GT1 – PK CARSPORT OUTLASTS THEIR COMPETITORS The battle for the overall win raged for many hours; three Vitaphone Maserati MC 12 cars battled three Corvettes. First to falter was the nr 8 Sangari Team Brazil Corvette, which destroyed itself against the tyre wall at Raidillon in the fourth hour; then, a heavy rain shower seemed to shift the balance in favour of Vitaphone Racing Team. But just before midnight the nr 1 Maserati hit the barriers hard at Fagnes; the car was brought back to the pits but repairs took several hours, the car returning to the track around 3am. Repairing the barriers also required an hour-long safety car period. The nr 33 Vitaphone car then lost time to repairs after colliding with a backmarker – but the remaining three cars, the nr 2 Maserati and the nr 3 and 4 Corvettes, put on a terrific show, lapping incredibly quickly with only seconds between them. At first it was the nr 3 SRT Corvette which spent most time in the lead, but then the nr 4 PK Racing car pulled out a small advantage. It then seemed the nr 2 Vitaphone Maserati had the pace to pull clear – until disaster struck. A high-speed blow-out did huge damage and left the car stranded out on the track and out of the race. And so we were down to two Corvettes – and then there was one. In the final three hours, the nr 3 SRT Corvette developed an oil leak, which could not be fixed; the team were forced to park in the garage, only appearing for the final laps. This left the nr 4 PK Carsport Corvette, which had run a virtually faultless race and took a fine victory as a result. The nr 33 Vitaphone Maserati ran solidly after being repaired, and steadily climbed back to second overall. The third GT1 finisher was the nr 35 Nissan Motorsport Nissan GT-R; however, the car is not eligible for points in the FIA GT Championship, so the points for third went to the nr 1 Vitaphone Maserati. SRT was classified fifth and took points for fourth, while the nr 2 Vitaphone Maserati was classified sixth and took points for fifth. With two consecutive wins, Hezemans and Kumpen now have a slender one-point lead over Bartels and Bertolini going into the second half of the season. Vitaphone Racing Team still retains a healthy lead in the Teams classification.