29.11.2004 Three victories in four outings cemented success in Bahrain for the Ferrari 550 Maranello shared by David Brabham and Allan Simonsen: Coopers Racing GT Festival report

Three victories in four outings cemented success for the Coopers Racing team at the inaugural Bahrain GT Festival, with David Brabham and Allan Simonsen closing out two days of exciting competition with a comfortable win in the two-driver final.

The one-hour culmination to the 'weekend' saw Simonsen take the lead from pole position, the Australian team having earned top spot with two wins in the earlier three heats. Ex-pat Dane Simonsen, a regular in the Australian Nations Cup competition, was initially followed by Frederic Makowiecki's Larbre Viper, and then by Francois Fiat's DDO 1 Saleen, which had been involved in heated competition with the various Chryslers throughout the meeting.

Wolfgang Kaufmann, driving the rapid Wieth Ferrari, then leapt up to third, but was forced to return to the pits on lap three as the engine lost power, allowing Simonsen to continue untroubled out front, gradually extending his lead over the #1 Saleen to 20secs by lap five.

Just as the race appeared to be slipping away from the Dane's rivals, however, the Coopers Ferrari driver saw his lead cut back to nothing by the emergence of the safety car, but Simonsen showed that the red machine was the class of the field by sprinting back to a six-second lead on the first lap after it returned to the pits.

There was one final glimmer of hope for the pursuers, with a second safety car appearance as the mandatory pit-stops began, but Brabham resumed at the head of the field and, despite Dominique Dupuy getting the Saleen to within a couple of seconds, the Australian kept the Ferrari in front.

“This is a very impressive set-up and it was a pleasure to drive around this circuit," the Aussie said afterwards, "We had a couple of yellow flags, due to earlier accidents, and that favoured us, as we might had run out of fuel before the end of the race.”

Brabham's task was eased in the closing stages as the Saleen, which had suffered from various niggling problems on and off throughout the two days, slowed. The Australian eventually took the chequered flag 16secs clear of the second-placed car - which wasn't the Saleen.

In a cruel twist, the black-and-red machine was caught and passed by the Larbre Viper, after a differential broke, although Dupuy had enough in hand to keep the fourth-placed Speedworx Stealth at bay. Versatile Briton Nigel Greensall drove the final stint in the unique car, erasing memories of a difficult 'weekend' with a strong run in the main event.

David Brabham "It's nice to be back in GT racing. Stephane Ratel's organisation runs impressive series, and it is great to be part of that, and especially to be here in Bahrain, which is somewhere I have never been before.

"I have to say that the circuit and the facilities are outstanding, and the racing has been pretty close as well, so it has been a great event. In the second heat, Dominique Dupuy was breathing down my neck the whole time. I was hoping he was going to go away, but he didn't.

"Unfortunately, we came up to a Porsche out the back on the last lap. I thought he was going to go through a bit quicker than he did, but he didn't. Dupuy came through on the outside, and I tried to keep up with him - it was a very exciting race finish.

"As for the final, it was handy that we had a couple of yellows, as we were going to be pretty tight on fuel, so that played into our hands a bit. Allan did a great job at the beginning, pulling out a lead, then the yellow came out and he pulled out another gap. We just managed to stay in front - I think the gap went down to about three seconds - and then it stretched out when the Saleen had a problem, which was unfortunate."

Allan Simonsen "It has been great to be here and to experience a circuit like this. The track is fantastic, and been a great weekend. We had to be quite conservative in the final as we were tight on fuel, but apart from that the car has been going well, with no problems. It has been prepared really well by the Australian team.

"I did the Australian GT Championship this year, as well as running some events in the British GT; the big plan for Coopers Racing team is to come back and do more FIA rounds next year, and obviously I would be part of that. There are a lot of things coming up, but nothing is settled yet.  I would like to thank all the organisers who put this event together."