San Luis: Series practice 1 report

Lamborghini fastest in Free Practice

Lamborghini led the way in Free Practice at the stunning Potrero de los Funes circuit with the No.25 of Frank Kechele and Sergio Jimenez setting the fastest time in the 80-minutes of Free Practice with a lap of 2:16.155.

Jimenez raced in the No.11Mad Croc Corvette at Interlagos last weekend and has switched to the Reiter Engineering squad in Argentina replacing Ricardo Zonta.

Second fastest was the Matech Competition Ford GT No.5 of Richard Westbrook and Thomas Mutsch, 0.421s behind the No.25, with the championship leaders Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels in the Vitaphone Maserati No.1 a further 0.272s adrift.

The Mad Croc Corvette No.12 was a casualty of the first session when Pertti Kuismanen hit the wall early on, the car crawling back to the pit lane with extensive damage to the right rear quarter of the car. The No.11 Corvette has been withdrawn from the event and wont take part in the final races of the 2010 season.

The Pre Qualifying session is due to start at 12:40 (16:40 CET), with qualifying to determine the grid of tomorrow's Qualifying Race at 17:15 (21:15 CET).

San Luis Free Practice: What the drivers say ...

Sergio Jimenez, Reiter Engineering Lamborghini No.25

"I ran my first race in GT1 with Corvette in Interlagos and now I've been invited here to San Luis by Lamborghini to replace Ricardo (Zonta).

"The car feels very good. We made some small changes and found some improvements throughout the session. I'm P1 in the first practice again. I've never been here before so everything is new to me this weekend -- the track and the car but I'm doing OK.

"I like the circuit layout very much. You have fast corners, slow corners, mid-fast corners a good mix so it's very challenging to drive."

Peter Dumbreck, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23

"It's a daunting place, that's for sure. It does remind me a bit of Macua. I've driver street circuits before and they are pretty simple but here there are so many different types of corners some that are off-camber. There's a lack of grip because it's used as a road so it taking a long time for the grip to come up.

"Most of us are were on very old tyres from Brazil that have been through a harsh heat cycle as well and we did well to get the laps out of them that we did. So far, so good, I hope we can at least be where we are (P6) in the first part of Qualifying which would mean we can get into Q3 which makes all the difference."

Richard Westbrook, Matech Competition Ford GT No.5

"At the moment it's going to plan. The track is amazing, I know it from 2008 so I felt comfortable away. Thomas (Mutsch) learned the track very quickly. We are still unsure whether out car is going to competitive. I think we'll find out in Pre-Qualifying with the new tyres and which brand of car it suits.

"At the moment everyone is just learning the track and obviously I know the track so I could put a good time in but it will be different in Pre-Qualifying. We've still got work to do. Even though we are P2 I think we've got find a bit more time."

Miguel Ramos, Vitaphone Maserati No.2

"It's a good circuit, very fast and good to drive. The tyres were very old from the last race so it's difficult to see where we are. As for the rest of the weekend, we have 40kilos success ballast from the last race and I think on this circuit that it make it hard for us because it's long straights and a lot of up and down. It will not be easy but we will try to fight."

Alex Margaritas, Phoenix Corvette No.13

"The circuit is quite exciting for all the drivers -- racing in the mountains over 6.3km. It's also very difficult for us with the ballast from Interlagos. I think we will have to wait for the new tyres and Pre-Quali to see where we are. But for us as drivers, it's a fantastic atmosphere."

Michael Krumm, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.23

"This is the most fun and most dangerous track I have ever driven. Just a few centimeters off line and you can be on sand and then in the wall. It's very exciting. The Nissan is feeling good though and I'm pleased with this session considering it's the first time on the track."

Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power Nissan GT-R No.22

"You have to stay awake on this track! With walls all-round any mistake would be punished. I found it very easy to get oversteer, especially coming out of the slower corners, so it will be good to see if fresh tyres makes a difference."

-source: gt1world