|
By finishing in
4th place in Zhuhai in Sunday's final round of the series, Lilian Bryner and
Enzo Calderari clinched a hard-earned 3rd place in the Drivers' Championship.
BMS Scuderia Italia and Care Racing drivers have therefore, for the second year
in succession, won the Championships [Team and Drivers] and taken the top three
places in the drivers' points table. The Swiss pairing were helped immensely in
China by co-driver Christophe Bouchut, a late replacement for an injured Thomas
Biagi.
The Frenchman's experience and knowledge of the Ferrari 550 Maranello from his
season in the Le Mans Endurance Series, undoubtedly made a difference to all the
driving team in car nr. 3.
For Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel in the BMS nr.1 car, a fine 3rd was scant
consolation after leading the race for the first hour, and fighting both the
Maseratis until the end of the race.
This was achieved despite problems with their brakes and a longer second pit
stop than anticipated due to water having to be added to the engine.
Care Racing boss, Frédéric Dor, racing the car for the first time since Petit Le
Mans last year, turned in a series of impressive lap times in the BMS Ferrari
550 nr.2 to help Luca Drudi and Nicola Cadei bring the car home in 12th place.
The three gave an excellent demonstration of the ease of handling, power and
performance of the Prodrive-developed Maranello, proving its competitiveness at
all levels.
Matteo Bobbi (I): "The problem today was not the speed of the Maserati cars but
our brakes. We could not push like at the start of the race as our brakes were
worn out. We also lost about 20 seconds in the second pit stop when we had to
put water in the engine.
"Without this, maybe we could have finished ahead of the Maserati cars. In the
first hour, we were leading the race with more than 10 seconds.
"The car was very good and Michelin did an excellent job as we were able to do
double stints on the same tyres. I was driving for one hour and a half at the
end. I would like to thank Michelin, Prodrive and also Gabriele".
Gabriele Gardel (CH): "For everybody, it was a difficult race but less than in
Dubai. Care Racing finished 3rd in the Championship, so today is a very good day
for our team as the drivers managed to finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the
Championship."
|
|
