04.09.2004 "This morning, I could do two very good lap times, I was lucky, because I found a clean lap" post FIA GT qualifying reaction from Imola

Pole Position in GT: Fabrizio Gollin - nr 2 BMS Scuderia Ferrari 550 Maranello: "We managed to find a good set-up yesterday. On this track, you can cut the corners really well. This morning, I could do two very good lap times. I was lucky, because I found a clean lap.

"Now I hope for tomorrow. I know it will be difficult to finish the race in this position with the weight. The problem will be the braking, as well as the tyres. But we will start from first position – we'll see how it goes."

 

Pole Position in N-GT: Christian Pescatori - nr 62 GPC Giesse Ferrari 360 GTC: "The car has been very good since Spa. It's very fast, and also consistent for the race. But it won't be easy tomorrow. The conditions might be a problem. It's very hot, and that will make the race difficult.

"I have a new teammate here – Iradj Alexander. He's very fast, and he knows the Ferrari well, because he's raced in the FIA GT in 2002, and last year with JMB USA."

 

3rd in N-GT: Alex Piccolo – nr 87 Mik Corse Ferrari 360 Modena: "I'm third, but it's going to be a long race tomorrow. It will be very difficult, and it will depend very much on the set-up. It's going to be my first race in FIA GT. I've previously raced in the Italian championship."

 

Giampaolo Coppi – team owner, GPC Giesse Squadra Corse: “The N-GT car has had no problems at all. It was important for us to show that the car was still competitive and OK after Spa. It was a pity; we don’t know the reason for the crash exactly, but it was certainly technical.

"On the Ferrari 575 GTC cars, due to the high temperatures yesterday, the set up we chose was not OK. So we tested two different solutions, one softer and one harder; the one that worked was on the nr 13 car, which did a correct time, and the nr 11 has now returned to the other set-up, but it was not possible to improve their time.

"The main problem I see for tomorrow is the high temperature in the cockpit. It will be an interesting battle tomorrow, and important for us as we are in Italy.”

 

Karl Wendlinger  - nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC: “It has not been going very well this weekend. We could not set up the car correctly, as we lost practice time in both sessions with mechanical problems. And then today the handling was not very easy, especially over the bumps and kerbs.

"Jamie was out in the car this afternoon, with a new set of tyres, and they tried to make the car more comfortable; I think it went quite well. But we are a long way back, and it is going to be a very long race in these conditions.

"The main problem is that not enough air comes into the cars. It will be tough tomorrow, but we have to manage it.”

 

Andrea Piccini  - nr 24 DAMS Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT: “The car is going better. This afternoon we did almost the same time as the morning, while most of the other cars were slower, so we are improving around a second.

"A gap of around 2.5 seconds is still a lot, but we still have some more changes to do before tomorrow, and we are always working in the same direction, so hopefully for the race it should be better.

"We should be closer to the others in the race. Having little experience with the car, and with the new tyres, it was difficult to do a good lap in qualifying right away.

"But the Michelin tyres seem very good, and our car seemed very good on old tyres. We should be better for the race – but I don’t want to talk too early. As always, we will do our best.”


Andrea Bertolini – nr 33 AF Corse Maserati MC 12
: “It has been a very interesting day, with a lot of work. We have worked hard towards the race, which is very important for the whole team.

"I had big understeer for the first two laps, and then I had traffic in the Variante Alta, and I preferred not to use the second set of tyres in qualifying, and to use them for the race.

"For me, that is the best test. But I think it will be a very hard race tomorrow. Mika and I are very happy with the balance and the tyres. I think after ten laps we could create a big surprise …”

 

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04.09.2004

As the temperatures rose to a sweltering 35ºC, the early first session time set by the Ferrari of Gollin & Cappellari was good enough for pole: FIA GT qualifying report from Imola

Maserati MC 12 at Imola
Mika Salo at Imola
FIA GT qualifying action from Imola
AF Corse at Imola
FIA GT qualifying action from Imola

Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello driver Lillian Bryner at Imola