The 2006 FIA GT Championship season is drawing to a close, but before this most exciting and close season finishes, there is one more race still to go later this week. Even if the Championships have mostly been decided,  the season finale, at the Dubai Autodrome, promises to host a thrilling race, with plenty of competition for second and third places. Vitaphone Racing Team, already Team Champions in 2005, went one better in 2006, with Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels also securing the 2006 Drivers’ Championship at Adria. However, there is a close battle for second place.  Zakspeed’s Sascha Bert is in the lead at the moment, one point ahead of his team-mate Jarek Janis. Piccini and Deletraz are two points behind. However, Vitaphone’s Davies and Biagi, and Aston Martin Racing BMS driver Fabio Babini could all move up to second place with the right results.

In GT2, AF Corse’s Matteo Bobbi and Jaime Melo took an unbeatable lead in Adria.  However, Bobbi will be replaced by Vilander in Dubai, leaving a question mark over the eventual champion or champions. Their AF Corse team-mates Mika Salo and Rui Aguas are currently lying second, but this place is also under threat from their season-long rivals, Scuderia Ecosse. Tim Mullen is still in contention for second place; Kinch and Kirkaldy could move up to third, but second is out of their reach.

Dubai should see a full and varied grid of up to 28 cars. Larbre Competition, whose driver Gabriele Gardel is the outgoing Champion, will return for the first time this season, with a Ferrari 550 Maranello with the new Care Racing Development engine. In GT2, Spyker Squadron will enter two Spyker C8 Spyder cars, with a high-powered line-up including Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jonny Kane, Peter Dumbreck and Peter Kox. Three cars will run in the G3 category: two Aston Martin DBRS9 entered by BMS Scuderia Italia, and a JMB Racing Ferrari 430 GT3 Challenge, as well as the sole G2 Gillet Vertigo. The event takes place over two days, with support races including the UAE National Superstock Bike Trophy and the GTi Cup Trophy, as well as plenty of on-track entertainment.

Prodrive-built Ferrari 550 Maranello back with a development engine

Larbre Competition, who won the 2005 title with Gabriele Gardel and a Ferrari 550 Maranello, will be returning to the Championship for the Dubai race. The nr 3 Ferrari 550 Maranello will be fitted with the new Care Racing Development engine, and the entry has been accepted, with certain conditions, so that the FIA Technical department can assess the performance characteristics of the engine for possible future use by entrants in the series. The engine offers the same power and track performance as a standard GT1 engine but is able to run with no restrictors fitted as power is controlled electronically. Championship organisers will be able to set and regulate the power output themselves, in co-operation with the engine manufacturers. The engine, developed by Care Racing’s long-time technical partner, Prodrive, will be available to Care Racing’s customers in 2007 and have an extended ‘life’, the time between re-builds being considerably longer than the current 4,500 kilometres. Care Racing’s Frederic Dor was pleased with the first demonstration of the evolution engine: “The costs of competing in GT racing, as in all areas of motor sport, continue to rise and, as a company providing a customer based service, we have been working hard to find ways to reduce technical and operating costs for our customers.
 

"I believe this is a significant step towards lowering budgets, and I very much hope the FFSA, FIA and ACO will be able to support the initiative for 2007 and beyond," he added. The driver line-up for Dubai will include Steve Zacchia and Frédéric Makowiecki, both seen in the FIA GT3 European Championship this season, and 2005 FIA GT Champion Gabriele Gardel. Gardel has won the last two FIA GT races to be held at Dubai, so he has plenty of experience at the track. “It’s nice to be back and to be involved with a project like this,” he said. “I’m proud to be coming back. This year, however, the aim is to show you can have a quick car without spending lots of money. The car is really good, and can still be competitive.”

Two extra drivers for the Vitaphone Maserati MC12s

Having sealed the GT1 Teams title in Budapest, and the Drivers title in Adria, Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels can go to Dubai without any pressure. However, they have no plans on taking things easy! “This is my third time in Dubai,” Michael Bartels explained. “We were fourth in 2004 with the Saleen, but third in GT1 due to the Maserati, then second last year with the Maserati. So this year I will aim to win, to make it three-two-one !” However, their task will be made slightly more complicated by having three drivers in each car. “We took the opportunity to give something back to our Spa drivers,” Michael carried on. Eric van de Poele will therefore be back in the nr 1 Maserati MC 12, with Vincent Vosse in the nr 2 with Thomas Biagi and Jamie Davies. “They will take time to get used to the cars again, so we’ll have to see what is possible.”

The battle is not over for the nr 2 car, which is still in contention for second place. “They have a good possibility to improve in the rankings, and we will help them to reach the best position possible,” Bartels continued. “We will have a lot of guests from Germany and Belgium, and I am really looking forward to the race. We’ll do our best to finish in style.”

Driver change at AF Corse

2006 GT2 Teams Champions AF Corse have announced that driver Matteo Bobbi will be replaced by Toni Vilander for the final race of the season. This comes as a consequence of an incident towards the end of the race in Adria, when the nr 58 Ferrari 430 GT2 collided with the team’s second car. The two drivers of the nr 58, Bobbi and Jaime Melo, had secured the title jointly, but this decision means that as long as Melo finishes in the points in Dubai, the Brazilian would win the Championship alone. “The first rule of racing is that you don’t collide with your team-mate,” Mika Salo commented. Finnish driver Vilander first drove in the FIA GT Championship at Mugello. Qualifying third in the Scuderia Playteam Maserati MC 12, he put in a stunning performance to lead the race in the rain throughout his stint, although unfortunately the car did not go on to finish.