25.05.2004 The FIA GT Championship heads for the historic Czech Brno circuit this weekend with the BMS Scuderia Ferrari drivers seeking to build on their title advantage

Rapidly approaching mid-season, the fifth LG Super Racing Weekend of 2004 will take place at Brno, in the Czech Republic, this weekend. 

The picturesque and popular circuit is a favourite with the drivers, and its changes of elevation, medium speed corners and tricky chicanes usually guarantees some fascinating racing. 
 
The historic circuit is situated 16 km from the Czech city of Brno, the second largest city in the Republic, and is 200 km to the south-east of the beautiful capital city of Prague. There has been motor racing at the Masaryk circuit since 1930, when the first race took place on a 30-km track, made up of ordinary roads. The track was shortened over the years, and a new permanent circuit was opened in 1987. 

This will be the fourth visit of the multi-platform series to the circuit, and will mark the end of the first half of the season.  A break of nearly a month will follow, before the sixth round takes place at the British circuit of Donington Park, on June 27th
 
Brno has become renowned for the excellence of the FIA GT races there; an epic battle took place around the 5.403 km circuit in 2002, and an equally fascinating race was enjoyed last year, when Bobbi and Biagi took the fourth of their run of five victories, despite carrying the maximum 100 kg penalty weight. This year, their team-mates Gollin and Cappellari, current Championship leaders, will be racing in similar conditions and trying to emulate them, after their team, BMS Scuderia Italia, monopolised the podium at Hockenheim. 

In N-GT, Stéphane Ortelli has twice won the Brno round, and will surely be aiming to make it three in a row, to break the run of three consecutive wins for the German pairing of Maassen and Luhr. However, both Porsches will be carrying 50 kg success ballast in Brno, which could be very difficult round the hilly circuit. With a strong Austrian contingent racing this year, led by former Formula One driver and 1999 FIA GT Champion Karl Wendlinger, there will be plenty of interest at the circuit many of them consider their home track.

Round four saw a BMS Scuderia Italia whitewash, clever fuel strategy, reliability and an element of luck allowing them to scoop the top three places after the other contenders dropped back with mechanical problems and punctures. This means that BMS Scuderia Italia has further extended its lead in the Teams Classification, where they now have a lead of 44 points over GPC Giesse Squadra Corse. 

Second place in Hockenheim means that Gollin and Cappellari retain the lead in the Drivers' classification too, although Bobbi and Gardel are now only three points behind. In N-GT, Ortelli and Collard have a two-point lead over Maassen and Luhr, with De Simone and Pescatori ten points behind the leaders. Freisinger Yukos Motorsport has a 13-point lead over its sister team, Freisinger Motorsport. The results remain provisional, pending fuel tests on four cars.

By finishing second in Hockenheim, the nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello failed to reduce its weight handicap, and remains on 100 kg for Brno. The nr 1 has doubled its weight, and will carry 80 kg up and down the Brno undulations. The nr 3 Care Racing Ferrari will be handicapped for the first time this season, with 20 kg. 

In N-GT, both the nr 50 and nr 99 Porsche 996 GT3-RS cars will carry the maximum 50 kg. A win by either would increase this to 75 kg for Donington. The nr 62 Ferrari, third in Hockenheim, is now on 20 kg. Additionally, any new cars joining or re-joining the Championship for the 4th round will have a penalty of 40 kg in GT and 20 kg in N-GT.

"It's still like a dream - everything went just right!" Swiss driver Gabriele Gardel is still ecstatic after winning his first-ever FIA GT race in Hockenheim, alongside reigning Champion Matteo Bobbi. 

"Now I'm looking forward to Brno. I love the track, and my team-mate is really fast there, so I think we will have a good race.  Our main problem is the Saleen, which is difficult to beat. Our strategy is to work hard in the first two stints to preserve fuel, which we think is the only way we can hope to beat their speed. We are all positive, confident, working hard on our fitness in order to face the rest of the season in the best possible way." 

His car will carry 80 kg penalty weight in Brno. "I'm happy to have 80 kg, it means we won! It might be difficult in qualifying, but I think we will be fine in the race."

After the disappointment of coming so close to their first win, only to see a puncture remove all chances on the penultimate lap, Philipp Peter is looking forward to the next race. "You have to look forward. The car is progressing, and we have some small ideas on what we can do to further improve it. I like Brno a lot; it is close to my home town of Vienna, and therefore, like Monza, is almost like a home track for me." Peter sees their current problem as lacking the speed in qualifying. 

"We have a good consistant race tyre, but we are missing the peak that Michelin have in the first ten laps. We're waiting for Pirelli to give us that. The Saleen is still the car to beat, but they have some reliability problems. The Championship is getting closer and closer, and I have never seen so many changes of lead. It's getting really interesting. But it's a shame we missed out on those 10 points, which would have closed things up. That bothers us more than the lost win."

The nr 62 GPC Giesse Ferrari 360 Modena was the dominant car in the N-GT class at Hockenheim, and without a problem getting going after their final pit-stop, would have won, as the eventual victors admitted in the press conference. "I was very happy, despite finishing third," De Simone explained. "All six of us fight hard but we all respect each other. It's a very fair fight."

For Brno, the Ferrari will only have 20 kg, compared to 50kg for the nr 50 and 99 Porsche cars. "This could help us at Brno, as the weight could have more effect on the up and downhill sections, and the long corners. It should be a very good fight and an interesting race."

After a fine second place in Magny-Cours, the nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello was a front-runner at Hockenheim, achieving its best qualifying position yet, and looking certain of a podium finish until two punctures dropped it back down the field. The nr 18 car, driven by Bert Longin, Ian Khan and Thomas Bleiner, also suffered a slow puncture, while the nr 19 completed a consistent race. After Hockenheim, the team had two days of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit. 

"This was our first real opportunity to test," Karl Wendlinger explained. "We could really spend time trying different things to optimise the set-up. It went well and I think we learnt a lot. We had already improved a lot between Valencia and Hockenheim, but this test was the next step." Brno is quite close to home for the team's four Austrian drivers, Karl, Toto Wolff, Robert Lechner and Thomas Bleiner. "I've raced there once or twice, in Formula Ford and Formula 3," Karl continued. "It's a nice, challenging circuit. Our main aim is to finish the race with no problems and to score points."

The long-awaited debut of the DAMS Lamborghini should take place at Donington Park, on June 27th. The French team is due to receive their Murciélago from Reiter Engineering in early June, and a shakedown session will follow on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans. The car is due to be driven by Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz, both regulars in the FIA GT Championship in previous years. They won four races in 2002 with BMS Scuderia Italia, and finished on the podium last year with a Lister Storm. 

“I’m very enthusiastic about this agreement," Andrea Piccini said. "This will be an introductory season for us: we will have to break the car in and we will have to resolve all of the inevitable problems that will come up with such a “young” car. It will be hard work but exciting. I can’t wait to get on the track in Donington and to make our debut with the Lamborghini Murcielago."