1998 FIA GT Championship

The 1998 FIA GT Championship was the second season of FIA GT Championship, an auto racing series endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO). The races featured grand touring cars conforming to two categories of regulations, GT1 and GT2, and awarded driver and team championships in each category. The season began on 12 April 1998 and ended on 25 October 1998 after ten rounds, visiting Europe, Japan, and the United States.

The GT1 championships were won by Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta of repeat champions AMG Mercedes, while the GT2 title was awarded to Olivier Beretta and Pedro Lamy of Viper Team Oreca.^[1] Following the season, the GT1 category was eliminated from the FIA GT Championship due to a lack of entries for 1999.

Schedule

Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta won the GT1 Drivers Championship with Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR and Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM (pictured)

All races were shortened to a 500 km (310 mi) distance with the exception of Suzuka. Oschersleben replaced the Nürburgring as the second German round of the series, while Hungaroring and Dijon-Prenois replaced Mugello, Spa, and Helskini for the rest of the European calendar.

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date
1	Oschersleben 500	Motopark Oschersleben	12 April
2	British Empire Trophy	Silverstone Circuit	17 May
3	Hockenheim 500	Hockenheimring	28 June
4	500 km de Dijon	Dijon-Prenois	12 July
5	Hungaroring 500	Hungaroring	19 July
6	Suzuka 1000 km	Suzuka Circuit	23 August
7	Donington 500	Donington Park	6 September
8	500 km Zeltweg	A1-Ring	20 September
9	Homestead 500	Homestead-Miami Speedway	18 October
10	Visa Sports Car Championships	Laguna Seca Raceway	25 October

Entries

GT1

Entrant	Car	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds
AMG Mercedes	Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Mercedes-Benz CLK LM	Mercedes-Benz GT112 6.0 L V12 Mercedes-Benz GT108B 5.0 L V8	B	1	Bernd Schneider	All
					Mark Webber	All
				2	Ricardo Zonta	All
					Klaus Ludwig	All
DAMS	Panoz GTR-1	Ford-Roush 6.0 L V8	M	3	Éric Bernard	1–5, 7, 9–10
					David Brabham	1–5, 7, 9–10
					Franck Lagorce	6, 8
					Christophe Tinseau	6, 8
					Johnny O'Connell	6
Zakspeed Racing	Porsche 911 GT1-98	Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6	P	5	Andreas Scheid	1–5, 7–9
					Alexander Grau	1–5
					Armin Hahne	6–9
					Fabien Giroix	6
					Jean-Denis Délétraz	6
				6	Michael Bartels	All
					Armin Hahne	1–5
					Alexander Grau	6
					Andreas Scheid	6
					Max Angelelli	7–10
Porsche AG	Porsche 911 GT1-98	Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6	M	7	Allan McNish	All
					Yannick Dalmas	1, 3–10
					Bob Wollek	2
					Stéphane Ortelli	6
				8	Jörg Müller	All
					Uwe Alzen	1–4, 6–10
					Bob Wollek	5–6
Team Hezemans	Bitter GT1	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	G	9	Jan Lammers	2–3
					Mike Hezemans	2–3
				10	Rainer Bonnetsmüller	2–3
					Manfred Jurasz	2–3
					Stefan Hackl	2
					Michael Fielder	3
Team Persson Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR	Mercedes-Benz GT112 6.0 L V12	B	11	Christophe Bouchut	All
					Bernd Mayländer	All
				12	Marcel Tiemann	All
					Jean-Marc Gounon	All
Davidoff Classic	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12	G	15	Thomas Bscher	1–3, 5–8
					Geoff Lees	1–3, 5–8
Larbre Compétition	Porsche 911 GT1 Evo	Porsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-6	M	17	Patrice Goueslard	4–5
					Bob Wollek	4
					Carl Rosenblad	4
					Jack Leconte	5
					Jean-Luc Chéreau	5
Parabolica Motorsports	McLaren F1 GTR	BMW S70/2 6.0 L V12	D	27	Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière	2–4
					Patrick Caternet	2–4
					Stefan Widmann	3

GT2

Entrant	Car	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Viper Team Oreca	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	M	51	Olivier Beretta	All
					Pedro Lamy	All
					Dominique Dupuy	6
				52	Karl Wendlinger	All
					David Donohue	1, 3–4, 9–10
					Justin Bell	2, 6–8
					Marc Duez	5
					Hideshi Matsuda	6
Chamberlain Engineering	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 356-T6 8.0 L V10	D	53	Ni Amorim	1–5, 7–10
					Gonçalo Gomes	1–3
					Gary Ayles	4–5
					Matt Turner	6–7
					Hans Hugenholtz Jr.	6, 9–10
					Hiroshi Sakai	6
					Martin Short	7
					Manfred Stohl	8
					Dominic Chappell	9
					Spencer Trenery	10
				54	Matt Turner	1–2
					Ashley Ward	1
					Hans Hugenholtz Jr.	2
Saleen-Allen Speedlab	Saleen Mustang SR	Ford 5.9 L V8		55	Andy Pilgrim	10
					Terry Borcheller	10
					Ron Johnson	10
Roock Racing	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	Y	56	Claudia Hürtgen	All
					Stéphane Ortelli	1–3, 5, 7–10
					Emmanuel Collard	4
					Mike Hezemans	6
					Jan Lammers	6
				57	Bruno Eichmann	All
					Sascha Maassen	1–6
					Hisashi Wada	6
					Mike Hezemans	7–10
					André Ahrlé	7
Roock Sportsystem				58	André Ahrlé	1–6, 8–10
					Ratanakul Prutirat	1, 3–6
					Tim Sugden	2
					Peter Owen	2
					Robert Nearn	6
					John Robinson	7
					Hugh Price	7
					Sascha Maassen	8
					Andy Pilgrim	9
					Robert Schirle	10
					Dirk Layer	10
Elf Haberthur Racing	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6	G	60	Michel Neugarten	All
					Gerd Ruch	All
					Marco Spinelli	1–5, 7–8
					Michel Ligonnet	6
					Zak Brown	9–10
				61	Éric Graham	1, 3–4, 6–7
					David Smadja	1, 3, 6–7
					Hervé Poulain	1, 4
					David Velay	3–4
					Mauro Casadei	5, 8–9
					Kersten Jodexnis	5
					Dieter Fähler	5
					Masahiro Kimoto	6
					Emmanuel Clérico	7
					Bruno Lambert	8, 10
					Karl Baron	8
					Klaus Horn	9
					Mike Conte	10
Stadler Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	62	Uwe Sick	All
					Axel Röhr	1-5, 7–9
					Franz Hunkeler	6
					Jörg Clavuot	6
					Renato Mastropietro	9–10
					Will Langhorne	10
Krauss Race Sports International	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	63	Michael Trunk	1–5, 7–10
					Bernhard Müller	1–5, 7–10
Konrad Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	65	Martin Stretton	All
					Toni Seiler	1–5, 7–10
					Yukihiro Hane	6
					Jun Harada	6
				66	Franz Konrad	All
					Nick Ham	1–3
					Stéphane Sallaz	4, 6
					Altfrid Heger	5–8
					Jan Lammers	9–10
Remus Racing	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6		67	Wido Rössler	8
					Herbert Drexler	8
Proton Competition	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	69	Gerold Ried	All
					Patrick Vuillaume	All
					Manfred Jurasz	6
				96	Horst Felbermayr	1–5, 7–8
					Horst Felbermayr Jr.	1–5, 7–8
Marcos Racing International	Marcos LM600	Chevrolet 5.9 L V8	D	70	Cor Euser	All
					Harald Becker	All
					Christian Vann	3–10
				71	Herman Buurman	9–10
					Manno Schaafsma	9–10
Paul Belmondo Racing	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6	P	74	Marc Rostan	3
					Jacques Plattier	3
					Francis Werner	3
Swiss Team Salamin	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6		75	Max Cohen-Olivar	3
					Bernard Schwach	3
Seikel Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	76	Ernst Palmberger	3, 5, 8
					Gerhard Marchner	3, 8
					Renato Mastropietro	3
					Peter Seikel	4
					Fred Rosterg	4
					Bernard Schwach	4
					Nigel Smith	5–7, 9–10
					Robert Nearn	5
					Takashi Suzuki	6
					Max Cohen-Olivar	7, 9–10
					Jean-François Véroux	7
					Manfred Jurasz	8
					Andrew Bagnall	9–10
				87	Gerhard Marchner	6, 9–10
					Sumio Sakurai Suzuki	6
					Tomiko Yoshikawa	6
					Manfred Jurasz	9–10
					Christian Vogler	9
					Tony Burgess	10
Sonauto Levallois	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	P	77	Jean-Pierre Jarier	4
					François Lafon	4
Bovi Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6		78	Kálmán Bódis	5, 8
					Attila Barta	5
					Herbert Jerish	5
					Ferenc Rátkai	8
RWS	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6		79	Günther Blieninger	8
					Hans-Jörg Hofer	8
					Raffaele Sangiuolo	8
GP Motorsport	Saleen Mustang SR	Ford 5.9 L V8		80	Robert Dor	9–10
					Peter Gregg	9–10
					Robert Schirle	9
					John Young	10
Freisinger Motorsport	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6		81	Wolfgang Kaufmann	7–10
					Michel Ligonnet	7–10
Larbre Compétition	Porsche 911 GT2	Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	M	86	Jack Leconte	9–10
					Jean-Luc Chéreau	9–10
Cirtek Motorsport	Saleen Mustang SR Porsche 911 GT2	Ford 5.9 L V8 Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6	D	98	David Warnock	2, 7
					Robert Schirle	2
					Mauro Casadei	3
					Andrea Garbagnati	3
					Angelo Zadra	3
					Richard Nearn	7
					Sascha Maassen	7

Season results

Rnd	Circuit	GT1 Winning Team	GT2 Winning Team	Results
		GT1 Winning Drivers	GT2 Winning Drivers
1	Oschersleben	#2 AMG Mercedes	#52 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy
2	Silverstone	#1 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Bernd Schneider Mark Webber	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy
3	Hockenheimring	#1 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Bernd Schneider Mark Webber	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy
4	Dijon	#2 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy
5	Hungaroring	#1 AMG Mercedes	#57 Roock Racing	Results
		Bernd Schneider Mark Webber	Sascha Maassen Bruno Eichmann
6	Suzuka	#1 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Bernd Schneider Mark Webber	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy Dominique Dupuy
7	Donington	#1 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Bernd Schneider Mark Webber	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy
8	A1-Ring	#2 AMG Mercedes	#52 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta	Karl Wendlinger Justin Bell
9	Homestead	#2 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy
10	Laguna Seca	#2 AMG Mercedes	#51 Viper Team Oreca	Results
		Klaus Ludwig Ricardo Zonta	Olivier Beretta Pedro Lamy

Points system

Championship points for each title in each category were awarded on a 10-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six places in each race.^[2]

A driver was eligible to score points if he had completed at least 20% of the total distance achieved by his vehicle.^[2]

Results from all races were counted towards the Drivers titles in both GT1 and GT2.^[2]

Results from no more than two cars per team per race were counted towards the Teams titles in both GT1 and GT2.^[2]

Drivers Championships

GT1 Standings

^[3][4]

Pos. Driver Team OSC SIL HOC DIJ HUN SUZ DON A1R HOM LAG Total points 1 Klaus Ludwig AMG Mercedes 1 4 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 77 1 Ricardo Zonta AMG Mercedes 1 4 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 77 3 Bernd Schneider AMG Mercedes 3 1 1 9 1 1 1 2 4 2 69 3 Mark Webber AMG Mercedes 3 1 1 9 1 1 1 2 4 2 69 5 Allan McNish Porsche AG 7 Ret 6 2 3 3 3 3 3 Ret 27 5 Yannick Dalmas Porsche AG 7 6 2 3 3 3 3 3 Ret 27 7 Jörg Müller Porsche AG 8 2 8 11 4 Ret 4 8 2 3 22 8 Uwe Alzen Porsche AG 8 2 8 11 Ret 4 8 2 3 19 9 Marcel Tiemann Team Persson Motorsport 2 Ret 4 5 Ret 7 5 5 5 7 17 9 Jean-Marc Gounon Team Persson Motorsport 2 Ret 4 5 Ret 7 5 5 5 7 17 11 David Brabham DAMS 5 8 3 3 6 Ret 6 4 15 11 Éric Bernard DAMS 5 8 3 3 6 Ret 6 4 15 13 Michael Bartels Zakspeed Racing 6 3 7 6 5 6 NC 4 7 5 14 14 Armin Hahne Zakspeed Racing 6 3 7 6 5 8 6 9 DNS DNP 9 15 Christophe Bouchut Team Persson Motorsport Ret 7 10 4 DNS 4 8 10 Ret 6 7 15 Bernd Mayländer Team Persson Motorsport Ret 7 10 4 DNS 4 8 10 Ret 6 7 17 Andreas Scheld Zakspeed Racing 4 5 Ret 7 Ret 6 6 9 DNS DNP 7 18 Alexander Grau Zakspeed Racing 4 5 Ret 7 Ret 6 6 19 Max Angelelli Zakspeed Racing NC 4 7 5 5 20 Stéphane Ortelli Porsche AG 3 4 21 Geoff Lees Davidoff Classic GTC Ret 6 5 Ret Ret 7 6 4 21 Thomas Bscher Davidoff Classic GTC Ret 6 5 Ret Ret 7 6 4 23 Bob Wollek Porsche AG Ret 4 Ret 3 Larbre Compétition 8 24 Christophe Tinseau DAMS 5 7 2 24 Franck Lagorce DAMS 5 7 2 26 Johnny O'Connell DAMS 5 2 - Patrice Goueslard Larbre Compétition 8 Ret 0 - Carl Rosenblad Larbre Compétition 8 0 - Fabien Giroix Zakspeed Racing 8 0 - Jean-Denis Délétraz Zakspeed Racing 8 0 - Jean-Luc Maury-Laribière Parabolica Motorsports BBA WD Ret 9 10 DNP 0 - Patrick Caternet Parabolica Motorsports BBA Ret 9 10 DNP 0 - Steffen Widmann Parabolica Motorsports BBA 9 0 - Mike Hezemans Team Hezemans WD Ret DNS DNP DNP 0 - Jan Lammers Team Hezemans WD Ret DNS DNP 0 - Rainer Bonnetsmüller Team Hezemans WD Ret DNS DNP 0 - Manfred Jurasz Team Hezemans WD Ret DNS DNP 0 - Stefan Hackl Team Hezemans Ret DNP 0 - Jack Leconte Larbre Compétition Ret 0 - Jean-Luc Chéreau Larbre Compétition Ret 0 - Michael Fielder Team Hezemans DNS 0 Pos. Driver Team OSC SIL HOC DIJ HUN SUZ DON A1R HOM LAG Total points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

Teams Championship

Teams scored points for all cars that finished each round of the championship. Cars must have completed at least 75% of the race distance to be classified.

GT1 Standings

Pos. Team OSC SIL HOC DIJ HUN SUZ DON A1R HOM LAG Total points 1 AMG Mercedes 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 146 3 4 2 9 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 Porsche AG 7 2 6 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 49 8 Ret 8 11 4 Ret 4 8 3 Ret 3 Team Persson Motorsport 2 7 4 4 Ret 4 5 5 5 6 24 Ret Ret 10 5 DNS 7 8 10 Ret 7 4 Zakspeed Racing 4 3 7 6 5 6 6 4 7 5 20 6 5 Ret 7 Ret 8 NC 9 DNS 5 DAMS 5 8 3 3 6 5 Ret 7 6 4 17 6 Davidoff Classic Ret 6 5 Ret Ret 7 6 4 – Larbre Compétition 8 Ret 0 – Parabolica Motorsports WD Ret 9 10 0 – Team Hezemans WD Ret DNS 0 WD Ret DNS

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX)

GT2 Standings

Pos.	Team	OSC	SIL	HOC	DIJ	HUN	SUZ	DON	A1R	HOM	LAG	Total points
1	Viper Team Oreca	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	130
		2	Ret	2	2	Ret	2	3	2	Ret	DNS
2	Roock Racing	Ret	Ret	3	5	1	7	12	9	2	2	31
		DSQ	Ret	4	7	DNS	Ret	13	13	12	Ret
3	Konrad Motorsport	3	7	7	4	Ret	4	2	3	7	10	25
		4	9	11	15	DNS	Ret	5	7	Ret	Ret
4	Elf Haberthur Racing	7	2	5	13	4	5	11	8	9	5	15
		Ret		9	14	Ret	10	Ret	11	Ret	Ret
5	Krauss Race Sports International	5	8	13	6	5		7	5	4	3	14
6	Marcos Racing International	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	3	DSQ	Ret	3	Ret	13
										13	Ret
7	Freisinger Motorsport							4	4	6	Ret	7
8	Roock Sportsystem	9	10	14	10	6	Ret	DSQ	6	5	4	7
9	Stadler Motorsport	10	3	6	9	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	5
10	Chamberlain Engineering	8	5	Ret	11	DNS	6	6	Ret	Ret	8	5
		Ret	6
11	Sonauto Levallois				3							4
12	Proton Competition	11	4	8	8	9	9	8	12	Ret	7	3
		12	Ret	Ret	12	10		9	Ret
13	GP Motorsport									DNS	6	1
–	Seikel Motorsport			12	Ret	7	8	Ret	Ret	8	9	0
							11			10	Ret
–	Cirtek Motorsport		Ret	10				10				0
–	RWS								10			0
–	Larbre Compétition									11	Ret	0
–	Bovi Motorsport					Ret			Ret			0
–	Paul Belmondo Racing			Ret								0
–	Remus Racing								Ret			0
–	Swiss Team Salamin			DNS								0
–	Saleen-Allen Speedlab										DNS	0

References

See also

• GTR Euroseries