Corvette in FIA GT1 series with strong two car team

[Vet Guru]

Corvette in FIA GT1 series with strong two car team


Spa 24-Hours winning teams continue powerful alliance with Corvette C6.R
GMAC joins campaign as a new main sponsor
Corvette teams also active in GT3 and GT4 European series

A very strong team in the 2008 FIA GT1 Championship will be Phoenix Carsport with two GMAC Corvettes C6.R. The team will have a new main sponsor in General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) which also backs the works Corvette team. Last year the collaboration between Phoenix Racing from Germany and the Dutch Team Carsport Holland resulted in overall victory in the classic 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Jean-Denis Déletraz, Marcel Fässler, Fabrizio Gollin and Mike Hezemans shared the winning Corvette C6.R in this most important FIA GT1 race. In 2008 the alliance will be even more powerful.

Experienced drivers
Next to last years car for Swiss pairing Déletraz/Fässler Phoenix Carsport will field a second C6.R in FIA GT1 for the Italian-Dutch combination of Gollin/Hezemans. This ex-factory car which won the 2007 American Le Mans Series GT category is being prepared at Pratt and Miller and will be flown to Europe in time for the pre-season official testdays at Monza on 12 and 13 March. All four drivers will participate in the test in order to be prepared optimally for the highly competitive series of ten rounds in which both will run on Michelin tyres.

Phoenix Carsport
Even against strong opposition from Maserati, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Saleen, Phoenix Carsport principals Ernst Moser and Toine Hezemans are confident they can win the 2008 FIA GT1 manufacturers championship with their strong team and two ex-factory Corvettes. The team managed by Dirk Theimann and technically led by engineer Mike Gramke is also hoping to win the FIA driver championship with one of the cars. Phoenix Carsport will challenge again in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2008 in order to repeat outright victory..

New team sponsors
Apart from GMAC as a new team sponsor ACM.CH and Hezemans Indoor Karting have announced that they will continue their long time relationship with the team. A complete list of all sponsors will be announced at the official team presentation. Corvette Europe, the European Corvette importer and member of the Kroymans Corporation, will actively support and promote Phoenix Carsport. This will include promoting the team in marketing activities and sales network throughout their thirty countries European dealer network.

Corvette’s success story
The success of Corvette racing cars in Le Mans, the ALMS and FIA GT has led to the production of a street version, the Z06. Last year, Martini Callaway Racing won the team championship in the FIA European GT3 class with the homologated GT3-version.The arrival of the GT4 version of the Corvette, which is based on the Corvette C6, heralds yet another era for the American manufacturer, which is active in almost all classes in GT racing.

[vetteheadracer]

In the FIA GT test at Monza on Thursday / Friday of last week the new SRT C6R topped the timesheets with the Phoenix Carsport C6R (I assume their new chassis) in third place. Looking forward to Silverstone and seeing both the Phoenix C6Rs and the SRT C6R, plus the AT Racing C5R (one of last seasons SRT chassis) racing in the FIA GT, plus all the Corvette Z06 GT3 chassis in the FIA GT3 support races.

(One of which was on display in Geneva)