It's been another exciting weekend for the FIA European GT3 Championship, which is getting stronger and stronger with each round. Five more cars joined the championship in France, with two more Ferrari 458s plus an additional Ford GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and Audi R8 LMS, making a 29-strong grid at Paul Ricard. 

The big Mercedes are looking a little bit more settled here: you can still see the SLSs struggling to put down the power, but when they do they are awesomely fast – hence the pole position for Race 2. 

We're now into the second half of the championship, and it's incredibly close at the top – and the results of the weekend's battles would only serve to make it even tighter. Bad luck for the leading BMW crews – the #35 Faster Racing and #6 Team Need For Speed Z4s – has allowed the chasing teams to close right up. 

The long and flowing Paul Ricard track encourages overtaking, with its wide run-offs allowing drivers that little bit more breathing space to attack the corners – knowing that if it goes wrong the barriers are normally quite some distance away. However, running off the track here might not physically damage the car, but the highly abrasive painted stripes will just as surely destroy your tyres…   

Paul Ricard is about half an hour from the heaving port of Marseille – the town is criss-crossed by tunnels to allow faster access than through the narrow streets above, which makes for some arcade-style driving as narrow single-lane turns come up fast and the GPS is no help down there…

After 20 minutes on a motorway you climb up through a series of winding roads to the plateau where the circuit is situated. This is definitely one of the most fun journeys to a circuit you can have. Especially in a hire car.

Everything glistens, blossoms and shines at Paul Ricard, even the fire marshals' helmets. 

The paddock is immaculately laid out and the GT3 team trucks nestle under the trees – although admittedly they are effectively in a car park. 

There are drawbacks though: the teams on the line of parking right behind the pits don't actually have enough space to turn their cars out of the awnings before they hit the kerb! The convoluted way out is to jack the car up after it's been rolled out, then put the trolleys underneath to rotate the car before letting down the jacks again…

The best thing about Porsches is their anti-diet approach to racing: rather than getting thinner through evolutions of each model, they just get fatter, wider and meaner.

Edward would be first out in the #6 Team Need For Speed BMW Z4 in the first free practice session. It's easy to underestimate the pressure: track time is short, so a balance has to be struck between perfecting set-ups and getting drivers new to the track enough time to get up to speed.

Abdulaziz Al Faisal took the option of riding to the pitlane on the Schubert tyre trolley. Based out in the paddock, as usual the GT3 teams have to cart everything they need down to the pitlane: all their tyres, pressurised canisters and airguns and general tools and spares.

The good thing about the Ricard pitlane is that it's nice and long. The 29 cars might not be luxuriating in space, but at least there is a bit of room to operate. 

Team NFS have been looking for that extra something: after a great start to the year they've been caught by the ever-improving opposition – and most frustratingly by the MIchelin-shod Faster Racing BMW Z4s. There's been a lot of chin scratching…

Thing really didn't go well for the team in the first free practice session: with brand new tyres supplied by Dunlop they had to try a completely new set-up to match the rubber. It simply didn't work.

This meant more hard work for the Schubert team to change everything back to previous settings again in the couple of hours before the second free practice session that afternoon.

I had been waiting by the formation area for the #6 car – as the rest of the GT3 cars started streaming out onto the track there was still no sign of #6. Back in the garage, it was still up on jacks. A bolt holding on the undertray had sheered during the first practice session: rigging up a fix for that and also changing the set up left them with a race against time to get out on track. Edward paced around, helping out as he could. Abdulaziz, who would be driving the car first, waited with his helmet on, ready to jump in.  

Finally the car was ready to go: but even then the team can't rush getting the car out. The Z4 was up on three levels of jacks for it to be worked on: for each tier to be removed safety procedures had to be strictly followed. One jack out, shouts of 'clear' and then the car would let down onto the lower level. Three times, with the crew working as quickly – but as safely – as possible. It was nerve-wrackin to watch.

As the car was down to the final set of jacks Edward helped strap ATF into the cockpit. As soon as the car hit the floor the engine was fired and ATF screeched off through the paddock to the pitlane – and straight out on track. You need amazing focus to be able to stay calm and then hit the track at full speed. 

Edward ran out after him, followed by Stefan and the rest of the Schubert mechanics. The result of the session was better – but not best. Just a couple of places further towards the front, but still two seconds off the pace.

Next morning, GT3 qualifying was the first session of the day at 9am. Edward went out in the first segment, deciding the grid for race 1: 8th place was the result, with the #7 sister car just a spot in front. 

Up front was the Reiter Lamborghini, riding the crest after its win in Spain, closely followed by a resurgent #1 Prospeed Porsche – last year's champions. 

ATF drove in qualifying for the second race: this really didn't go so well. 25th place, over three seconds away from pole. This time it was the #3 Graff Racing Mercedes in number one position, with the on-form Sainteloc Audi R8, #9 LMP Racing Aston Martin and the #1 Porsche close behind.

The rolling start for Race 1: the Reiter Lamborghini led from pole into the left-hand kink at turn one, hotly pursued by the Porsche and the fast-starting #50 AF Corse Ferrari 458.

The two Need For Speed BMWs were having a tough fight with a clutch of Mercedes: Edward had got past #7, but then disappeared…

There were great battles all through the field, particularly between this Audi R8 and SLS, who lap after lap would pass and repass each other.

The Reiter Lamborghini was blisteringly fast: despite the best efforts of the #50 Ferrari, who pushed them right to the end, they were relentlessly quick and crossed the line first. The Prospeed Porsche has also looked like challenging, but suffered a stop/go penalty – their day would come though.

Edward? As I got to the chicane on the Mistral straight I'd been passed by a flatbed truck: it was for the #6 Z4, stranded by the side of the track.

The rear suspension had collapsed: no fault of the team, but some major problem with the parts. A resigned Edward waited for the end of the race, watching the cars race pass. Never a situation a driver wants to be in. And more work for Schubert.

Sunday had always threatened rain: there's typically a cycle of hot weather followed by a storm, and with the track up high on its plateau the cloud drops in low and the skies quickly darken.

Wet tyres were on hand. Eyes were raised to the sky. But the rain kept away, for the morning and the GT3 race at least.

So, the green lights came on for the rolling start and the cars took off for their formation lap.

Coming round for the start proper, the heat haze filled the width of the track as the cars accelerated out of the final corner, spreading out four and five wide as they thundered down under the bridge. The fast sweeps of Ricard made for great racing – well worth checking out on the streaming race reruns!

As the 10-minute pit window opened the cars started streaming in, some, like the #7 BMW, showing just how hard the brakes had been working. After solid stints by both Claudia Hurtgen in #7 and ATF in #6, the BMWs seem to come alive: both cars closed right up together and start scything through the midfield.

Out front the #9 Aston had grabbed the lead into the first corner. Further back, yesterday's winning Gallardo was fighting through the midfield with #9's team-mate. They both inexorably made their way forward, until the Aston punted the Lamborghini on the entrance to the super fast Signes corner at the end of the long Mistral straight. The Gallardo was spun out and retired soon after – a furious driver jumped out, seemingly ready to charge down to the Aston pit. Unsurprisingly, as that was the fastest, most dangerous section of the track to be attacked at…

With Edward at the wheel of #6, the Z4 was charging through the field, soon closing up to and overtaking Csaba Walter in #7. The two then moved up together, taking a car almost every lap. By the flag, they were fifth and sixth – from 25th and 22nd on the grid respectively! 

The #1 Prospeed Porsche took the chequer and the win, after overtaking the #9 Aston with 15 minutes to go. But as all the cars came back into the pits there was no sign of the two Team NFS BMWs….   

Disastrously, the two cars had collided on the slowing down lap! Once again #6 came back to the pits on the back of a flatbed with the disbelieving team looking on. A furious team boss was only partially calmed by the fact the cars weren't excluded, though both have been hit with a three-place penalty at the next round in Slovakia in August. But keeping the points from today is incredibly important in the championship: there are only two rounds to go – four races – and the top seven cars are within 21 points (just one win) of each other. With no points scored this weekend, last month's leading Faster Racing BMW has dropped to fifth, and all the top five are shaken up! Anything can happen… 

2011 FIA European GT3 Championship after Round 4

1: #50 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Francesco Castellacci/Federico Leo) 79

2: #33 Belgian Audi Club R8 LMS (Enzo Ide/Gregory Franchi) 75

3: #6 Team Need For Speed BMW Z4 (Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Edward Sandstrom) 73

4: #9 LMP Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9 (Maxime Martin/Gael Lesoudier) 69

5: #35 Faster Racing BMW Z4 (Jeroen den Boer/Hoevert Vos) 67 points

Jonathan Moore

FIA GT3

GT3 Live TV stream

Circuit Paul Ricard HTTT

Team Need For Speed Stories FIA GT3

Schubert Motorsport