FIA GT1 World Championship
Silverstone
April 30th – May 2nd, 2010

After Abu Dhabi the Balance of Performance was readjusted for the Lamborghini Murcièlago 670 R-SV amongst others. The Lambo’s weight was reduced by 20 kg and the restrictors (control the air flow to the engine) can be bigger. “You could not really feel it,” said Christopher Haase. The 22-year old GT1 pilot (REITER Engineering) complains about the same problem as in the first GT1 Word Championship race in Abu Dhabi. “The rear tyres break down rapidly. We could avoid the problem for a short time by using new tyres. However, after a few laps the deterioration becomes obvious.”
Four sets of tyres were available for each team at the weekend which meant economising.
Partner Peter Kox (NED) competed in qualifying sessions 1 and 3. Christopher Haase took over for the second session. Kox managed to place the Reiter under the top 16 at P12 and therefore qualified for Q2; Haase took over the Lambo and finished Q2 in 7th place. Having reached the top 8, Kox started the third qualifying session and placed the Lambo at start position 8 for the qualifying race behind team mates Kechele and Menten.

“The start was quite hard,” says Haase about the qualifying race. After the flying start Haase got stuck between an Aston Martin and a Triple H Maserati. He was hit on the side by both. The Maserati was not able to hold his ground and spun from the track. Haase got behind the Phoenix-Corvette (Kumpen), attacked and passed. “The first few laps were really great,” but after four laps the performance of the tyres got worse with Haase losing a few places. Peter Kox took over in the 13th lap. A quick stop resulted in a short advantage in positions. Kox managed to keep P8 for a while, but had to give his place to Krumm (Nissan) five laps before the end of the race, and in the final lap Bernoldi (Vitaphone Maserati) passed on the inside lane. Haase/Kox drove across the finish line in 10th place.
Sunday afternoon. 3.15 pm green flag for the second race of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship.
After the start Kox got into the middle field, managed to get through without damages and finished the first lap in P10. Due to a burning Corvette the safety car was brought out after three laps for four laps. After the first half of his stint Peter Kox had to fight his deteriorating tyres. Christopher Haase took over as soon as driver changes were allowed. The tyres were pretty much worn out already. The engine did not start. This took up valuable time. Back on the track, Haase started to catch up. “I was able to attack during my first two or three laps. After that I had to watch out, making sure that no one passed me. The whole race was quite extreme. I only saw cars, touches, cars in front of and behind me. Then the field calmed down a bit. Afterwards a Nissan (Moser, SRT) came closer. It was difficult to keep it behind me. After the long straight Moser was behind me. I tried to brake on the right hand centre. After all, I would not let him pass so easily. When I braked I felt a big hit in the car. I only saw how both of us spun. Somehow Moser crashed into me. I have no idea how it happened. I was pretty surprised. I spun in the gravel pit and managed to drive straight ahead for a bit. Henri crashed into the wall. I tried to reach the pit and initially thought that only a tyre was damaged. However, the whole back was damaged. There was no front axle brake pressure and I had to stop the car,” Christopher Haase says disappointedly.
In three weeks time (May 23rd) the third FIA GT1 World Championship race will take place in Brno/Czech Republic. 
“I hope that we will do tests before Brno and check the car for what is holding us back at the moment,” adds Haase.

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