13.11.2004 "It will be really hard to beat the Maserati cars, who have four very good drivers, but we will try to do our best" post FIA GT qualifying reaction from Zuhai

GT Pole Position: Matteo Bobbi - nr 1 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550: "It has not been so easy this weekend, but we worked hard yesterday and found a good set-up for both qualifying and the race.

"The car is really very good for the race, I think even better than for qualifying. It will be really hard to beat the Maserati cars, who have four very good drivers, but we will try to do our best. It is very good to be here in China; the race will be hard tomorrow but it will be a good challenge."

N-GT Pole Position: Christian Pescatori - nr 62 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 360 GTC: "Normally my car is very fast in qualifying. Today we tried new Pirelli tyres for qualifying for this circuit, and the car was very good; I hope it will be good in the race tomorrow too. The problem tomorrow is the traffic and, for my car, the braking."

2nd in GT: Johnny Herbert - nr 34 AF Corse Maserati MC 12: "I'm happy with the set-up of the car for the race; we did a lot of work for the race, as we normally do, and the car is very driveable. The problem is going to be the dirt on the outside of the line, which I think will cause a lot of problems and make things very difficult.

"We hope to score some points this weekend, which is nice. Before we could win but it wasn't a proper win, so it is nice that everything is now complete."

2nd in N-GT: Emmanuel Collard - nr 50 Freisinger Yukos Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS: "The feeling is good because our car is very quick. Things are very close between the Ferrari and the other Porsche, but we just need to finish on the podium to win the title, so that is our target tomorrow. We have to drive very easily and make no mistakes and it should be OK."

3rd in GT: Mika Salo - nr 33 AF Corse Maserati MC 12: "The car is OK; we had some new tyres from Pirelli which are very good and consistent. We did some long runs yesterday and we can do fairly good lap times all the time.

"For qualifying I was trying hard, I had a few problems with traffic but I don't think I could have gone much faster, maybe a tenth or two. But their lap time was very good and I don't think I could beat that."

4th in GT: Christophe Bouchut - nr 3 Care Racing Ferrari 550: "It's going well, but the set-up is not yet as I would like it. Globally, I am pleased with what I have done, and fourth place with 100kg is a good result for this car. If we can improve the car still further we will really be up with the leaders.

"The important thing is to have a car that is good for us all to drive for the race tomorrow. I hope to have a good race tomorrow to close the season."
 
7th in GT: Iradj Alexander - nr 17 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC: "This is my first time in the Ferrari 575; I am here as third driver to help Karl Wendlinger and Tarso Marques. We were unlucky yesterday as we had a problem on the car and lost a lot of time in free practice.

"I haven't driven so much, and the track is new for me too, as it is for most of the drivers. I am really happy as I immediately had a good feel for the car. The team has done a good job, and I hope we can have a good result tomorrow."

12th in GT: Philipp Peter - nr 13 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 575 GTC: "This morning we were not so happy with the set up, so we changed it. We're still not so happy, so we will change it again tomorrow for the warm-up and try some different strategies.

"I think it is going to be a tough race, you can see how many cars have spun out today, so it's a case of trying to survive. We are not in a position to attack the others, so we have to try and have a constant race. We will see."

14th in GT: Luca Drudi -  nr 2 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550: "This is my first time in a Ferrari 550, and I am very pleased because I am making progress; each time I go out, I am getting quicker. The car is exceptional, very easy to drive, very fast but most importantly it is a car that when you have really understood how it works, you can do a lap and be really surprised by the lap time at the end.

"This year, I've driven a Seikel Porsche in the Proximus 24 Hours of  Spa, and the GPC Ferrari 360 in Dubai; the rest of the year I've been driving a Ferrari 360 in Italy. I was here in Zhuhai in 1995, on the city circuit, in a Ferrari F40.

"The city has changed a lot since then - and the car has changed quite a lot too! I've known Fabrizio Gollin for a long time; he is a good friend and he suggested that I drive the car - he is here beside me and is helping a lot. The car should be good for the race tomorrow, but with 100kg in the car, we might have some problems with tyre wear."