02.05.2004 The Saleen finally took its first ever FIA GT win, while Bobbi & Gardel took their third consecutive second place BEFORE BEING PENALISED, race report AND result from Magny-Cours
A close and exciting race around the 4.411 km Nevers Magny-Cours circuit saw
the Saleen take its first win in the FIA GT Championship, after the car made its
debut at the start of the 2003 season.
The Vitaphone Racing Team Saleen took
the lead at the start, and German drivers Michael Bartels and Uwe Alzen held on
to take their maiden victory.
Sunday was bright and warm for the FIA GT race, and although the skies clouded
over during the three-hour race, it stayed dry until the race had finished.
22,000 spectators attended the event today.
After being consistently fast since joining the Championship this season, the nr
5 Vitaphone Racing Team Saleen S7 finally confirmed its promise by winning the
third round of the 2004 FIA GT Championship. Qualifying second, Michael Bartels
took the lead at the start and held the lead, only dropping briefly off the top
during the first round of pit stops, and crossing the line with a 30-second
advantage over the nr 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello.
"It's great
to finally see the chequered flag after two very disappointing races," Michael
Bartels said. "The car was quick again, and this time we could actually make use
of that. I think we did a quite good job. I'd really like to thank Pirelli for
all their hard work. I think I've never driven a car which keeps its tyre
performance on such a high level over the distance."
Although crossing the line
third, the nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello inherited second place when
Gabriele Gardel, from the nr 1 BMS car, was awarded a 50 second penalty for
causing an avoidable accident with his team-mate in the nr 2 BMS Ferrari. This
also promoted Gollin and Cappellari to third, with Bobbi and Gardel dropping to
fourth.
The nr 4 Konrad Motorsport Saleen, which originally finished fourth,
was also penalised, for ignoring a black and orange flag waved due to loose rear
bodywork. Fifty seconds were added to the car's time, dropping the car to
fifth. However, as BMS Scuderia Italia has lodged an appeal concerning their
penalty, the results remain provisional.
A Porsche one-two-three in the N-GT category saw the three yellow and green
Freisinger cars take the top three places. The nr 99 Freisinger Motorsport car
of Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr took its second consecutive win, the two
Freisinger Yukos Motorsport cars taking the remaining podium places.
This meant
the first-ever podium for Russian drivers Nikolaj Fomenko and Alexei Vasiliev,
who have made steady progress since joining the Championship in 2000. Fourth
place went to the father-and-son team of Gerold and Christian Ried, with Vonka
Racing's Porsche taking the final points in fifth.
"Overall, it's a fantastic
weekend for Freisinger. We finished first, second and third, it's perfect!"
Lucas Luhr said afterwards. Freisinger Yukos Motorsport has now a score of 35
points, fifteen ahead of Freisinger Motorsport, with GPC Giesse Squadra Corse
third and Proton Competition fifth. In the Drivers Classification, Ortelli and
Collard now lead Maassen and Luhr by four points.
Despite the mid-race collision between the nr 1 and nr 2 Ferrari 550 Maranello
cars, BMS Scuderia Italia still retains the lead in the Championship. Provisionally, pending the appeal, the team has a thirty-point lead in the Teams
classification, with JMB Racing lying second ahead of GPC Giesse Squadra Corse.
In the Drivers Classification, Gollin and Cappellari continue to lead, with
Bobbi and Gardel five points adrift.
At the start, Michael Bartels in the nr 5 Saleen got the better of the
pole-sitter, Walter Lechner Jr in the nr 4 Saleen. The nr 28 Saleen went off
into the gravel, and the nr 7 car also went off. By the end of the first lap,
the nr 5 car had a lead of nearly one second. The nr 99 Porsche overtook the
nr 62 Ferrari to lead N-GT.
In the early stages, the places remained relatively unchanged, although there
was a close fight between Wendlinger in the nr 17 JMB Ferrari 575 M Maranello,
and Bobbi in the nr 1 BMS Ferrari 550. The nr 4 Saleen remained within close
contact of the lead car. In N-GT, the nr 50 Porsche moved ahead of the nr 62
Ferrari
After the first round of pit stops, Uwe Alzen took over the nr 5 Vitaphone
Saleen and began to pull away. The nr 4, after a longer pit stop due to
restarting problems, dropped back to sixth place with Seiler at the wheel. The
two BMS cars move up to second and third places, and are very close together.
The nr 99, leading N-GT car, was by this point up into 8th position.
Lap 44 and the two BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello cars, which were
fighting for second position, collided. The nr 1 car continued, while the nr 2
spun, remained stranded for a few moments and then continued, having dropped
back to seventh. This incident meant that Alzen now had a lead of 22 seconds
over the rest of the field.
By lap 58, Alzen had extended his lead to 39 seconds, while only four seconds
separated Gabriele Gardel in the nr 1 BMS Ferrari, and third-placed Toto Wolff
in the nr 17 JMB Ferrari 575 M Maranello.
After the second round of pit stops, Walter Lechner Jr rejoined the race in the
nr 4 Konrad Saleen. By lap 77, he was the fastest man on the track, lying 7th
and catching up with the cars in front of him. In N-GT, the nr 62 GPC Ferrari
360 Modena spun into the gravel, later retiring. This made N-GT an all-Porsche
affair, with three Freisinger cars in the lead.
A fine battle between four cars took place for fourth place overall. Naspetti,
in fourth in the nr 13 GPC Ferrari, was followed by his team-mate Babini in the
nr 11 car, Gollin in the nr 2 BMS Ferrari and Lechner Jr the fastest of the four
in the nr 4 Saleen. Onto lap 88 and six seconds separated the four cars, with just
one second between the nr 11, 2 and 4 the next time around. First the nr 2 then the nr 4
overtook the nr 11, while the nr 13 retired in the pits with engine problems on
lap 92.
With Bartels having a 51 second lead, and the nr 1 and 17 cars settled in second
and third places, the main fight on the track was for fourth place between the
nr 2 and nr 4 cars. On lap 96, they were separated by only 0.5 of a second,
with 13 minutes remaining. However, five laps later, the Saleen began to lose rear
bodywork, while overtaking the nr 2. The car was shown a black and orange flag,
but it remained out on the track for the remainder of the race.
The nr 5 Saleen
took the chequered flag ahead of the nr 1 Ferrari 550 Maranello and the nr 17
Ferrari 575 M Maranello, with the nr 4 Saleen fourth. The nr 99 took the N-GT
win ahead of the nr 50 and 77.
Gabriele Gardel, in the nr 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello, was
awarded a 50 second penalty for provoking an avoidable collision. This dropped
the car down from second to fourth in the final results.
The nr 4 Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7 was also awarded a 50 second penalty for
not respecting the black and orange flag. This demoted the car to fifth place.
BMS Scuderia Italia has announced their intention to lodge an appeal, and
therefore the results remain provisional, pending that appeal.
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