Weekend Watch: FIA GT1 Donington Park 2012

In 2012 the FIA GT1 World Championship came to an end. Spiraling costs and falling grid numbers made the championship unsustainable, already forcing the SRO to abandon GT1 machinery for GT3 in the championship’s last year of existence. The championship would live on to become the Blancpain Sprint Series, known next year as the GT World Challenge Europe.

The finale was held at Donington Park with the battle for the championship going down to the wire. Donington Park was the final of nine rounds which visited circuits such as Nogaro, Zolder, Moscow Raceway, the Nürburgring, and two visits to the Slovakia Ring.

Going into the final race Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock had a slender three-point advantage over their nearest title rivals, Yelmer Buurman and Michael Bartels whilst the teams championship mirrored the drivers championship but with a greater advantage for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport as it held a 39-point lead over the Vita4one Racing Team BMW Z4 GT3s.

ENTRY LIST

1 Makowiecki / Dusseldorp, Hexis Racing (F) McLaren MP4-12C GT3
2 Demoustier / Parente, Hexis Racing (F) McLaren MP4-12C GT3
3 Salaquarda / Cioci, AF Corse (I) Ferrari 458 Italia GT3
4 Castellacci / Ide, AF Corse (I) Ferrari 458 Italia GT3
10 Groppi / Lariche Sunred, (E) Ford GT3
17 Mayr-Melnhof / Lauda, Vita4one Racing Team (D) BMW Z4 GT3
18 Buurman / Bartels, Vita4one Racing Team (D) BMW Z4 GT3
25 Kox / Rosina, Reiter Engineering (D) Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3
32 Carroll / Vanthoor, Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (B) Audi R8 LMS GT3
33 Stippler / Jarvis, Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (B) Audi R8 LMS GT3
37 Pastorelli / Jäger, All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport (D) Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3
38 Basseng / Winkelhock All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport (D) Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3