17.04.2004  "We were struggling with a problem on the car this morning, but I don't know what exactly it was": post FIA GT qualifying reaction from Valencia

3rd in GT: Fabrizio Gollin - nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "We were struggling with a problem on the car this morning, but I don't know what exactly it was, yet. The car was okay in the afternoon session.

"We tried another fast lap and the time wasn't so bad. The Saleens were fantastic today, though! I think our cars should do well in the race, because we can make a very fast stint. On a track as slow as this one, though, the weight handicap will affect the performance quite a bit."

3rd in N-GT: Fabrizio de Simone - nr 62 GPC Giesse Ferrari: "The conditions this morning weren't ideal for our set-up, but I was quite happy with the car this afternoon.

"Our performance wasn't so bad, if you take into consideration that we were on used tyres. I think we improved a lot. It looks good for the race tomorrow; we'll do our best to catch the Porsches."

Matteo Bobbi - nr 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "It has not been going so well today. The main problem I find is that the track is very short, and there is always traffic. I didn't manage to find a clear lap. 

"We have some problems, so we are not as fast as in Monza, but we can improve by two or three tenths. I have one more set of tyres for the afternoon session, and I think the track could be fast. But it will be very difficult to catch the Saleen here; they are very fast. I know the circuit, but it is very hard on the drivers here, as you are always turning and there is no time to relax. It is quite difficult to drive as there is just one driving line, and it will be very difficult to overtake. So qualifying is important, as well as the tyre choice."

Peter Kox - nr 29 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Murciélago - 5th in GT: "The car is improving all the time. We are still learning a lot, but I think we can say the car has performed beyond our expectations.We still think there is more time in the car. 

"We did most of our running in the wet, so it was quite logical that we should manage a good time yesterday. To be now in P3 is a fantastic result. I was never really happy with my laps, and I know there is more to come from the car, so I am quite confident. "

Emanuele Naspetti - nr 13 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse - 8th in GT: So far it has not been going too badly. We had many things to test, and with yesterday's rain, we could not do that.  So we are developing the car in qualifying and we are much closer than in Monza. We think that we have not run exactly the time we could have done, and we are expecting good things for the race. 

"If we don't do any mistakes, I think we can be much closer in the race. In Monza, although our result was good, in terms of performance we were a bit far from the competitors. We know we have to work hard, we can't wait for others to make mistakes, but have to go ahead ourselves. But the positive thing is that a new team did not make any mistakes, which was an incredible result, and makes us very happy and confident for the future."

Toto Wolff - nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello - 10th in GT: "The car is doing everything we don't want it to do, with huge understeer in the entrance, and huge understeer in the exits, and we are trying to find the right set-up. We hope to improve in the second qualifying, but we had hoped to be further ahead by this stage. 

"We thought this track would be better for us; we were lacking in top speed in Monza, but our car handled really well there. Now the handling is bad - it is strange. But the race is totally different. The three of us - Robert Lechner Jr, Karl Wendlinger and me - are all on the pace, and during the race we should be OK."