT2's, replacing the sole Porsche 997 GT3-RSR Gigawave Motorsport contested the full season in 2008 running one Aston Martin DBR9 driven by Allan Simonsen and Philipp Peter. Gigawave also entered one Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 in the GT2 class. A new team, CR Scuderia, entered two Ferrari F430 GT2's in the GT2 class, driven by Chris Niarchos, Andrew Kirkaldy, Rob Bell, and Tim Mullen. PK Carsport replaced their sole Corvette C5-R with a Saleen S7-R.

Season results Overall winners in bold. Rnd Circuit GT1 Winning Team GT2 Winning Team Results GT1 Winning Drivers GT2 Winning Drivers 1 Silverstone #33 Jetalliance Racing #50 AF Corse Results Karl Wendlinger Ryan Sharp Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander 2 Monza #3 Selleslagh Racing Team #61 Prospeed Competition Results Christophe Bouchut Xavier Maassen Emmanuel Collard Richard Westbrook 3 Adria #6 Phoenix Carsport #50 AF Corse Results Mike Hezemans Fabrizio Gollin Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander 4 Oschersleben #33 Jetalliance Racing #50 AF Corse Results Karl Wendlinger Ryan Sharp Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander 5 Spa-Francorchamps #1 Vitaphone Racing Team #77 BMS Scuderia Italia Results Michael Bartels Andrea Bertolini Eric van de Poele Stéphane Sarrazin Davide Rigon Paolo Ruberti Matteo Malucelli Joël Camathias 6 Bucharest #5 Phoenix Carsport #56 CR Scuderia Racing Results Jean-Denis Délétraz Marcel Fässler Andrew Kirkaldy Rob Bell #5 Phoenix Carsport #56 CR Scuderia Racing Jean-Denis Délétraz Marcel Fässler Andrew Kirkaldy Rob Bell 7 Brno #33 Jetalliance Racing #50 AF Corse Results Karl Wendlinger Ryan Sharp Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander 8 Nogaro #2 Vitaphone Racing Team #61 Prospeed Competition Results Miguel Ramos Alexandre Negrão Alex Davison Richard Westbrook 9 Zolder #1 Vitaphone Racing Team #50 AF Corse Results Michael Bartels Andrea Bertolini Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander 10 Potrero de los Funes #4 Peka Racing #95 Advanced Engineering PeCom Results Bert Longin Anthony Kumpen Luís Pérez Companc Matías RussoSource:

Drivers championships Points were awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours. Drivers who did not drive the car for a minimum of 35 minutes did not score points.

GT1 standings Driver Team SIL MON ADR OSC SPA BUC BRN NOG ZOL SAN Totalpoints 6H 12H 24H R1 R2 1 Michael Bartels Vitaphone Racing Team 2 5 2 5 1 1 1 3 3 6 6 1 5 70 1 Andrea Bertolini Vitaphone Racing Team 2 5 2 5 1 1 1 3 3 6 6 1 5 70 2 Mike Hezemans Phoenix Carsport Racing 5 4 1 6 4 5 Ret 2 Ret 2 2 2 2 66 2 Fabrizio Gollin Phoenix Carsport Racing 5 4 1 6 4 5 Ret 2 Ret 2 2 2 2 66 3 Miguel Ramos Vitaphone Racing Team 7 2 10 4 2 2 2 4 2 7 1 6 Ret 52.5 3 Alexandre Negrão Vitaphone Racing Team 7 2 10 4 2 2 2 4 2 7 1 6 Ret 52.5 5 Marcel Fässler Phoenix Carsport Racing 8 Ret 3 3 4 5 Ret 1 1 4 3 5 6 48.5 6 Jean-Denis Délétraz Phoenix Carsport Racing 8 Ret 3 3 4 5 Ret 1 1 4 3 5 45.5 7 Karl Wendlinger Jetalliance Racing 1 7 Ret 1 5 Ret Ret DNS DNS 1 5 3 44 7 Ryan Sharp Jetalliance Racing 1 7 Ret 1 5 Ret Ret DNS DNS 1 5 3 44 8 Philipp Peter Gigawave Motorsport 3 3 6 DNS 3 3 3 7 5 Ret 4 4 DNS 40 8 Allan Simonsen Gigawave Motorsport 3 3 6 DNS 3 3 3 7 5 Ret 4 4 DNS 40 9 Christophe Bouchut Selleslagh Racing Team 4 1 4 7 Ret Ret Ret 5 6 3 8 Ret 32.5 9 Xavier Maassen Selleslagh Racing Team 4 1 4 7 Ret Ret Ret 5 6 3 8 Ret 32.5 10 Stéphane Sarrazin Vitaphone Racing Team 1 1 1 20 10 Eric van de Poele Vitaphone Racing Team 1 1 1 20 11 Bert Longin PekaRacing nv 12 6 Ret 10 8 7 Ret 6 4 Ret Ret Ret 1 18.5 11 Anthony Kumpen PekaRacing nv 12 6 Ret 10 8 7 Ret 6 4 Ret Ret Ret 1 18.5 12 Alex Müller Jetalliance Racing 6 Ret Ret 2 5 Ret Ret DNS DNS 5 DNS 17 12 Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer Jetalliance Racing 6 Ret Ret 2 5 Ret Ret DNS DNS 5 17 13 Alessandro Pier Guidi Vitaphone Racing Team 2 2 2 16 13 Stéphane Lémeret Vitaphone Racing Team 2 2 2 16 14 Darren Turner Gigawave Motorsport 3 3 3 12 14 Andrew Thompson Gigawave Motorsport 3 3 3 12 15 Vincent Vosse Larbre Compétition 9 8 5 8 DNS DNS DNS 7 7 10 15 Grégory Franchi Larbre Compétition 9 8 5 8 DNS DNS DNS 7 7 10 16 Ben Aucott JMB Racing 15 9 7 9 7 6 4 9.5 16 Alain Ferté JMB Racing 7 9 7 6 4 9.5 17 Roman Rusinov IPB Spartak Reiter Engineering 10 Ret 6 4 5 8 7 9.5 17 Peter Kox IPB Spartak Reiter Engineering 10 Ret 6 4 5 8 7 9.5 18 Jan Lammers IPB Spartak Reiter Engineering 6 4 5 8 18 Tomáš Enge IPB Spartak Reiter Engineering 6 4 5 8 19 Stéphane Daoudi JMB Racing 9 7 6 4 7.5 20 Esteban Tuero Escuderia ACA Argentina 13 10 8 8 9 4 7 21 Maxime Soulet Selleslagh Racing Team Ret Ret Ret 3 6 21 Christian Ledesma Selleslagh Racing Team 3 6 22 José María López Escuderia ACA Argentina 8 Ret Ret 4 6 23 Ricardo Risatti Phoenix Carsport Racing 6 3 24 Frédéric Bouvy PekaRacing nv 8 7 Ret 1.5 24 Kurt Mollekens PekaRacing nv 8 7 Ret 1.5 25 Martín Basso Escuderia ACA Argentina Ret 8 Ret Ret 1 25 Pedro Lamy Team Vitasystems 8 1 25 Matteo Bobbi Team Vitasystems 8 1 Driver Team SIL MON ADR OSC 6H 12H 24H R1 R2 BRN NOG ZOL SAN Totalpoints SPA BUC Sources:

GT2 standings