28.03.2004 BMS ITALIA RESUME WHERE THEY LEFT OFF LAST SEASON AS FABRIZIO GOLLIN AND LUCA CAPPELLARI LEAD HOME THE FIELD IN MONZA
After an action-packed first hour, a
high-attrition race saw a Ferrari-dominated result in today's first round of the
FIA GT Championship, giving Fabrizio Gollin a second consecutive win as a 29th
birthday present.
With his team-mate Cappellari, in the nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550
Maranello, they were victorious ahead of Bobbi and Gardel, with the two GPC
Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 575 M Maranello cars finishing their first-ever
race in third and fourth.
In N-GT, Stephane Ortelli and Emmanuel Collard took a fine win, finishing 7th
overall in their Freisinger Yukos Porsche 996 GT3, chased by the GPC Giesse
Ferrari of De Simone and Pescatori, with Proton Competition claiming its first
ever podium in third.
In chilly but dry
conditions, the nr 7 RML Saleen of Erdos and Newton set the fastest time in the
morning warm-up, ahead of the pole-setting BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550
Maranello of Gollin and Cappellari, with Tom Coronel in the Lister Storm third.
In N-GT, the nr 62 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 360 Modena set the best
time, ahead of the nr 50 and 99 Porsches.
A frosty morning
in Monza was replaced by blue skies and sunshine, although temperatures remained
low. 25,000 spectators came to the circuit, in the Royal Park of Monza, to see
the first round of the 2004 LG Super Racing Weekend series.
Reigning Champions BMS Scuderia Italia made a dominant start to the 2004 season,
starting from pole and leading throughout the 87-lap race. The nr 1 and 2 cars
pulled away from the rest of the field, followed only by the nr 5 Saleen.
Although Bobbi led early on, Gollin and Cappellari eventually took the win,
finishing 44.7 seconds ahead of Bobbi and Gardel, who had been delayed by two
extra pit stops and a spin.
This result has given the team a healthy early lead, with 18 points, while
Gollin and Cappellari have taken the lead of the Driver's Classification for the
first-ever time. "It was almost a problem-free day for us," Gollin explained.
"We are now leading the Championship for the first time, and I hope to stay
there all season!" The BMS Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello had looked like
making it a one-two-three for the Ferrari 550 Maranello cars, until a spin into
the gravel due to oil on the track dropped the nr 3 car of Bryner, Calderari and
Livio down to fifth place.
Inversing the positions from the final race of 2003, Stéphane Ortelli of Monaco,
accompanied this time by his French team-mate Emmanuel Collard, took a
comfortable N-GT win in the first round of the Championship, their Porsche 996
GT3 finishing in seventh place overall.
They finished with a good margin over the second-placed car, the GPC Giesse
Ferrari 360 Modena driven by Monza's October winner Fabrizio De Simone, sharing
the car with Christian Pescatori. "This is my first N-GT win in Italy," Ortelli
explained. "Emmanuel did a very good job, and I think we are really strong
together."
In the classification, Freisinger Yukos Motorsport has a narrow lead of two
points over GPC Giesse, with Proton Competition lying third. However, the nr 77
Freisinger Yukos car stopped on the track and did not finish, while the nr 99
Freisinger Motorsport Porsche of Maassen and Luhr, which was lying second for
the first third of the race, had problems at Ascari, hitting the kerb and
damaging the car. It later rejoined, but due to the time lost in the pits, was
not classified.
New team, new cars - and points in both categories for GPC Giesse Squadra Corse. Team
owner Gianpaolo Coppi was delighted with the performance of his team, which is
now lying in second place in both the GT and N-GT categories of the 2004
Championship. Although the Ferrari 575 M Maranello cars started from 9th and
10th on the grid, steady races and a high level of attrition brought them up to
third and fourth, while the Ferrari 360 Modena of De Simone and Pescatori was a
good second in N-GT.
"We started the team on January 6th," Gian Paolo Coppi explained. "In three
months we have built up a good team; we are really happy, and I want to thank
all my staff, the mechanics, the drivers, for the confidence they have had in my
project, as well as Pirelli and all the technical partners and the sponsors. It
was a crazy project, but sometimes crazy things work."
JMB Racing, also starting with new cars and new drivers this weekend, saw one
car go out at the start, with the nr 17 Ferrari 575 M Maranello stopping with
engine problems. However, the nr 18 car of Bert Longin, Ian Khan and Christophe
Pillon made steady progress and took two points for seventh place.
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