FIA GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT SILVERSTONE

LAMBORGHINI SECURES TWO PODIUM FINISHES AT SILVERSTONE

Lamborghini secured two podium finishes at Silverstone, UK, on 1-2 May 2010 with a third-place finish in both the FIA GT1 World Championship and FIA GT3 European Championship.

Reiter Engineering’s #25 Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV, driven by Jos Menten and Frank Kechele, set the seventh fastest lap time during qualifying on the iconic British race track, putting them on the fourth row of the grid for the one-hour qualifying race. The pair managed to improve their position during this race to secure a sixthplace start on the grid for Sunday’s championship race.

A strong start by Menten improved their position by two places before the end of the first lap, which the German driver maintained before handing over to team-mate Kechele, who continued to charge around the track to cross the finish line fourth. Due to a technical infringement, the race winner was later disqualified by the FIA stewards, promoting the #25 Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV to a third-place finish. The second Reiter Engineering entry, the #24 of Peter Kox and Christopher Haase secured a tenth-place start for the championship race, but was forced into retirement after suffering a puncture on lap 17.

Meanwhile, the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport #38 Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV of Dominik Schwager and Nicky Pastorelli improved their position by three places during the qualifying race to start 20th on the grid for the championship race. The pair then battled through the highly-competitive field to cross the finish line 12th. The team’s second entry, the #37 piloted by Cristoph Bouchut and Marc Basseng claimed 17th on the grid but retired due to a technical issue.

Menten and Kechele are currently joint seventh in the drivers’ standings with 15 points, with Kox and Haase joint 11th with four points. Reiter Engineering is running fifth in the teams’ standings having claimed 29 points.

“This has been a very successful weekend,” said Hans Reiter, Reiter Engineering’s Team Principal. “We knew we had a strong and quick car but we were not expecting such good results so early in the season. We are very motivated and we are confident that we’ll be also at the front in Brno in two weeks.”

Click here for the results

Silverstone also played host to the opening round of the FIA GT3 European Championship this weekend, during which Argo Racing’s #25 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, piloted by Philip Geipel and Ellen Lohr, claimed strong fourth and third-place finishes in rounds one and two respectively.

From pole position in race one, Geipel pulled away from the field, setting the fastest race lap of 2:05.662 on lap 12. At the mandatory pit stop he handed over to team-mate Lohr, who crossed the finish line third, securing a podium finish for the first race of the season. The #25 also has a successful second race: from 22nd on the grid, the pair fought through the field to secure a fourth-place finish for the team.

The team’s #24 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 driven by Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Giorgio Sanna secured a seventh-place finish in race one and was forced to retire in the second race after Sanna spun on lap seven.

After the first race weekend, Geipel and Lohr are joint second in the drivers’ standings having claimed 27 points each, while von Thurn und Taxis and Sanna are joint ninth with six points. Argo Racing is second in the teams’ standings having secured 33 points.

“This has been a fantastic weekend,” said Philip Geipel. “I can’t even describe how I feel at the moment. The caris very quick and its performances have been great throughout the weekend. After the fantastic results achieved this weekend I am confident that we could be even stronger in Brno.”

The next round of the FIA GT1 World Championship and the FIA GT3 European Championship will take place in Brno, Czech Republic, on 22-23 May 2010.

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