08.09.2004 Barron Connor Racing head to the final round of the inaugural LMES season at Spa-Franchorchamps this weekend still in with a very slight chance of lifting the GTS title

The 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series will come to an end at the majestic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Belgian Ardennes this Sunday, with round for of the season deciding what has been an exciting first year of the new championship.

The no. 61 car and drivers of the debuting Barron Connor Racing team are still in with a chance of winning the GTS class after 3000km of hard racing, at Monza, Nürburgring and Silverstone this year.

The Ferrari 575 GTC of John Bosch, Thomas Biagi and Danny Sullivan finished second in Italy and fourth in Germany and England and now has 15.5 points.

The Barron Connor team and drivers are thus in second place at the moment behind the Prodrive built Ferrari 550 Maranello of Care Racing, a car run by former GT World Champion's Larbre Competition of France, and driven by Christophe Bouchut, Pedro Lamy and Steve Zacchia. Bosch, Biagi and Sullivan, however, only have a very slim chance to claim the LMES title, for they would have to win at Spa without the Larbre trio scoring any points.

John Bosch has both feet firmly on the ground. "It has been a very challenging year. For an all new team to enter this prestigious arena with an all new car, it is already quite an achievement that we are now in with a chance for the title in the very last race.

"We have been fighting against two proven and very fast GTS cars all year, the Ferrari 550 and the Saleen S7, and although performance wise we still must improve, in terms of results have done quite well. Of course we will try our very best to win at Spa, but we also respect the competition and would also be very pleased and proud to be ranked in a creditable position in the final standings."

That Larbre and Care Racing take Barron Connor's chances seriously, is marked by the fact that they have entered a second car for the very first time this year, led by Czech GT ace Tomas Enge.

"We take that as a compliment", John Bosch smiles. "It will be an interesting race, as all 1000km events usually are. However, apart from trying to beat the 550s, we must also watch the Saleens of Konrad (Vitaphone) and GNM.

"Those two, Larbre and our team have been the ones racing for the podium since Monza, so I expect a tough race in any case and a close fight for the top three positions in the championship. I of course also hope that Jean-Denis Deletraz and Mike Hezemans can finish the season on a high in the 62 car, which claimed second place at Silverstone."

After thre races, and with just one remaining, the GTS class standings are as follows:

Teams: 1. 86 Labre Ferrari 550, 25 points, 2. 61 Barron Connor Ferrari 575 GTC, 15.5 points, 3. 52 GNM Saleen S7, 9 points, 4. 59 Vitaphone Saleen S7, 8 points, 5. 62 Barron Connor Ferrari 575 GTC, 8 points

Drivers: 1. Bouchut, Lamy and Zacchia, 22 points, 2. Bosch, Biagi and Sullivan, 15.5 points, 3. Bennet, 9 points, 4. Deletraz, Hezemans, Bartels, Alzen, Konrad, 5. Gabbiani, 6 points, 6. Piccini, 4 points, 7. Leslie and Whight, 3 points