Ford GT in Brazil
Matech Racing Press Release 11/9/08:
Brasil GT3 Championship / Rio de Janeiro - The Ford GTs continue to dominate!
Last weekend, the Rio de Janeiro circuit welcomed the 5th meeting of the Brasil GT3 Championship, with all competitors starting on the second part of the national Grand Touring competition, reserved for cars in the GT3 category. And the least one can say is that once more all eyes were on the Ford GTs, with Walter Salles and Ricardo Rosset taking command of the first race, whilst Andreas Mattheis and Xandy Negrao, driving the second Ford GT, had to content themselves with an 8th place.
With this Salles and Rosset took over the lead in the championship, and the situation was later confirmed after the second race, which saw the Ford GTs clinch a brilliant one-two. However, this time around Mattheis and Negrao had the final word, finishing ahead of Salles and Rosset. This means only one thing: these cars built in the German workshops of
Matech GT Racing thoroughly dominated the rest of the pack.
This situation is clearly reflected in the provisional championship standings, seeing Walter Salles and Ricardo Rosset presently have 62 points, in fact…..just one more than Mattheis and Negrao. As for their closest rivals, they have now been relegated and are more than 20 points down, a good omen for the future.
This Brasil GT3 Championship, which is now half way through its season, will continue at Santa Cruz on 11th and 12th October, prior to heading off to Curitiba on 15th and 16th November and then moving on for the final meeting in Sao Paulo on 29th and 30th November. In other words a total of 6 races in which undoubtedly the Ford GTs will shine, more than ever looking to clinch the first Brazilian GT3 crown.
This situation differs somewhat from that experienced in Germany, where unfortunately the Fords enjoyed limited success in the ADAC GT Masters, at the Eurospeedway Lausitz. Notwithstanding the fact that Kenneth Heyer and
Marc Hennerici distinguished themselves during the free practice and qualifying sessions, with notably Marc Hennerici grabbing a pole position, race circumstances prevented the car entered by the Matech GT Racing team from putting in a good performance.
But, there’s no question of giving up. At the final meeting on the Sachsenring, being held on the 20th and 21st September, the Ford GT has every intention of ending the season in the same way that it started, namely by clinching a couple of victories!
However, before this date Matech will be heading off for Brno, in the Czech Republic, where the FIA GT3 championship is being held this coming weekend, and the Ford GTs and also the Ford Mustang FR500GT3s will be back on the international scene, with the firm intention of excelling. Ian Khan, Thomas Mutsch, Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer are more than ever on the list for the European title, whilst Matech GT Racing is still amply dominating the team standings.
Photo courtesy SRO Germany and Latin America