22.04.2004 THE TRIO OF PRODRIVE BUILT FERRARI 550 MARANELLOS ARE EXPECTED TO LEAD THE WAY IN GTS WHEN LE MANS PRELIMINARY PRACTICE AND PREQUALIFYING KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND

Le Mans preliminary practice and pre-qualifying gets underway this weekend. The track action will take place on Sunday, held over two four hour sessions, after scrutineering is undertaken on Friday and Saturday.

Twenty six Prototypes and 24 'Grand Tourers' have been accepted onto the Le Mans entry list. In the 'Grand Tourer' category two Ferrari 575 GTCs and three 550 Maranellos will appear in the GTS category, while a pair of 360 Modenas will represent the sportscar marque against the Porsche hordes in the smaller GT class.

Italian spice will be added in the GTS class by the reappearance of the Pagani Zonda GR sportscar. The car was last seen, albeit very briefly as it retired early on, at the legendary 24 Hour race last June.

This year the Zonda, which was adapted for racing by the Dutch-based Carsports concern, is being entered at Le Mans by Phillipe Alliot's experienced Force One Racing outfit.

The French team have turned to running the 7.3-litre AMG Mercedes-Benz powered Italian supercar after terminating their Festina-backed Chrysler Viper FIA GT Championship program.

However, while the Zonda will provide variety in GTS, the three Care Racing-owned and Prodrive-built Ferrari 550 Maranellos will be clear favourites to repeat last year's success.

Prodrive have been drafted in to run a pair of the cars once again, and they have backed this up by assembling a highly talented and experienced driver line-up. Car no 65 will see former World Rally Champion Colin McRae joined by fellow Brit Darren Turner and Sweden's Rickard Rydell, while the second entry will feature Prodrive regular's Peter Kox, Alain Menu and Tomas Enge.

Taking the fight to the Prodrive Ferrari's will be two factory entered Chevrolet Corvette C5-R's, while the class dark horses are expected to be Barron Connor Racing who will run a pair of their Ferrari 575 GTC racers, first seen at Sebring during the opening round of the ALMS series.

A top line up from the Dutch team includes former F1 and Indycar star Danny Sullivan, the reigning FIA GT Champion Thomas Biagi and sportscar veteran Jean-Denis Deletraz.

Completing the GTS line up will be the Labre Competition entered Care owned Ferrari 550 Maranello which will be led by the rapid and experienced Christophe Bouchet.

With the withdrawal yesterday of the automatically earned Care Racing entry and the earlier scratching of the two BMS Scuderia Italia entries, Labre and Prodrive are the sole teams left running the Ferrari 550 Maranello.

Meanwhile in GT two Ferrari 360 Modenas, one each from Cirtek Motorsport and JMB Racing, will do battle with the well represented class benchmark Porsche 911 GT3-RSR, as well as a pair of TVR Tuscan 400R's and the unusual Morgan Aero 8.