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Two fantastic FIA
GT Championship races, two different winners, in each class
- the 2005 season is off to a great start. And round three
should add yet another dimension to the series, as the 500
km, three-hour race will be the centenary edition of the RAC
Tourist Trophy, a race with a long and prestigious history.
The FIA GT
Championship has raced at Silverstone on six previous
occasions, including the very first season in 1997. The last
visit was in 2002, when Fabio Babini and Marc Duez were
victorious in the Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R.
However, this time the Championship will run on the shorter
International circuit, which is 3. 619 km long. This
decision, made by the Silverstone promoters, will ensure an
exciting show for the spectators.
Silverstone will
also see the Aston Martin DBR9 make its FIA GT Championship
debut. As a manufacturer entry, according to the Sporting
Regulations of the Championship, the two GT1 cars will not
be eligible for points, but the homologated cars will
otherwise be fully-fledged competitors for the Tourist
Trophy - the UK round of the FIA GT Championship.
Twenty nine cars
are due to take part in Sunday's 500 km race. Vitaphone
Racing Team will be defending their Championship lead in
both GT1 Teams and Drivers classfications, while Gruppe M
have a healthy lead in GT2.
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Fabrizio Gollin will partner Gabriele Gardel, as his
regular team-mate Pedro Lamy (above at Monza during
round one) being in action for Aston Martin
during the Tourist Trophy |
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The reigning FIA GT Champion Fabrizio Gollin will be
driving for Larbre Competition next weekend in the
Tourist Trophy at Donington Park, in the nr 11
Larbre Ferrari 550 Maranello |
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As well as the two Aston Martin DBR9
and the return of the nr 3 GPC Ferrari of Melo and Belloc,
Silverstone should also see two Ferrari 360 Modena cars in
GT2, entered by Cirtek and GPC Sport, a Team LNT TVR T400R
and Sebah Automotive's Porsche 996. Three Mosler MT900R will
compete in G2, including Balfe Motorsport, Cadena GTC and
Eclipse Motorsport.
FABRIZIO GOLLIN BACK TO FERRARI
It has been announced that reigning FIA GT Champion Fabrizio
Gollin will be driving for Larbre Competition this weekend,
in the nr 11 Ferrari 550 Maranello. Gollin will partner
Gabriele Gardel , his regular team-mate Pedro Lamy being in
action for Aston Martin during the Tourist Trophy.
Gollin, 30 years
old from Italy, won the GT Drivers Championship with BMS
Scuderia Italia last year with his long-time team-mate, Luca
Cappellari He drove a Ferrari 550 Maranello in 2003 and
2004, accumulating four pole positions and six wins,
including the 2004 Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. Prior to that,
he raced for Carsport Holland, in a Chrysler Viper. He is
currently racing in Grand Am in the United States of
America.
The nr 11 car, driven by Gardel and Lamy, won the first
round in Monza. For Silverstone, the car will only have 10
kg penalty weight, having lost 30 kg due to its fifth place
finish in Magny-Cours. Gardel was Gollin's team-mate at BMS
Scuderia Italia last year, when he raced alongside Matteo
Bobbi. "I hope to have a good race, to score some points and
to show the Ferrari 550 is still competitive, as we did in
Monza," Gardel said.
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