FIAT GT and GT3 @ Bucharest -fabulous!

[Mihai]

Today I saw the GT3 race and the FIA GT qulifying session on the Bucharest Ring. The street track is very narrow and unforgiving and occasional rain showers made it extremely difficult. Lots of crashed cars!

My ears are still hurting from the sound of the Maseratis MC12 (the noise was resonation in my abdominal cavity :s ). I'm more used to the noise of rally and hillclimb cars but they aren't that brutal. And what an unbelievable 'macho' sound from the C6 Vettes!

[tannat]

I'd give alot to be able to watch a live broadcast of that race, but will have to make do with live timing/scoring....

I envy you, Mihai...

[Mihai]

It's the first time anyone envies me for a motorsport event! :)

I was delighted with the pace shown by 'Manu' Collard (I think he's the best GT2 driver of his generation) in FIA GT qualifying this afternoon. I wasn't expecting anything less from him.

In the race 1 of the GT3 European series, I was very proud of what the Romanian pair of Claudiu 'CD' David and Mihai 'Beu' Marinescu achieved. Claudiu is a very dear fellow of mine, a rally driver who made his WRC debut in Argentina a few weeks ago and he's never driven anything like a Dodge Viper before, while 18-year old Marinescu is competing in the lower formulae of single-seater racing and he is a rookie too in endurance. They qualified in mid-field and finished 18th after CD lost a lap early in the race after driving at a conservative pace.

[Sleeper]

I liked the track, one of the better street circuits that I've watched racing on, wide in some areas and tight in others, maybe a few too many chicanes but a good track non the less. The racing in both the main event and GT3 was very good, though some of those drivers could do with calming down a bit.

[Mihai]

From the teams' point of view, the Bucharest Ring must be one of the most expensive tracks in the world. Today was wreck day especially in FIA GT and GT3 races due to the slippery conditions. Wendlinger was absolutely flying around the track in his #33 Aston Martin, but somehow he lost by almost a lap to a Maser (I suspect he did an extra pitstop) in the main event, the FIA GT race. Superb racing and I made some extraordinary foreign friends in the last few days, having good quality racing conversation in the stands. :up:

[courageous]

Street track + Rain = A lot of fun (as long as you are under cover)!

Congratulations to any driver who did not wreck their car - add up the whole weekend & you must have one of the most expensive repair bills in a long time.

[gadjo_dilo]

Even the dogs enjoyed the event and wanted to take part. :laugh:
You can watch the video on this page:
http://www.hotnews.ro/articol_73158-Un-catel-maidanez-a-oprit-cursa-de-Formula-3.htm

[Mihai]

We're not welcoming spam links, especially from a ****head like you.

[gadjo_dilo]

Oops! A romanian without sense of humour, that's what I call a *rara avis *. :laugh: But at the same time with the typical vocation to express the voice of majority.

Ok , I won't come back even if I don't need a warm welcome to have a good laugh. :laugh:

[gadjo_dilo]

Oops! A romanian without sense of humour, that's what I call a *rara avis *. :laugh: But at the same time with the typical vocation to express the voice of majority.

Ok , I won't come back even if I don't need a warm welcome to have a good laugh. :laugh:

[Sleeper]

From the teams' point of view, the Bucharest Ring must be one of the most expensive tracks in the world. Today was wreck day especially in FIA GT and GT3 races due to the slippery conditions. Wendlinger was absolutely flying around the track in his #33 Aston Martin, but somehow he lost by almost a lap to a Maser (I suspect he did an extra pitstop) in the main event, the FIA GT race. Superb racing and I made some extraordinary foreign friends in the last few days, having good quality racing conversation in the stands. :up:
Wendlinger chose not to pit under the early saftey car with everyone else, which gave him the lead. I cant understand why they did a full stop with only 15 minutes to go though, I know they needed to stop again but I reckon they should have done a splah 'n' dash leaving Sharp in with the same tyres, probably would have given them third.

[Quetch]

I have to admit the track was better than I had expected. It was fairly wide, smooth, fast and had a nice locale with the Parliament palace.

[Mihai]

I had my own concerns about the track layout, but it was quite decent actually, unlike other newly designed improvised tracks like San Jose in ChampCar or the Beijing street course in the A1GP series. After all, the Bucharest Ring carried the signature of Hermann Tilke.