The seventh season of the FIA GT Championship got underway today, at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona in Spain.  37 cars are due to take part in Sunday’s three-hour, 500 km race, with 18 competing in the GT category and 19 in the N-GT category.  “This is going to be one of the most exciting seasons ever,” Championship Promoter Stephane Ratel said during this morning’s driver briefing.

weather

Although the day started off frosty and cold, the temperature has risen steadily and bright sunshine accompanied the cars and drivers during the two 90 minute free practice sessions.

first free practice session

The first practice session was the first chance to see all the 2003 FIA GT Championship cars in action.  After ninety minutes of non-stop running round the 4.73 km track, the top six in the GT category included three Lister Storms, two Ferrari 550 Maranello cars and a Chrysler Viper.  In N-GT, a similar selection included five Ferrari 360 Modena cars and one Porsche 996 GT3-RS.

The best time was set by the nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello, of Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari.  The two Italians, who moved to BMS this year after driving a Chrysler Viper last year, set a best time of 1:43.125, 0.424 seconds faster than the  nr 14 Lister Storm of Campbell-Walter and Kinch.  The second Lister, of Piccini and Deletraz, was fourth fastest, just behind the nr 1 Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper of Belloc and Bouchut.    New team Creation Autosportif was fifth fastest, with the Lister Storm of Verdon-Roe and Snowdon, with the BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello of Italians Biagi and Bobbi sixth.  The nr 10 JMB Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello stopped after just two laps with an engine failure, and was not able to take part in the afternoon session.

In N-GT, Team Maranello Concessionaires dominated the session, setting the two fastest times.  The nr 89 Ferrari 360 Modena of Kelvin Burt and Darren Turner set the best time, 1:45.849, with the nr 88 of Davies and Mullen less than half a second slower.  The nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari Modena of Bertolini and De Simone was third fastest, ahead of the Czech MenX Ferrari of Enge and Pergl.  Leading Porsche was the nr  50 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS, driven by Lieb and Maassen, in fifth place, with a best time of 1:48.419 with the brand-new car.  Newcomers Autopalace were sixth fastest, with a Ferrari 360 Modena in the hands of Frenchmen Gomez and Hiesse.

second free practice session

After Ferrari cars led the first session, the other makes fought back in the afternoon free practice session, which was generally slower than the cooler morning track time.  In the GT category, four different makes were represented in the top five.  The nr 14 Lister Storm, of Jamie Campbell-Walter and Nathan Kinch, set the fastest time, with a  lap of 1:43.334,  ahead of the nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello. The nr 7 Saleen S7-R of Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton set the third time, ahead of the second BMS Ferrari and the nr 1 Larbre Competition Chrysler Viper GTS-R. 

In N-GT, Freisinger Motorsport set the pace, with a lap of 1:47.637, ahead of the nr 88 Team Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 360 Modena. The nr 99 RWS Yukos Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS of Stéphane Daoudi and Walter Lechner Jr. was third, with newcomers AutoPalace and MenX in fourth and firth places.

Matteo Bobbi  - nr  23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello : “I’m quite happy with our progress in the second session.  Biagi will do the qualifying this weekend, so I am concentrating on the race set-up, and I did a long run.  We changed something for the second session, and it is feeling better, so I am quite confident for the race.  I think the Lister and Gollin, in the nr 22 car, will be faster over one lap in Qualifying, but I think we have a good car for the race.”

Thomas Biagi - nr  23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello : “It’s very nice to be here; this is a big step forward for me.  Formula 3000 was good, but this is a very competitive, professional Championship.  I am rather surprised and sorry I did not move here before.  But I am still only 26 years old, so I think I can do a good job, especially with this team.  They are very professional and showed great potential last year.  For the first day, fourth place is not bad, but we still have room for improvement.  I am happy to be here. “

Andrea Bertolini - nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena : “We were mainly testing the balance of the car this morning, and in the afternoon we will work on the setup and balance for the race.  I think and hope we will have a good balance set-up for the race, as it will be very important at this circuit.  I really like the track, it has some quick corners and is very good for drivers.  My new team-mate Fabrizio de Simone is very good; he drove a BMW in last season’s FIA European Touring Car Championship.  I think we will form a very balanced team, which is very important.”

Jamie Davies - nr 88 Team Maranello Concessionaires : “I got caught out early on and spun, and it took a while to get out of the gravel, so we lost some time. But I am happy with the progress made, and we are continuing to work on the car and pushing forwards towards the race.”  Tim Mullen, his team-mate, drove for the team towards the end of the British GT Championship last season.  “I am looking forward to Sunday’s race – it will be my longest-ever race, and it should be good !”