FIA GT Championship - Round 6 - Oschersleben - August 6 - 8
31 July 1999
The Oschersleben circuit is welcoming the FIA GT Championship for the second year in succession. For the sixth round of the Championship, twenty one cars will be present, among which the eagerly expected Marcos Mantara LM600.For the first time this season, both the qualifying practice and race will be broadcast live on Eurosport.
The circuit
Located 120 kilometres from Hannover and 30 kilometres from Magdeburg, the newest European permanent circuit was officially inaugurated on July 25th, 1997.
13 months and huge investment were necessary to build this 3.667 km long circuit. It has seven left turns, seven right turns and ten straights. The circuit can host up to 100.000 people. Over 6 million people live in an area of 120 kilometres around the circuit.
Handicap weights
For the Oschersleben race, the following handicap weights will be applied :
Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 1 : + 100 kg Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 2 : + 65 kg Porsche 911 GT2 n 6 : + 30 kg Porsche 911 GT2 n 15 : + 30 kg Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 18 : + 30 kg Lister Storm n 34 : + 15 kg Chrysler Viper GTS-R n 21 : + 5 kg Porsche 911 GT2 n 5 : + 5 kg
Maximum handicap for the leaders' car The n 1 Chrysler Viper GTS-R driven by Karl Wendlinger and Olivier Beretta, Championship leaders since Zolder, will have to carry a handicap weight of 100 kg, which is the maximum penalty weight allowed by the regulations.
However, the second car of the team has lost 25kg following its retirement in Zolder due to a broken gearbox. The team has not yet confirmed whether it will use the new sequential gearbox in this car again.
First appearance of the Marcos The eagerly expected Marcos Mantara LM600 will enter its first round of the FIA GT Championship in Oschersleben. The team has gone through four test sessions without problems. "The car is going fine", Cor Euser said.
"It has a great potential. I am looking forward to the race !". The car, homologated by the FIA on June 1st, will be driven by the Dutch pairing of Herman Buurmann and Mike Hezemans. Cor Euser will not be present in East Germany as his touring car team will be competing in Zandvoort over the same week-end.
Paul Belmondo Racing team members convalescing Neither Paul Belmondo nor Alex Portman will race in Germany, both drivers having undergone operations recently. The n 21 Chrysler Viper GTS-R will therefore been driven by Claude-Yves Gosselin and Emmanuel Clrico whilst Steffen Widmann's co-driver is yet to be named.
The Championship welcomes a new team Michael Trunk and Bernhard Mller, regular participants in the 1997 and 1998 FIA GT Championship, will make their come-back at the Oschersleben round. Bernhard Mller went into partnership with Gnther Kronseder in order to create the KRT team which will enter two Porsches for this event. Trunk and Mller will share the wheel of the first car while Gnther Kronseder will be in the second car with Josef Jobst and Klaus Gebendorfer. Gnther Kronseder is a former rally driver. He has taken part in the German Rally Championship as well as the Paris-Dakar. His two co-drivers have both started their careers three years ago in the German Porsche Endurance Cup.
1998 Results
Practice : Euser/Becker (Marcos LM 600) : 1.29.060
Race : Beretta/Lamy (Chrysler Viper GTS-R) : 126 laps in 3h 15min 13s
079 - Average : 147.37 km/h
GT on TV
Eurosport :
Saturday, August 7th : 10.00 - 11.00 LIVE
14.00 - 15.00 LIVE
Sunday, August, 8th : 13.00 - 15.00 LIVE
Tuesday, August 10th : 10.00 - 11.00 Highlights
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