# 2011 FIA GT1 Abu Dhabi round

The 2011 FIA GT1 Abu Dhabi round was an auto racing event held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Taking place over 25–26 March 2011, Abu Dhabi was the opening round of the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship season. It is the second consecutive year that FIA GT1 has opened its season in Abu Dhabi, although the 2011 event will be held on a shorter 4.730 km (2.939 mi) layout of the Yas Marina Circuit. Marc Hennerici is the only returning driver who won during the event last season, while Corvette and Ford both are defending victors. The event is also unique on the FIA GT1 calendar as it is the only one held over a two-day period rather than the normal three; Qualifying is held following Practice on Friday while the Qualifying Race and Championship race are both held on Saturday. The weekend is shared with a trio of local racing series: The UAE Sportscar series, the Cytech UAE GT series, and the Total UAE Touring Cars series.
Münnich Motorsport earned pole position in the qualifying session, only to be penalized for an infraction and handing pole to the Young Driver team of Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner. Early incidents in the Qualifying Race led to Marc VDS Ford winning their first GT1 race with Maxime Martin and Frédéric Makowiecki driving. Marc VDS was unable to hold the lead after starting from pole in the Championship Race as a quick pit stop vaulted Stef Dusseldorp and Clivio Piccione's Hexis Aston Martin into the race lead, fending off the Nissan of JR Motorsports but less than half a second at the finish.

## Background

Following the announcement of an entry list featuring twenty cars from ten teams for the full 2011 season, only eighteen were entered for Abu Dhabi. The two Corvette squads of Team China and DKR Engineering both entered only a single car due to each team lacking a second chassis. All eighteen cars participated in a pre-season test held at the circuit on 23 March, with the No. 37 Münnich Motorsport Lamborghini of Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager setting the fastest lap of the day, followed by their second team car.

## Qualifying
### Qualifying result

For qualifying, Driver 1 participates in the first and third sessions while Driver 2 participates in only the second session. The fastest lap for each session is indicated with bold.
| Pos | No. | Driver 1 | Team | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Grid |
| Pos | No. | Driver 2 | Team | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Grid |
| 1 | 37 | Nicky Pastorelli | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | 1:52.705 | 1:52.006 | 1:51.668 | 6 |
| 1 | 37 | Dominik Schwager | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | 1:52.705 | 1:52.006 | 1:51.668 | 6 |
| 2 | 8 | Stefan Mücke | Young Driver AMR | 1:52.521 | 1:52.183 | 1:52.113 | 1 |
| 2 | 8 | Darren Turner | Young Driver AMR | 1:52.521 | 1:52.183 | 1:52.113 | 1 |
| 3 | 41 | Maxime Martin | Marc VDS Racing Team | 1:52.820 | 1:52.603 | 1:52.197 | 2 |
| 3 | 41 | Frédéric Makowiecki | Marc VDS Racing Team | 1:52.820 | 1:52.603 | 1:52.197 | 2 |
| 4 | 7 | Alex Müller | Young Driver AMR | 1:53.107 | 1:52.010 | 1:52.547 | 3 |
| 4 | 7 | Tomáš Enge | Young Driver AMR | 1:53.107 | 1:52.010 | 1:52.547 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Mike Hezemans | Exim Bank Team China | 1:52.892 | 1:52.521 | 1:52.750 | 4 |
| 5 | 11 | Nicky Catsburg | Exim Bank Team China | 1:52.892 | 1:52.521 | 1:52.750 | 4 |
| 6 | 22 | Peter Dumbreck | JR Motorsports | 1:53.189 | 1:52.223 | 1:52.866 | 5 |
| 6 | 22 | Richard Westbrook | JR Motorsports | 1:53.189 | 1:52.223 | 1:52.866 | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Enrique Bernoldi | Sumo Power GT | 1:52.909 | 1:52.631 | 1:53.191 | 7 |
| 7 | 20 | Ricardo Zonta | Sumo Power GT | 1:52.909 | 1:52.631 | 1:53.191 | 7 |
| 8 | 23 | Lucas Luhr | JR Motorsports | 1:53.332 | 1:52.786 | 1:53.336 | 8 |
| 8 | 23 | Michael Krumm | JR Motorsports | 1:53.332 | 1:52.786 | 1:53.336 | 8 |
| 9 | 21 | David Brabham | Sumo Power GT | 1:52.667 | 1:52.804 | | 9 |
| 9 | 21 | Jamie Campbell-Walter | Sumo Power GT | 1:52.667 | 1:52.804 | | 9 |
| 10 | 5 | Karl Wendlinger | Swiss Racing Team | 1:53.355 | 1:52.907 | | 10 |
| 10 | 5 | Peter Kox | Swiss Racing Team | 1:53.355 | 1:52.907 | | 10 |
| 11 | 3 | Clivio Piccione | Hexis AMR | 1:53.037 | 1:52.914 | | 11 |
| 11 | 3 | Stef Dusseldorp | Hexis AMR | 1:53.037 | 1:52.914 | | 11 |
| 12 | 40 | Marc Hennerici | Marc VDS Racing Team | 1:53.114 | 1:53.159 | | 17 |
| 12 | 40 | Bas Leinders | Marc VDS Racing Team | 1:53.114 | 1:53.159 | | 17 |
| 13 | 47 | Michaël Rossi | DKR Engineering | 1:53.830 | 1:55.549 | | 12 |
| 13 | 47 | Jaime Camara | DKR Engineering | 1:53.830 | 1:55.549 | | 12 |
| 14 | 38 | Markus Winkelhock | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | 1:53.486 | No Time | | 13 |
| 14 | 38 | Marc Basseng | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | 1:53.486 | No Time | | 13 |
| 15 | 4 | Christian Hohenadel | Hexis AMR | 1:54.178 | | | 14 |
| 15 | 4 | Andrea Piccini | Hexis AMR | 1:54.178 | | | 14 |
| 16 | 10 | Martin Matzke | Belgian Racing | 1:54.274 | | | 15 |
| 16 | 10 | Miloš Pavlović | Belgian Racing | 1:54.274 | | | 15 |
| 17 | 9 | Antoine Leclerc | Belgian Racing | 1:54.564 | | | 16 |
| 17 | 9 | Fabien Giroix | Belgian Racing | 1:54.564 | | | 16 |
| 18 | 6 | Max Nilsson | Swiss Racing Team | 1:54.570 | | | 18 |
| 18 | 6 | Jiří Janák | Swiss Racing Team | 1:54.570 | | | 18 |
* ^ The No. 37 Münnich Lamborghini was given a penalty of five grid spots for the Qualifying Race for ignoring a marshal's flag requiring the car to pits after illegally starting from an external battery during Qualifying 1.
* ^ The No. 40 Marc VDS Ford was given a penalty of five grid spots for the Qualifying Race for changing an engine during practice.

## Races
### Qualifying Race
#### Race result

| Pos | No. | Team | Drivers | Manufacturer | Laps | Time/Retired |
| 1 | 41 | Marc VDS Racing Team | Maxime Martin Frédéric Makowiecki | Ford | 31 | |
| 2 | 22 | JR Motorsports | Peter Dumbreck Richard Westbrook | Nissan | 31 | −1.476 |
| 3 | 23 | JR Motorsports | Michael Krumm Lucas Luhr | Nissan | 31 | −18.069 |
| 4 | 20 | Sumo Power GT | Enrique Bernoldi Ricardo Zonta | Nissan | 31 | −21.514 |
| 5 | 3 | Hexis AMR | Clivio Piccione Stef Dusseldorp | Aston Martin | 31 | −22.460 |
| 6 | 38 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | Marc Basseng Markus Winkelhock | Lamborghini | 31 | −23.049 |
| 7 | 11 | Exim Bank Team China | Mike Hezemans Nicky Catsburg | Corvette | 31 | −37.828 |
| 8 | 21 | Sumo Power GT | David Brabham Jamie Campbell-Walter | Nissan | 31 | −43.637 |
| 9 | 4 | Hexis AMR | Christian Hohenadel Andrea Piccini | Aston Martin | 31 | −48.575 |
| 10 | 5 | Swiss Racing Team | Karl Wendlinger Peter Kox | Lamborghini | 31 | −49.454 |
| 11 | 40 | Marc VDS Racing Team | Bas Leinders Marc Hennerici | Ford | 31 | −55.779 |
| 12 | 10 | Belgian Racing | Martin Matzke Miloš Pavlović | Ford | 31 | −1:07.877 |
| 13 | 6 | Swiss Racing Team | Max Nilsson Jiří Janák | Lamborghini | 31 | −1:08.866 |
| 14 | 9 | Belgian Racing | Antoine Leclerc Fabien Giroix | Ford | 31 | −1:49.703 |
| 15 DNF | 8 | Young Driver AMR | Darren Turner Stefan Mücke | Aston Martin | 15 | Broken wheel |
| 16 DNF | 7 | Young Driver AMR | Tomáš Enge Alex Müller | Aston Martin | 1 | Damage |
| 17 DNF | 37 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | Nicky Pastorelli Dominik Schwager | Lamborghini | 0 | Collision |
| 18 DNF | 47 | DKR Engineering | Michaël Rossi Jaime Camara | Corvette | 0 | Collision |

### Championship Race
#### Race result

| Pos | No. | Team | Drivers | Manufacturer | Laps | Time/Retired |
| 1 | 3 | Hexis AMR | Clivio Piccione Stef Dusseldorp | Aston Martin | 31 | |
| 2 | 22 | JR Motorsports | Peter Dumbreck Richard Westbrook | Nissan | 31 | −0.474 |
| 3 | 38 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | Marc Basseng Markus Winkelhock | Lamborghini | 31 | −14.539 |
| 4 | 4 | Hexis AMR | Christian Hohenadel Andrea Piccini | Aston Martin | 31 | −15.296 |
| 5 | 8 | Young Driver AMR | Darren Turner Stefan Mücke | Aston Martin | 31 | −15.934 |
| 6 | 7 | Young Driver AMR | Tomáš Enge Alex Müller | Aston Martin | 31 | −16.713 |
| 7 | 5 | Swiss Racing Team | Karl Wendlinger Peter Kox | Lamborghini | 31 | −17.277 |
| 8 | 41 | Marc VDS Racing Team | Maxime Martin Frédéric Makowiecki | Ford | 31 | −22.053 |
| 9 | 21 | Sumo Power GT | David Brabham Jamie Campbell-Walter | Nissan | 31 | −32.952 |
| 10 | 11 | Exim Bank Team China | Mike Hezemans Nicky Catsburg | Corvette | 31 | −39.805 |
| 11 | 37 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | Nicky Pastorelli Dominik Schwager | Lamborghini | 31 | −46.478 |
| 12 | 10 | Belgian Racing | Martin Matzke Miloš Pavlović | Ford | 31 | −1:23.319 |
| 13 | 47 | DKR Engineering | Michaël Rossi Jaime Camara | Corvette | 31 | −1:38.366 |
| 14 | 23 | JR Motorsports | Michael Krumm Lucas Luhr | Nissan | 30 | −1 Lap |
| 15 DNF | 6 | Swiss Racing Team | Max Nilsson Jiří Janák | Lamborghini | 24 | Retired |
| 16 DNF | 20 | Sumo Power GT | Enrique Bernoldi Ricardo Zonta | Nissan | 20 | Retired |
| 17 DNF | 9 | Belgian Racing | Antoine Leclerc Fabien Giroix | Ford | 16 | Retired |
| DNS | 40 | Marc VDS Racing Team | Bas Leinders Marc Hennerici | Ford | – | Did Not Start |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1= | Clivio Piccione | 27 |
| 1= | Stef Dusseldorp | 27 |
| 3= | Peter Dumbreck | 24 |
| 3= | Richard Westbrook | 24 |
| 5= | Marc Basseng | 16 |
| 5= | Markus Winkelhock | 16 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Hexis AMR | 39 |
| 2 | JR Motorsports | 28 |
| 3 | Young Driver AMR | 18 |
| 4 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | 16 |
| 5 | Swiss Racing Team | 6 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.