In dry conditions and in front of a 47,000 strong crowd, the BMS Scuderia Italia team followed up their tremendous Barcelona result with another 1-2 at the newly re-designed French circuit of Magny Cours .

Italian duo, Matteo Bobbi and Thomas Biagi, took their second consecutive victory, having started from pole position, in their Care Racing-owned Ferrari 550 Maranello.  They were followed home in second place by the sister car of Luca Cappellari and Fabrizio Gollin, further extending the Championship lead held by BMS Scuderia Italia.

Although the misfortune of the Lister team played into the hands of BMS, the fact that all three of the Ferraris operated by the team were highly competitive and racing at the front of the field all weekend, meant that Bobbi and Biagi were perfectly placed to take the victors’ laurels once the chequered flag fell.

The Care Racing-entered Maranello of Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari and Stefano Livio qualified well in 4th place on the grid but suffered a broken gear linkage during the race which ended their challenge for points in this round of the Championship.

Matteo Bobbi (I), BMS Scuderia Italia, No. 23:  “The qualifying session was fantastic, with the track being wet due to the pouring rain. I was able to find the right rhythm and to drive the car to its limits.  As a result, I managed to distance myself from my adversaries by a few seconds and claim pole position.  

“At the start of the race, the minor accident with the Chrysler Viper damaged my Ferrari and unfortunately we lost a position during the race when we made a pit stop.  When my team-mate, Thomas Biagi, handed the car over to me we had slotted into 3rd position.  With ten laps to go, I managed to overtake Piccini at just the right moment. That is, just when Campbell-Walter’s Lister starting having some technical problems which meant he had to make a pit stop. I’m obviously very happy about the victory, especially since I consider this track very favourable towards the Lister. I still have both feet on the ground, but I must admit this is a pretty good way to start off my first year in the FIA GT Championship!”

Thomas Biagi (I), BMS Scuderia Italia, No. 23:  “I would like to thank my team, my team-mate and Michelin.  It was very important for me to win at this track today, as I had my first F3000 race here many years ago and, in an accident, Marco Campos lost his life.  I would like to dedicate this victory to his memory.”

In the GT points, BMS Scuderia Italia has a 22 points lead over Lister Racing, with the Swedish Roos-Optima Racing Team third.  Biagi and Bobbi, who set the fastest lap with a time of 1:38.625, jointly lead the Drivers Classification, ahead of Gollin and Cappellari, with Piccini and Deletraz third.

The next race will be at Enna Pergusa in Sicily on 11th May.