26.03.2004 THE BMS SCUDERIA FERRARI 550 MARANELLOS TRADE FASTEST TIMES WITH THE SALEEN RUNNERS DURING FREE PRACTICE AT MONZA

The FIA GT Championship is back on track for the first race of its eighth season of competition.  

Returning to Monza, site of the final round of the 2003 season, the Championship has rarely looked so competitive. With 24 cars taking part in this first round, the drivers include Championship winners from every season from 1999 onwards, as well as at least 19 former race winners.

Karl Wendlinger (GT Champion, 1999), Jamie Campbell-Walter (GT Champion, 2000), Christophe Bouchut (N-GT Champion 2000, GT Champion 2001 and 2002), Christian Pescatori (N-GT Champion 2001), Stephane Ortelli (N-GT Champion 2002 and 2003) and Matteo Bobbi (GT Champion 2003) will all be taking part in Sunday's 500 km race.

It was cool and overcast in Monza today, with occasional light rain. The track was still slightly damp for the first session, but dried quickly and the session was not declared wet.

Last year's Monza round, and the last race, saw victory go to the BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello of Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari, with Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nathan Kinch second for Lister Racing. In N-GT, JMB Racing's Andrea Bertolini and Fabrizio De Simone took their fourth win of the season, in their Ferrari 360 Modena, finishing ahead of eventual Champions Stephane Ortelli and March Lieb in the Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS.

First Free Practice Session 

The cars took to the track for the first time in the 2004 season during Friday's 90-minute first free practice session. The track was still slightly damp early on, but soon dried. In the early part of the session, the two BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello cars were fastest, with the nr 2 car of Gollin and Cappellari setting a time of 1:44.950.

However, half-way through the session, the Saleen cars began to improve, with the RML, Konrad and Vitaphone cars all moving up into the top five.  The Vitaphone car of Alzen and Bartels moved into second place with a lap of 1:45.433, and then went fastest, shortly before the chequered flag, with a time of 1:44.824. The nr 2 BMS car was second, with the nr 4 Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7-R of Walter Lechner Jr, Toni Seiler and Franz Konrad third.  The nr 14 Lister Storm, with Tom Coronel at the wheel, missed much of the session, but quickly improved to fourth, with a lap of 1:46.177.

In N-GT, the nr 99 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche of Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr was fastest in the early part of the session.  By the end of the 90 minutes, the nr 62 GPC Giesse Ferrari 360 Modena of 2003 Monza winner Fabrizio De Simone and 2001 Champion Christian Pescatori set the best time, with a lap of 1:50.890, ahead of the nr 50 Freisinger Yukos Porsche of Ortelli and Collard, who set a time of 1:51.327.

Second Free Practice Session 

A few drops of rain fell before the start of the session, but it remained generally dry. Early on, the nr 14 Lister Storm was the fastest on the track, with Tom Coronel setting a time of 1:46.182, while the nr 62 Ferrari remained quickest in N-GT. The nr 2 BMS Ferrari went fastest with a time of 1:45.027 after 30 minutes. However, 5 minutes later, the red flags came out after new Lister driver, Patrick Pearce, hit the barriers on his first lap out of the pits. He was unhurt, but the car was damaged at the front; the team are working to repair it for tomorrow. 

After the session was restarted, the nr 1 BMS Ferrari improved to second overall, with a time of 1:45.927. The red flags came out again when a puncture stranded Matteo Bobbi in a dangerous position on the track. After the second restart, the nr 5 Vitaphone Saleen set the fastest time of the session, with a time of 1:44.697, the fastest time of the day.

In N-GT, the nr 50 Freisinger Yukos Motorsport Porsche of Stéphane Ortelli and Emmanuel Collard set the best time, with a lap of 1:51.608, ahead of the nr 99 car of Maassen and Luhr, and the nr 63 GPC Ferrari 360 Modena, which had been fastest in the morning.

Meanwhile Scruitineering issues were raised. The nr 22 Wieth Ferrari was not allowed to go onto the track before the steering column was changed to the homologated one. Furthermore,  four Saleen cars, the nr 4 Konrad Motorsport, nr 5 Vitaphone Racing and nr 7 and 8 RML cars, will not be allowed to participate in qualifying, warm-up or the race, unless a favourable new inspection is passed before the FIA Technical Delegate.