28.03.2004 Fabrizio Gollin received the best possible 29th birthday present today when he claimed victory in the opening round of the FIA GT Championship
Fabrizio
Gollin received the best possible 29th birthday present today when he
claimed victory in the opening round of the FIA GT Championship.
The talented Italian, together with driving partner Luca Cappellari, drove a
faultless race to take the chequered flag 44 seconds ahead of their BMS Scuderia
Italia team mates Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel.
Bobbi, who passed pole sitter Gollin
at the start of the race, led the two Care Racing supported Ferrari 550
Maranellos in a fierce, 10-lap battle with Uwe Alzen’s Saleen before the Konrad
car expired with a punctured radiator.
Bobbi and Gardel were set to maintain that lead but unfortunately radio problems
between car 1 and the pits led to a misunderstanding which lost the car valuable
time in the pits and subsequently on the track.
Care Racing would have filled the
third step of the podium but for oil left on the track by another car. Enzo
Calderari, driving the third and final leg of the race in the tried, tested and
reliable Prodrive-built Ferrari, was holding a strong third position when he got
caught out on the oil at Lesmo 1 and spun onto the gravel trap.
Further radio problems meant that the team did not hear him requesting new tyres
and he also came into an unprepared pit. The very disappointed Swiss drove
extremely well to finish 5th overall.
Matteo Bobbi (I), BMS Scuderia Italia car no. 1: “It’s a big shame for us as we lost 1st position for sure, but the Championship is very long and we are only two points behind. We made a mistake today but that’s it, no more. We cannot afford any more mistakes.”
Gabriele Gardel (CH), BMS Scuderia Italia car no. 1: “I had a misunderstanding over the radio and thought they told me to come in. I think I had a good stint apart from that, the car was good although on old tyres it was getting slippery so I was driving very carefully.”
Luca Cappellari (I), BMS Scuderia Italia car no. 2: “The car was fantastic and I tried to push hard but not too hard as I knew that Fabrizio would have to drive the last stint on used tyres. It was important to try and look after the tyres as much as I could for him. Apart from that, the car was as fantastic as ever.”
Fabrizio Gollin (I), BMS Scuderia Italia car no. 2: “I think we were very lucky today as Matteo and Gabriele had the problem in the pits, but it is a good moment for me and Luca. The first stint was full of emotion because of the fight with the Saleen, and the last one was full of emotion for different reasons. It’s great for the team to have this result, especially at the first race of the Championship.”
Lilian Bryner (CH), Care Racing car no. 3: “The track was very dirty and the tyres had picked up lots of dirt which made it a little bit slippery at the end of my stint. Otherwise I am very pleased, it was a good stint.”
Enzo Calderari (CH), Care Racing car no. 3: “It is such a shame as we were all set for a podium finish. The spin into the gravel at Lesmo 1 was my fault – I saw the oil on the track too late. I was yelling at the marshals to pull me out of the gravel as I saw other cars slipping on the oil and didn’t want them to crash into me. I got going again and felt a vibration on the tyres so told the pits I was coming in but there was a problem with the radio and they didn’t hear me so were not ready. That was why we lost so much time, a real shame.”
Stefano Livio (I), Care Racing car no. 3: “The car is very fast and by the end of my stint I think I was the fastest on the track. I made a little mistake, missing a gear through a corner, at the beginning of the race which is why I dropped back to 6th which is really a pity as otherwise we could have probably made up a further position. The team prepared a really great car for us though so thank you to them all.”