11.11.2003 KLAUS ENGELHORN, PHILIPP PETER AND ANDREA MONTERMINI SET UP FOR BATHURST AFTER LE MANS GT WIN

The leading Ferrari attack for the Bathurst 24-Hour will hit the mountain in winning form after the BE Racing combination of Klaus Engelhorn, Philipp Peter and Andrea Montermini took victory in the GT class at the Le Mans 1000km in France last weekend.

The trio will contest the 24-Hour under the banner of Australian team PHR Scuderia in a Ferrari 360 GT, the same car Engelhorn drove in the Nations Cup competition recently at the Gold Coast Indy weekend. Engelhorn, Peter and Montermini finished 10th outright in their class-winning performance aboard a Ferrari 360 Modena at Le Mans.

Montermini is no stranger to Australia having driven Formula One in Adelaide and Melbourne as well as competing on the Gold Coast in CART Champ Cars. "It is a great thing to come back to Australia again and I am really looking forward to coming to Bathurst ,because I do some commentary on Italian television for the V8 Supercar Bathurst event," Montermini said. "It looks like a fantastic circuit and after speaking to a few people who have raced there, I really can't wait to make the trip."

Team mate Philipp Peter kicked off the year in fine style, winning the Sebring 12-Hour for Audi with Frank Beila and Marco Werner, the opening round of this year's American Le Mans Series. "This will be my first trip to Australia so it was not just only the chance to do the race, but heading down under for the first time made me very excited to be a part of this program," Peter said. "Winning will certainly be tough because this is a very competitive field and we don't know the circuit like the local guys. The car looks to be competitive and reliable so it should play out OK."

Bathurst will be the second Australian race for Englehorn, who drove in the Nations Cup at the Gold Coast Indy. "There are many good drivers and many good teams at this event and I really think it is going to be special and unique," Englehorn said. "I finished sixth in the second race on the Gold Coast and felt I could have improved in the last race that was cancelled, so I am very confident the car will be very competitive."

Around  55 cars from Australia, Britain, Germany, Austria and New Zealand are due to start the race at 2 pm on Saturday 22 November, after a program of support events for GT Performance and Production touring cars, V8 Brutes and Porsches.