Andrea Bertolini and Andrea Piccini came second at Adria in the seventh round of the FIA GT International Championship last night. The race was held in the evening and was an exciting one from the off. The MC12’s fine form was also highlighted by Montanari/Ramos’ fourth spot and the Ferté/Aucott crew taking victory in the Citation Cup. Bertolini/Piccini started from eighth but made a sparkling comeback thanks to their consistently high performing Pirelli tyres. The fact that their tyres held up well meant that they did not need to change them during the final pit stop, allowing them to attack eventual winners Wendlinger/Sharp as the chequered flag drew near. A win was possible but a clash with Longin/Kumpen’s lapped Corvette saw Andrea Piccini lose 15 seconds just after he had taken over in the cockpit. Andrea Bertolini, post race, dedicated the crew’s second spot to the memory of Luciano Pavarotti.

The race was full of action from the start when Lichtner/Lechner’s Aston Martin clipped Thomas Biagi’s MC12, bending the right rear suspension. The mechanics replaced the damaged part, allowing Michael Bartels to make it back onto the track only eight laps down. The two closed out the race but Biagi now has an overall lead of only three points in the Drivers’ championship. Bertolini/Piccini are hot on his heels.

Fourth placed Montanari/Ramos meant an unhappy weekend for the Vitaphone Racing Team. Still, they head the Team Championship by 31 points from Playteam Sarafree. Montanari, after a difficult start, managed to find his rhythm and quickly climbed from fifth to second. A hiccup in the pits saw the pair slip to fourth, a mistake that cost them precious time and blew their chances of finishing on the podium. The other Playteam Sarafree MC12 was unlucky to pull up with a gearbox problem when in the top ten. Over in the Citation Cup, reserved to gentleman drivers, Ferté/Aucott took the win (13th overall). Third went to Kutemann/Moser (23rd overall) in the JMB Racing MC12. The result sees Ben Aucott strengthen his lead in the championship. Maserati continues to top the GT1 Manufacturers’ Cup standings on 130.5 points from Corvette and Aston Martin. The next round of the FIA GT will be held at the Czech circuit of Brno in two weeks time.

Maurizio Leschiutta: “I would like to thank our technical sponsors Pirelli as they worked very hard to supply a new and consistent tyre that performed great. We had good feedback from the tests in Valencia and today’s race confirmed this”.

Andrea Bertolini: “I would like to dedicate this podium finish to a very important person for my home town, Modena. He was also loved throughout the world: Luciano Pavarotti. As for the race, I am content with second as we made the most of Biagi’s bad luck to move back into contention in the championship. I want to thank the entire team and, most of all, Pirelli, as they backed us up throughout and supplied a superb set of tyres. Things look bright for the future”.
 

Andrea Piccini: “Considering our start position, the extra weight we had on board and how hard it is to overtake on this track, second place is a brilliant result. Together with Pirelli, we decided to sacrifice the qualifying spot to have a consistent and high-performing tyre in the race. Today we dropped fifteen seconds and so missed out on the win because of another car”.

Michael Bartels: “It is difficult to put a race like this into words. The car was quick, consistent and performed well, despite the extra weight we had. Unfortunately, Biagi missed out on crucial championship points after clashing with Lichtner’s Aston Martin.

Now the Drivers’ championship is more open as Bertolini/Piccini are just three points down on Thomas. It was good to see Ramos and Montanari drive so well, not only because they managed to defend their position from Hezeman towards the end (Hezeman and his partner, Deletraz, are five points off Biagi in the overall standings, ed) but also because they were very competitive. I say this even though we were aiming for the podium. It is too bad that we will still have 30kg of ballast at Brno after this result”.

Miguel Ramos: “It was difficult race but enjoyable race. We proved that we were competitive and only a slight problem at the pit stop meant that we did not improve our position. In any case, compliments should go to the drivers who did make the podium as they put on a good show. The next race will be important and I think we will be even more of a threat. This championship is great because now anyone is in with a chance of winning”.

Christian Montanari: “We pushed on even though it was really tough early on. As more rubber was put down on the track, the car handled differently and we managed to overtake Kumpen’s Corvette and Babini in the Aston. It is a shame about the time we lost in the pits even though we, Miguel (Ramos, ed) and I, gave our all. Luckily the lapped drivers gave us a clear track and this made a difficult and intense race a little easier. The car performed well and the brakes were superb throughout. Now we go to Brno hoping to collect more championship points”.

Thomas Biagi: “I would like to think that the glass is half full as I still lead the Drivers’ championship. However, this is only part consolation. We worked very hard during the weekend to set up the car for the race. I’m not saying we could have won but we were hoping to finish in the top five. Losing points as we did is annoying”.