In round nine of the FIA GT2 Championship, victory in the GT2 class at Nogaro on Sunday for AF Corse Motorola's nr 51 Ferrari 430 GT2 of Stephane Ortelli and Gianmaria Bruni gave the Italian team its eighth win of the season. However, with their sister car, the nr 50 of Championship leaders Müller and Vilander stopping with mechanical problems, and the fine second-place finish of BMS Scuderia Italia and their Porsche 997 GT3 RSR of Collard and Malucelli, the Championship battle is closer than ever and will go on to Zolder.

Bruni started from pole, but was behind his team-mate Dirk Müller in the early stages of the race. A stop and go penalty for not restarting the car on its own battery further delayed them. But when the nr 50 Ferrari came to a halt, the nr 51 was ready to take over the command. “It was a very good race,” Bruni said, “All three of us are very close now, and we’ll be going to the last race to fight again in Zolder. It was a fantastic day for us today, but we’ll have to see what happens in three weeks time.”

Second on Sunday, Collard and Malucelli, in the nr 97 BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3 RSR are still very much in contention for the title. “At the beginning we were not happy with the car but we worked a lot on the car, and it was very consistent, especially thanks to Pirelli, as we were able to do a double stint easily,” Collard explained, adding, “ The last race will be very interesting, especially if it is raining.”

Third place in Nogaro went to Scuderia Ecosse and the nr 63 F430GT car of Robert Bell and Andrew Kirkaldy. The car had started from the pit lane after an engine change, but made steady progress throughout the race. “We were not the quickest on the track but we were consistent, keeping the lap times up, passing cars when we had the opportunity,” Kirkaldy explained.

The team’s second car, driven by Tim Mullen and Darren Turner, was fourth, moving the team ahead of Racing Team Edil Cris into third place in the Teams’ Championship, just 3.5 points behind second-placed BMS Scuderia Italia. The two Racing Team Edil Cris cars finished in the points, with Ruberti and Mediani fifth while Cressoni and Rugolo were eighth.
 

Pompidou and Zani, in the nr 74 Ebimotors Porsche, were originally seventh, but they gained a place after a time penalty was awarded to the nr 59 Advanced Engineering Ferrari 430 GT2, for not respecting the minimum driving time. This happened after a tyre problem forced the nr 59 to pit a lap early, adding one minute and 17 seconds to their time, and losing a position.

Heading for Zolder, Müller and Vilander have 63 points, Bruni and Ortelli have 62 – and Collard and Malucelli 59. However, having won with the maximum penalty weight, Bruni and Ortelli will have the super maximum of 75 kg, while Müller and Vilander’s weight goes down to 30 kg.  Collard and Malucelli, second today, will be back up to 50 kg  - all three cars also carrying an additional  28 kg penalty for two professional driver. Add the factor of the weather, and anything could happen. In the Teams Championship, AF Corse Motorola moved out of reach after Brno.  However, the next three teams are only separated by six and a half points: BMS Scuderia Italia have 59 points, Scuderia Ecosse 55.5 and Racing Team Edil Cris 52.5.

Meanwhile Scuderia Ecosse team principal, Stewart Roden, issued a statement concerning the team's future plans: “While I was in Nogaro last weekend I was asked many times about my plans for 2008 and if it was true that Chris Niarchos was leaving the team," said the team boss. "I can confirm that after five successful years Chris and I are going our separate ways in 2008. We have been through many highs and lows together, the highlights being Chris’ British GT Championship victory in 2006 and his first Le Mans 24 Hours that same year. We wish him all the best with his future racing plans. From the team’s perspective we are sad to see him go but we are also looking forward to more good times in 2008 and beyond. We will be racing two more fabulous Ferrari 430s in 2008, continuing our quest to win at the highest levels of GT racing.”