FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 10
RACE REPORT
GT NEWS # 6

The sixth season of the FIA GT Championship drew to a close at Estoril today, with a fine race, full of changes of fortune on a drying track. As the positions in the top six changed, the GT Teams and Drivers titles swung between Terrien, Bouchut, Campbell-Walter and Springer, and their teams Larbre Competition Chéreau and Lister Storm Racing. However, as the track dried, the situation stabilised, with Deletraz and Piccini, in their Ferrari 550 Maranello, giving BMS Scuderia Italia its fourth win of the season. Carsport Holland was second, ahead of a late-charging Jamie Campbell-Walter in the Lister Storm. Christophe Bouchut, in fourth, claimed the FIA GT Championship Drivers title for the second consecutive year, giving his team Larbre Competition Chéreau the Teams title. The Freisinger Motorsport duo of Ortelli and Maassen put in a dominant performance in N-GT, to secure the N-GT Teams Championship for Freisinger, finishing ahead of Cirtek Motorsport’s Jones and Dumas, with Veloqx Motorsport putting in an excellent third place in their Ferrari Modena 360.

WEATHER
Overcast and windy after overnight storms, the track was wet at the start, but dried quickly as the sun came out during the race.

WARM-UP
The Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper GTS-R of Christophe Bouchut and Vincent Vosse was fastest in the morning warm-up, though a slight oil leak caused Bouchut to comment: “If I finish the race, I will be very lucky.” Bouchut’s time of 1:54.873s was two tenths faster than the nr 14 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm of Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer. The nr 32 DART Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello of Luca Riccitelli and Dieter Quester was third fastest, showing remarkable turn of speed in the wet and windy conditions.

In the N-GT class, Toto Wolff and Philipp Peter were fastest in the nr 58 Autorlando Porsche 996 GT3-R, comfortably ahead of the nr 54 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R of Stephane Ortelli and Sascha Maassen. Norman Simon was third quickest in the nr 76 RWS Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R that he shares with Paul Knapfield.

BOUCHUT AND LARBRE COMPETITION CHEREAU RETAIN THE FIA GT TITLES
Christophe Bouchut retained his FIA GT Championship title after finishing fourth in the final round of the series at Estoril. The Frenchman had a steady race with Vincent Vosse to cross the line just one place behind Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer’s nr 14 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm. The Larbre Competition pair were helped by the safety car that came out to recover Claude-Yves Gosselin’s nr 11 Chrysler Viper, stranded at the first corner, as this prevented Campbell-Walter from lapping Vosse. Campbell-Walter and Springer needed to finish first or second to beat erstwhile leader David Terrien, whose nr 2 Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper GTS-R retired on only the second lap with a broken throttle cable. Bouchut’s fourth position was enough to also allow Larbre Competition Chéreau to retain the GT Teams Championship.

FOURTH VICTORY FOR FERRARI
Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz took their fourth win of the year in the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello. The pair started on wet weather tyres and led for the opening laps before Campbell-Walter and Hezemans got past on their intermediate tyres. It was not until the final hour that the pair took the lead again and Piccini pulled out enough of a lead to hold it to the flag. The nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari of Jean-Marc Gounon, Enzo Calderari and Lilian Bryner, finished fifth after starting the race on intermediate tyres.

HEZEMANS SECOND FOR CARSPORT HOLLAND
Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen finished second in their nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R after a spectacular opening hour by Hezemans that saw him lead comfortably. The Dutchman started on intermediate tyres and lapped three seconds a lap quicker than the opposition. Co-driver Anthony Kumpen was caught and passed by Campbell-Walter in the second hour shortly before a safety car period to clear Claude-Yves Gosselin’s nr 11 Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper. After the second round of stops Hezemans caught and passed Springer to take second. The second Carsport Viper, nr 4, of Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari, started on slick tyres, but Gollin spun out on the second lap and the car never recovered, retiring with a broken differential.

CLOSE FOR LISTER STORM RACING, BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH
Although they failed to claim either title, Lister Storm Racing team were pleased to finish on the podium yet again. Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nicolaus Springer were in contention for the win until the final hour, when Springer took the wheel and was caught first by Andrea Piccini, and then by Mike Hezemans. The gentleman driver, a three-times winner this season, did his utmost to fend off the cars behind him, but dropped to third, before Campbell-Walter got back in the car for the final section of the race. Rejoining in fourth, Campbell-Walter brought the car back up to the podium, overtaking Bouchut in the final minutes. The second car of Bobby Verdon-Roe, David Warnock and Ian McKellar spun off in the first hour and suffered from intermediate misfire and brake problems, finishing 11th in the class.

VICTORY AND TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP FOR FREISINGER MOTORSPORT
Manfred Freisinger’s team took victory at the final round of the FIA GT Championship to take the teams’ title. Stephane Ortelli wrapped up the championship for drivers at Donington, but drove an amazing race that was applauded by his competitors, lapping the field before handing over to co-driver Sascha Maassen for the final stint. The second car of Stephane Daoudi and Bert Longin finished sixth, with a down-on-power engine.

CIRTEK MOTORSPORT CLAIMS ITS FIRST PODIUM OF THE YEAR
Romain Dumas and Adam Jones delivered Cirtek Motorsport’s first podium of the year at Estoril. The pair had a trouble-free race, bothered only by the speed of Ortelli. Dumas un-lapped himself after the pit stops and finished a comfortable second when the leading Freisinger Porsche made a second pit stop for fuel. The second car of Pedro Nevoa and Roger Walter ran with the front-runners when the track was at its wettest, but eventually retired with a broken gearbox.

VELOQX MOTORSPORT TAKES THIRD ON SECOND FIA GT OUTING
The Veloqx Motorsport Ferrari 360 Modena of Tim Sugden and Andrew Kirkaldy finished on the podium on only its second FIA GT Championship outing. Kirkaldy struggled in the wet, the first time that he had driven such a car in such conditions, but quickly adapted to the situation. Sugden stepped aboard and ran third until the end. The second car, nr 82 of Jamie Davies and Ivan Capelli, spun out in the opening hour with Davies on board, and retired soon after with an overheating problem.

FOURTH FOR JMB RACING FOR SECOND PLACE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
JMB Racing, who had a mathematical chance of retaining the N-GT Teams title they won in 2001, was not able to stop Freisinger Motorsport this weekend. The nr 50 Ferrari 360 Modena of Pescatori and Bertolini finished in fourth place, meaning that Pescatori took second place in the N-GT Drivers Championship, ahead of his team-mate Andrea Montermini, who was ninth today in the nr 51 car he shared with Andrea Garbagnati. The team finished in second place, with a 52.5-point lead over Autorlando Sport.

FIFTH FOR JVG RACING
The JVG Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R of Johnny Mowlem and Ian Kahn finished fifth after a stop-and-go penalty for Kahn passing under yellow flags. Like most of the N-GT field, Mowlem started on slick tyres and moved up to third in class before pitting to hand to Kahn. The penalty dropped them down to fifth.

NOTES AND QUOTES

Andrea Piccini, nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello – 1st in GT : “We started on wet tyres following the advice of Michelin. In the drying conditions, it was very difficult to keep the others behind. But we are very happy with this win; we have had a very good season. Only the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa was a disappointment.”

Jean-Denis Deletraz, nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello – 1st in GT : “I am really happy with this win ! It was a great pleasure for me to share the car with Andrea this season. I had a very good fight with Kumpen during my stint, so I am really pleased”.

Mike Hezemans, nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R – 2nd in GT : “I liked the first part of the race. I chose to start on intermediate tyres as I know that here, the track takes between 45 minutes and an hour to dry out. However our race was ruined by the safety car. I am happy after all with second place, as I do not think that it would have changed anything.”

Anthony Kumpen, nr 3 Carsport Holland Chrysler Viper GTS-R – 2nd in GT : “We had lots of problems in qualifying this weekend and then during the race, we had so much understeer that we could not accelerate. We were lucky that Mike made the right tyre choice at the beginning of the race...”

Jamie Campbell-Walter, nr 14 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm - 3rd in GT: “My first stint was good. I started on intermediate tyres, which was the right choice. I had a very exciting battle with Andrea Piccini but in the middle of my stint, the intermediate tyres were not right anymore. Basically, we had to win today. Unfortunately, we had to make an extra pit stop. But we did not have the wrong strategy. I have to thank the team, Dunlop and Nicolaus for this season. We have done the best we could all through the year. But Larbre won Spa and this helped them to come back into contention. They did not win any other races and the Ferraris and the Carsport Vipers were stronger competition for us!”

Nicolaus Springer, nr 14 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm – 3rd in GT : “During my stint, and under the pressure of the Ferrari, I was basically trying to keep my car on the black stuff – which I did. I have put so much effort in this season. Both the team and Dunlop had a very good understanding with me and helped me to be confident. For me, this season is a dream come true and I would not have missed it for anything !”

Christophe Bouchut, 2002 FIA GT Champion, 4th in GT : “I had a very good race today since it helped me to get the extra points I needed to be the Champion. We had a bad start to the weekend since I had problems with my engine, my times in qualifying were disallowed and both of the Larbre cars had to start the race from the pits. So I had to push a lot in the race.”

Jean-Marc Gounon, nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello – 5th in GT: “We made the wrong choice of tyres on my car. We had to go on intermediate tyres. We did it for safety, but in any case, a Ferrari won, which is the important thing for us!”

Emmanuel Clerico, nr 31 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Diablo, 9th in GT : “We had a no choice, we had to push. Twice in the race, I had a problem with the gear selection, and I had two slow laps, and lost time in the pits. After that we did the best we could for the project. We got to the end, lapping very competitively and I hope that we see six of these cars here next year.”
David Hallyday, nr 5 Force One Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R, 10th in GT: “Philippe started on slicks, and I have to support him on that decision. The wind was blowing and it was not raining so it could have dried out. This is only the second race that we have finished this year. Next year we will be in better shape, but we are very pleased with the team, which has been a great support despite a mediocre year for us.”

Bobby Verdon-Roe, nr 15 Lister Storm Racing Lister Storm, 11th in GT: “I had a few brake problems and the occasional misfire that came and went. I don’t know how many races I have finished competitively, but I think that I am officially the most unlucky Lister driver in history!”

Luca Riccitelli, nr 32 DART Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello, DNF: “When the conditions are difficult, the real players start to play! When the track was wet, the car was OK. It is not as important to have a perfect set-up. I drove as well as I could, and the speed was there. I could overtake easily and of course the Pirelli intermediate tyres were very good. When Dieter drove, he was immediately on the pace. We had a mechanical problem, an oil pipe on the engine, but at least we managed to get an hour of racing in. The next race will be the race for us!”

David Terrien, nr 2 Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper GTS-R - DNF: “We started in the pit lane, but then we had trouble with the accelerator cable on the first lap, and couldn’t run because the cable was broken. There is nothing more to say about it. I am very disappointed to lose the championship like that.”

Stephane Ortelli, nr 54 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R - 1st in N-GT : “I am very happy for Freisinger Motorsport today. I joined the team a couple of years ago and I have to say that the team has got better and better through the years. Winning the title with a German team makes it special for me. I also have to thank all my excellent team mates through the year : Emmanuel Collard, Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Sascha Maassen. We had a clear advantage from the start of the weekend and just had to do our job and get a few points to be Champion. I would like to congratulate all the teams that took part in the season, including the newcomers such as Veloqx Motorsport who represent good competition !”

Sascha Maassen, nr 54 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R – 1st in N-GT : “Stephane and I have a lot to celebrate now that we secured the team title as well – and we are happy we can shave again ! The newcomers in the Championship are really strong ! The race was good since Stephane made it easy for me. He was 5 seconds quicker than everybody else ! During my stint, I followed Romain Dumas until I had to make an extra stop for fuel. I would like to congratulate Dunlop since the whole N-GT podium is representing this tyre manufacturer !”

Adam Jones, nr 62 Cirtek Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-R – 2nd in N-GT : “I joined the team after Rob Schirle had been asking me to drive for him for a long time. I was with La Filière in France, and this year was the first opportunity we had ! This weekend went really well, and the only problem I had during the weekend was Stephane (Ortelli) as he was too fast ! Also I was on slick tyres at the beginning, which was quite difficult.”

Tim Sugden, nr 83 Veloqx Motorsport Ferrari 360 Modena – 3rd in N-GT : “The first hour of the race was amazing to watch Stephane – it was very impressive! This was the first time that we raced the car in anything other than dry conditions and we did not know how it would handle. But it all went well and Andrew did a great job as well. The team’s second car however spun and had to retire. The safety car ruined our race as we had to do an extra pit stop but not at the moment of the safety car ! It is very nice to be second despite the clutch problem we had at the end. We are a new team and we still have a lot to learn. Also the Ferrari still has a lot of development possibilities which we will work on through the winter.”

Andrew Kirkaldy, nr 83 Veloqx Motorsport Ferrari 360 Modena – 3rd in N-GT : “I joined the team for the two last rounds of the British GT Championship and since then, it has all gone well! This race was a bit of a baptism of fire because I have never driven anything like that before in the wet, and I was on slick tyres! Stephane (Ortelli) won the race in the first laps of the race. We will be very strong next year and will continue in that fashion !”

Christian Pescatori, nr 50 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena – 4th in N-GT: “It was better; during the race we had more grip. The problem is with the engine and gearbox. Next year will be better, with new bits for my car. It is a very difficult championship. The gap between my car and the Porsche is too much. There is a very exciting programme with JMB for 2003 and 2004 so we will see what happens.”

Rosella Redolfi, press officer, nr 58 Autorlando Sport Porsche 996 GT3-R : “We were very unlucky today, as we tried to start on slicks, but decided to change before the beginning. We got it wrong. Later we had a puncture – I think we are the only N-GT team to have made four pit stops. We also had a problem with the fuel pump, which was the reason that Philipp Peter stopped early. But we have had some good results this year and we are very happy to finish in third place in the Teams Classification.”

Johnny Mowlem, nr 60 JVG Racing Porsche 996 GT3-R: “The start of the race was very tricky. We had a new left rear slick tyre, and under braking and acceleration I couldn't get any heat into it. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to push but was nearly spinning at every corner. Then a dry line started to emerge, so I could get the tyre on it and get some heat in it. After that, even when I was in the wet I had grip. I passed Philipp Peter, Daoudi and Norman Simon, and caught right up to Adam Jones and pitted with him. We were right with second place. Ortelli had already gone. We got back up to fourth after the stops, and were catching Dauodi who had a problem. We were 45 seconds ahead of Sugden when we got the stop and go penalty for overtaking under yellows and dropped to fifth. That was it, game over. I am upset to have finished fifth.”