2008 FIA GT Championship

The AF Corse entered Ferrari F430 GT2 of Gianmaria Bruni & Toni Vilander at the Zolder round of the championship. AF Corse won the GT2 Teams title and Bruni & Vilander won the GT2 Drivers award.

The 2008 FIA GT Championship season was the twelfth season of the FIA GT Championship. It featured a series for Grand Touring style cars broken into two classes based on power and manufacturer involvement, called GT1 and GT2. Invitational G2 and G3 classes were also allowed to participate but cars in these classes were not eligible to score points. The Championship began on 20 April 2008 and ended on 23 November 2008 after 10 rounds.

Schedule

The official 2008 calendar was released by the FIA on 24 October 2007.^[1] All races were two hours, with exception of the Spa 24 Hours and the Bucharest City Challenge, the latter being a combination of two one-hour races, each awarding half points. The Adria round remained as a night event and the Argentinian finale was the first South American race in FIA GT Championship history.

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date
1	RAC Tourist Trophy	Silverstone Circuit	20 April
2	Monza 2 Hours	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	18 May
3	Adria 2 Hours	Adria International Raceway	21 June
4	Oschersleben 2 Hours	Motorsport Arena Oschersleben	6 July
5	Total 24 Hours of Spa	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	2 August 3 August
6	Bucharest City Challenge	Bucharest Ring	23 August 24 August
7	Brno 2 Hours	Masaryk Circuit	14 September
8	Nogaro 2 Hours	Circuit Paul Armagnac	5 October
9	Zolder 2 Hours	Circuit Zolder	19 October
10	San Luis 2 Hours	Potrero de los Funes Circuit	23 November

Season results

Rnd	Circuit	GT1 Winning Team	GT2 Winning Team	Results
		GT1 Winning Drivers	GT2 Winning Drivers
1	Silverstone	#33 Jetalliance Racing	#50 AF Corse	Results
		Karl Wendlinger Ryan Sharp	Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander
2	Monza	#3 Selleslagh Racing Team	#61 Prospeed Competition	Results
		Christophe Bouchut Xavier Maassen	Emmanuel Collard Richard Westbrook
3	Adria	#6 Phoenix Carsport	#50 AF Corse	Results
		Mike Hezemans Fabrizio Gollin	Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander
4	Oschersleben	#33 Jetalliance Racing	#50 AF Corse	Results
		Karl Wendlinger Ryan Sharp	Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander
5	Spa-Francorchamps	#1 Vitaphone Racing Team	#77 BMS Scuderia Italia	Results
		Michael Bartels Andrea Bertolini Eric van de Poele Stéphane Sarrazin	Davide Rigon Paolo Ruberti Matteo Malucelli Joël Camathias
6	Bucharest	#5 Phoenix Carsport	#56 CR Scuderia Racing	Results
		Jean-Denis Délétraz Marcel Fässler	Andrew Kirkaldy Rob Bell
		#5 Phoenix Carsport	#56 CR Scuderia Racing
		Jean-Denis Délétraz Marcel Fässler	Andrew Kirkaldy Rob Bell
7	Brno	#33 Jetalliance Racing	#50 AF Corse	Results
		Karl Wendlinger Ryan Sharp	Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander
8	Nogaro	#2 Vitaphone Racing Team	#61 Prospeed Competition	Results
		Miguel Ramos Alexandre Negrão	Alex Davison Richard Westbrook
9	Zolder	#1 Vitaphone Racing Team	#50 AF Corse	Results
		Michael Bartels Andrea Bertolini	Gianmaria Bruni Toni Vilander
10	Potrero de los Funes	#4 Peka Racing	#95 Advanced Engineering PeCom	Results
		Bert Longin Anthony Kumpen	Luís Pérez Companc Matías Russo

Teams championships

Points were awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours, where half points were also granted for the leaders after 6 and 12 hours. Both cars scored points towards the championship regardless of finishing position. The G2 class did not have a championship.

GT1 standings

Pos	Team	Car	Engine	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Rd 9	Rd 10	Total
1	Vitaphone Racing Team	Maserati MC12 GT1	Maserati 6.0 L V12	10	12	8	9	36	12.5	5	13	13	4	122.5
2	Phoenix Carsport Racing	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	Chevrolet 7.0 L V8	5	5	16	9	7.5	14.5	13	14	12	11	107
3	Jetalliance Racing	Aston Martin DBR9	Aston Martin 6.0 L V12	13	2		18	2		14	4	6		59
4	Gigawave Motorsport	Aston Martin DBR9	Aston Martin 6.0 L V12	6	6	3		12	3		5	5		40
5	Selleslagh Racing Team	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	Chevrolet 7.0 L V8	5	10	5	2		3.5	6	1		6	38.5
6	Peka Racing	Saleen S7-R	Ford 7.0 L V8		3			1.5	4				10	18.5
7	Larbre Compétition	Saleen S7-R	Ford 7.0 L V8		1	4	1				2	2		10
8=	IPB Spartak Racing	Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT	Lamborghini 6.0 L V12					8	1.5					9.5
8=	JMB Racing	Maserati MC12 GT1	Maserati 6.0 L V12			2		7.5						9.5
10	Escuderia ACA Argentina	Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello	Ferrari 5.9 L V12			1				1			5	7
11	Team Vitasystems	Maserati MC12 GT1	Maserati 6.0 L V12									1		1

GT2 standings

Pos	Team	Car	Engine	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Rd 9	Rd 10	Total
1	AF Corse	Ferrari F430 GT2	Ferrari 4.0 L V8	15	14	18	18	14	10	15	10	10	14	138
2	BMS Scuderia Italia	Ferrari F430 GT2	Ferrari 4.0 L V8	8	7	10	5	20	5	6	2	10	3	76
3	Prospeed Competition	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	3	10		5	16.5	6	4	10	11	4	69.5
4	CR Scuderia Racing	Ferrari F430 GT2	Ferrari 4.0 L V8	12	3	2	6	12.5	11.5		9	3	5	64
5	Advanced Engineering PeCom	Ferrari F430 GT2	Ferrari 4.0 L V8			3	3		1.5	3		4	10	24.5
6	Scuderia Ecosse	Ferrari F430 GT2	Ferrari 4.0 L V8		5	5		3	3.5	1	3	1	2	23.5
7	Kessel Racing	Ferrari F430 GT2	Ferrari 4.0 L V8	1		1	2	6	1	2	5		1	19
8	K plus K Motorsport	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6							8				8
9	IMSA Performance Matmut	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6					4.5						4.5
10	Trackspeed Racing	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6					1						1
11	Juniper Racing	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6					0.5						0.5

Drivers championships

Points were awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours. Drivers who did not drive the car for a minimum of 35 minutes did not score points.

GT1 standings

Pos	Driver	Team	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Rd 9	Rd 10	Total
1=	Michael Bartels	Vitaphone Racing Team	8	4	8	4	20	6	3	3	10	4	70
1=	Andrea Bertolini	Vitaphone Racing Team	8	4	8	4	20	6	3	3	10	4	70
3=	Mike Hezemans	Phoenix Carsport Racing	4	5	10	3	7.5	4.5	8	8	8	8	66
3=	Fabrizio Gollin	Phoenix Carsport Racing	4	5	10	3	7.5	4.5	8	8	8	8	66
5=	Miguel Ramos	Vitaphone Racing Team	2	8		5	16	6.5	2	10	3		52.5
5=	Alexandre Negrão	Vitaphone Racing Team	2	8		5	16	6.5	2	10	3		52.5
7=	Marcel Fässler	Phoenix Carsport Racing	1		6	6	7.5	10	5	6	4	3	48.5
8	Jean-Denis Délétraz	Phoenix Carsport Racing	1		6	6	7.5	10	5	6	4		45.5
9=	Karl Wendlinger	Jetalliance Racing	10	2		10	2		10	4	6		44
9=	Ryan Sharp	Jetalliance Racing	10	2		10	2		10	4	6		44
11=	Philipp Peter	Gigawave Motorsport	6	6	3		12	3		5	5		40
11=	Allan Simonsen	Gigawave Motorsport	6	6	3		12	3		5	5		40
13=	Christophe Bouchut	Selleslagh Racing Team	5	10	5	2		3.5	6	1			32.5
13=	Xavier Maassen	Selleslagh Racing Team	5	10	5	2		3.5	6	1			32.5
15=	Stéphane Sarrazin	Vitaphone Racing Team					20						20
15=	Eric van de Poele	Vitaphone Racing Team					20						20
17=	Bert Longin	Peka Racing		3			1.5	4				10	18.5
17=	Anthony Kumpen	Peka Racing		3			1.5	4				10	18.5
19=	Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer	JetAlliance Racing	3			8	2		4				17
19=	Alex Müller	JetAlliance Racing	3			8	2		4				17
21=	Alessandro Pier Guidi	Vitaphone Racing Team					16						16
21=	Stephane Lémeret	Vitaphone Racing Team					16						16
23=	Darren Turner	Gigawave Motorsport					12						12
23=	Andrew Thompson	Gigawave Motorsport					12						12
25=	Vincent Vosse	Larbre Compétition		1	4	1				2	2		10
25=	Grégory Franchi	Larbre Compétition		1	4	1				2	2		10
27=	Alain Ferté	JMB Racing			2		7.5						9.5
27=	Ben Aucott	JMB Racing			2		7.5						9.5
27=	Roman Rusinov	IPB Spartak Racing					8	1.5					9.5
27=	Peter Kox	IPB Spartak Racing					8	1.5					9.5
31=	Jan Lammers	IPB Spartak Racing					8						8
31=	Tomáš Enge	IPB Spartak Racing					8						8
33	Stéphane Daoudi	JMB Racing					7.5						7.5
34	Esteban Tuero	Escuderia ACA Argentina			1				1			5	7
35=	José María López	Escuderia ACA Argentina			1							5	6
35=	Christian Ledesma	Selleslagh Racing Team										6	6
37	Ricardo Risatti	Phoenix Carsport Racing										3	3
38=	Frédéric Bouvy	Peka Racing					1.5						1.5
38=	Kurt Mollekens	Peka Racing					1.5						1.5
40=	Martín Basso	Escuderia ACA Argentina							1				1
40=	Pedro Lamy	Team Vitasystems									1		1
40=	Matteo Bobbi	Team Vitasystems									1		1

GT2 standings

Pos	Driver	Team	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Rd 9	Rd 10	Total
1=	Gianmaria Bruni	AF Corse	10	8	10	10	13	8	10	6	10	8	93
1=	Toni Vilander	AF Corse	10	8	10	10	13	8	10	6	10	8	93
3=	Paolo Ruberti	BMS Scuderia Italia	6	4	6	1	20	4.5	6	2	8	3	60.5
3=	Matteo Malucelli	BMS Scuderia Italia	6	4	6	1	20	4.5	6	2	8	3	60.5
5	Richard Westbrook	Prospeed Competition		10		5	15	6		10	5		51
6=	Thomas Biagi	AF Corse	5	6	8	8	1	2	5	4		6	45
6=	Christian Montanari	AF Corse	5	6	8	8	1	2	5	4		6	45
8	Emmanuel Collard	Prospeed Competition		10		5	15	6			5		41
9=	Andrew Kirkaldy	CR Scuderia Racing	8	2		6	5	10		1		5	37
9=	Rob Bell	CR Scuderia Racing	8	2		6	5	10		1		5	37
11	Joël Camathias	BMS Scuderia Italia	2	3	4	4	20	0.5			2		35.5
12	Davide Rigon	BMS Scuderia Italia	2	3	4	4	20	0.5					33.5
13	Tim Mullen	CR Scuderia Racing	4	1	2		7.5	1.5		8	3		27
14	Matías Russo	Advanced Engineering PeCom AF Corse			3	3	1	1.5	3		4	10	25.5
15=	Luís Pérez Companc	Advanced Engineering PeCom			3	3		1.5	3		4	10	24.5
15=	Jamie Davies	Scuderia Ecosse		5	5		3	4.5	1	3	1	2	24.5
15=	Fabio Babini	Scuderia Ecosse		5	5		3	4.5	1	3	1	2	24.5
18	Marc Lieb	Prospeed Competition Team Felbermayr-Proton					15				6		21
19	Henri Moser	Kessel Racing	1		1	2	6	1	2	5		1	19
20	Markus Palttala	Prospeed Competition	3				1.5		4		6	4	18.5
21	Andrea Piccini	CR Scuderia Racing					7.5			8			15.5
22	Chris Niarchos	CR Scuderia Racing	4		2		7.5	1.5					15
23=	Jaime Melo	AF Corse					13						13
23=	Mika Salo	AF Corse					13						13
23=	Fabrizio Del Monte	Kessel Racing	1		1	2	6	1	2				13
26	Mikael Forsten	Prospeed Competition	3				1.5		4			4	12.5
27	Alex Davison	Prospeed Competition								10			10
28=	Jiří Janák	K plus K Motorsport							8				8
28=	Tim Bergmeister	K plus K Motorsport							8				8
28=	James Sutton	CR Scuderia Racing					5				3		8
31	Gordon Shedden	CR Scuderia Racing					7.5						7.5
32=	Andrea Palma	Kessel Racing					6						6
32=	Gilles Vannelet	Kessel Racing					6						6
34=	Dirk Müller	CR Scuderia Racing					5						5
34=	Maurizio Mediani	Kessel Racing								5			5
36=	Richard Lietz	IMSA Performance Matmut Team Felbermayr-Proton					4.5						4.5
36=	Patrick Long	IMSA Performance Matmut					4.5						4.5
36=	Raymond Narac	IMSA Performance Matmut					4.5						4.5
39	Ferdinando Monfardini	Scuderia Ecosse					3						3
40=	José Manuel Balbiani	BMS Scuderia Italia									2		2
40=	Tim Sugden	CR Scuderia Racing Trackspeed Racing		1			1						2
42=	Wolf Henzler	Prospeed Competition					1.5						1.5
42=	Geoffroy Horion	Prospeed Competition					1.5						1.5
44=	David Ashburn	Trackspeed Racing					1						1
44=	Richard Williams	Trackspeed Racing					1						1
44=	Dominik Farnbacher	AF Corse					1						1
44=	Nicola Cadei	Kessel Racing										1	1
48=	Craig Baird	Juniper Racing					0.5						0.5
48=	Rodney Forbes	Juniper Racing					0.5						0.5
48=	Shaun Juniper	Juniper Racing					0.5						0.5
48=	Max Twigg	Juniper Racing					0.5						0.5

Citation Cup standings

The Citation Cup, which was limited to non-professional drivers competing in GT1 cars,^[2] did not include the Spa 24 Hours (Round 6) and the San Luis 2 Hours (Round 10).

Pos	Driver	Team	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 7	Rd 8	Rd 9	Total
1=	Alexander Talkanitsa	AT Racing	10	10							20
1=	Wolfgang Kaufmann	AT Racing	10	10							20
3=	Miro Konopka	Autoracing Club Bratislava	8								8
3=	Sean Edwards	Autoracing Club Bratislava	8								8

Team & driver changes

• BMS Scuderia Italia entered two Ferrari F430 GT2's, replacing the sole Porsche 997 GT3-RSR
• Gigawave Motorsport contested the full season in 2008 running one Aston Martin DBR9 driven by Allan Simonsen and Philipp Peter. Gigawave also entered one Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 in the GT2 class.
• A new team, CR Scuderia, entered two Ferrari F430 GT2's in the GT2 class, driven by Chris Niarchos, Andrew Kirkaldy, Rob Bell, and Tim Mullen.
• PK Carsport replaced their sole Corvette C5-R with a Saleen S7-R.

References

External links

• Official FIA GT Website as at 18 December 2008
• 2008 FIA GT Championship points tables at www.fiagt.com via web.archive.org
• 2008 FIA GT Championship race results Retrieved from www.teamdan.com on 15 January 2009
• 2008 FIA GT Championship images Retrieved from www.motorsport.com on 3 March 2009