18.04.2004 "We were somewhat lucky today, but luck is always important in motor racing. I have to say that the car is fantastic to drive" post FIA GT race reaction from Valencia

GT winner, Luca Cappellari - nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "It was a very good race for us. I had some good fights with my teammate Gabriele and with the other competitors.

"We were somewhat lucky today, but luck is always important in motor racing. I have to say that the car is fantastic to drive with the power steering - very comfortable!"

GT winner, Fabrizio Gollin - nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "Well, this year we've had two wins in the first two races, so we can't complain! We're very happy; the Championship is looking good so far.

"During the last pit stop, we only changed two of the tyres. After the first stint, our tyres were still good enough, so we decided to change them on just one side during the second stop."

2nd in GT, Matteo Bobbi - nr 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "Maybe this is not my year! My race wasn't so bad, actually. The first stint was really good. We know that the car's always a bit slippery on new tyres, so we were careful during the first couple of laps.

"But then something went wrong during Gabriele's pit stop. The engine wouldn't start when I pushed the button, and we lost quite a lot of time. But after all, the Championship is still very long and we're still close."

2nd in GT : Gabriele Gardel - nr 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "It was a tough race, but I'm very happy with the outcome. I've had a good fight with my teammate, which is always the most difficult thing, because you have to be particularly careful to avoid crashing. At the end of the day, I'm second for the second time this year, and I'm happy with that.

"I really have to thank Michelin for the great job they've been doing, and also Prodrive for the improvement to the car."

2nd in N-GT, Fabrizio de Simone - nr 62 GPC Giesse Ferrari 360 Modena: "I think we ended the race in the right position, after all. Like everyone, we were somewhat penalized by the rain on Friday, so we didn't make the right tyre choice at the start of the race. Because of that, we decided to make the first pit stop early and have a longer stint afterwards.

"After that, it was looking quite well, but then something was not really working in the last stint. But I'm not too unhappy - it's good to share the first position in the championship with Stephane and Emmanuel."

2nd in N-GT, Christian Pescatori - nr 62 GPC Giesse Ferrari 360 Modena: "I'm happy with the race result. We're still first in the championship. I hope we can improve next race, but the competition is very strong in the N-GT. Our car is very fast already and has a lot of potential, but we need more testing after the race in Magny Cours."

3rd in GT, Peter Kox - nr 29 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Murcielago: "I'm very pleased! To come in third in their first race here is an amazing result for Lamborghini. It's good to drive with Ollie, who's a really good driver and has done a great job here. I was looking forward to drive with him for once, and not against him as in the ALMS! We had a good first stop.

"Then one of the Ferraris, I don't know which one, came out in front of me and I overtook it. I was aggressive when I had to be, and that worked out. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a problem during the last stop, but it's still a great result."

3rd in GT, Oliver Gavin - nr 29 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Murcielago: "I really enjoyed the weekend very much. There have been a few issues with the car, but that's normal for a new car. It certainly has a great potential, and we will work very hard to improve it. Third is a great result, if you consider that this is our first race and that we didn't have a lot of testing.

"When I got into the car at the second pit stop, I must have hit a fuse and it took a while to sort that out. That has possibly cost us the win! We had a bit of a lead then, and we would have been just as fast as the Ferraris, but maybe not as consistently."

Manfred Fitzgerald, Marketing Manager, Automobili Lamborghini: "We hope that we will have a client program running in the Championship by mid-season. It is not only up to us, it is also up to the clients. This was a major step of the whole programme. We proved the car in the wet and in the dry; the performance is there, and we have showed that our car is reliable. 

"Since Lamborghini exists, it has never been on the podium in an international race, so this is an historic moment for us."

4th in GT, Karl Wendlinger - nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello: "The goal for us for this race was to finish, and we got that. We learned a lot this weekend, I think, and I hope we can use that experience for the next races. It was a good weekend for us. I think we will be well prepared for Magny-Cours, and we should be able to use everything we have learnt here for our team's home race.  We will aim to improve each time."

4th in GT, Robert Lechner - nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello: "I had to do the whole race without second gear, after it failed during Toto Wolff's stint. But the team made a great effort because the car was really well prepared, and even after losing a gear, we did not destroy the gearbox and I was able to get to the end.

"Last year, when I was racing in Germany, I followed my brother's racing in this Championship, and I saw he was doing well, but I could not really judge the level. But now being here myself, I can see that it is really much more competitive than some people think. They think that because it's endurance racing it is not flat out, but now I am in the Championship myself, I can say that it is really a sprint race with a length of three hours. You really have to push. 

"Walter has more experience in the category than me, even if I am the older brother, but I am sure I will catch up.  We get on really well, so it's good to be together so often."

7th in GT, Thomas Bliener - nr 18 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello: "I will be in the nr 18 car for the rest of the season. For me, this was a fantastic result, as I was really worried beforehand. Everything was new for me, I have never shared the responsibility with other drivers like this.

"The team have been fantastic and helped me to get into a situation where I felt comfortable, and Bert and Ian are fantastic. It was a very nice result, and I think we go very well together."

DNF, Wolfgang Kaufman  - nr 22 Wieth Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello: "I really enjoyed the start and the first hour, as the car was really good. We still had some problems in the rear, as it was the first time the car had real run after its rollout in Oschersleben. We worked yesterday in Qualifying, but we still had some problems overbraking in the rear. But I really enjoyed it, there were some cars behind me on the grid, and I managed to overtake some cars. I was setting some quick lap times, and we were not far off the pace. We know we have to improve. 

"I came in slightly too early for my pit stop, as there was a broken wishbone. They repaired that and Miguel got back in the car, and he did a great job as well. I took over for the final stint, but after a couple of laps the transmission broke, which was really a shame. But the improvement over the winter is very good, we are not as far behind as last year.

"The aerodynamics are really great now; we have to work on the reliability. I am very happy for the team, who have worked so hard. We had a new compound from Dunlop which were really, really consistent, which was a big step forward too."

DNF, Philipp Peter - nr 11 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse: "We struggled a bit the whole weekend, first with the rain and looking for grip, and then we had problems with the traffic and with the set-up in qualifying. In the warm-up, we had a puncture after three laps. 

"But the race was very good, we were able to make up, I was lucky not to have too much traffic, and then we were quite surprised to be leading the race for a few laps. Then Fabio took the car and he was pretty fast, catching the other drivers, and for sure we could have got to the podium if we had not had the problem with front suspension."