In N-GT, reigning Champion Ortelli and his team-mate Marc Lieb finally put their bad luck behind them to take their first win of the season. After a close battle with the nr 52 JMB Ferrari at the start, they pulled away and took a comfortable win, ahead of current Championship points leaders Bertolini and De Simone, with Team Maranello Concessionaires drivers Mullen and Davies in third.   

Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi continue to dominate the 2003 season of the FIA GT Championship, taking their fourth successive win, despite carrying 100 kg penalty weight in their Ferrari 550 Maranello. They now lead the Drivers Classification with 40 points, a 17-point lead over Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz, in second.  Their win, added to the third-place finish for Gollin and Cappellari  in the nr 22 car, means that BMS Scuderia Italia currently has a 23-point lead in the Teams points.  “The team did an excellent job today, with great pit stops,” Biagi said afterwards. “We were not fast over a single lap, but we were very consistent.”  He crossed the finish line, after 87 laps of the 5.403 km Brno circuit, with a lead of 31.056 over  Deletraz and Piccini, in the nr 15 Lister .

Having been consistently fast this season, the reigning N-GT Team Champion, Freisinger Motorsport,  finally finished on the top of the podium, with Stéphane Ortelli and Marc Lieb repeating their 2002 Brno win in fine fashion, finishing the race in 9th position overall, 15 seconds ahead of the JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena of Bertolini and De Simone. “We are very happy with this win- we have proved that we are competitive, and when we can get to the end, we can win !”  Team manager Michel Hinterberg said. The nr 88 Team Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 360 Modena of Davies and Mullen finished third, with the Pergusa-winning EMKA Racing Porsche in fourth place. The N-GT points situation is very close, with De Simone and Bertolini leading the Drivers by three points over Mullen and Davies, with Ortelli and Lieb third on 18 points. In the Teams Classification, Team Maranello Concessionaires have a one-point lead over JMB Racing, with Freisinger only seven points behind the leader.

GT RACE

As in Pergusa, the nr 2 Saleen S7-R, in the hands of pole-setter Jean-Marc Gounon, set a commanding pace at the start, pulling away from the nr 14 Lister Storm in a way that Jamie Campbell-Walter described as ‘like a rocket’. The Frenchman set the fastest lap of the race on the second lap, and continued to pull away, ending his stint with a lead of over 15 seconds.  Gounon handed over to Toni Seiler, but an excellent pit-stop from the nr 23 BMS Ferrari, which had been lying third, took it into the lead. On lap 45, Nathan Kinch, in the nr 14 Lister, overtook the Saleen for second place. However, shortly afterwards, the young Lister driver spun on some oil on the track, dropping back down the grid. With the nr 2 Konrad Saleen also suffering problems, this left the nr 23 BMS car with a large gap. The nr 15 Lister Storm moved up to second, followed by the nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello. Campbell-Walter got back in the nr 14 Lister, and began to charge up the field, as the fastest man on the track. With 40 minutes of the race left, he was 22 seconds behind Gollin. He closed to within 4 seconds, but dropped back on the final lap, realising he was unable to move up to third. At the same time, a colossal battle was going on between Piccini and Gollin for second, with the gap between the two rarely more than two seconds for the whole of the final stint.

Matteo Bobbi took the chequered flag ahead of Piccini in the nr 15 Lister, with Gollin third in the nr 22 Ferrari. Campbell-Walter, in the nr 14 Lister, took fourth, with the nr 21 Care Racing Ferrari in fifth. The Creation Autosportif Lister Storm continued its consistent point-scoring record with sixth place for Verdon-Roe and Zadra.  This mean that the top six places included three Ferrari 550 Maranello cars and three Lister Storms. The Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R cars finished in seventh and eighth places, but the nr 7 car of Erdos and Newton was later excluded due to a fuel-tank problem. This elevated the nr 8 car to seventh, and the nr 11 Roos-Optima Chrysler Viper GTS-R took the final point for eighth.

N-GT RACE

Andrea Bertolini, in the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena, made the best start, taking the lead ahead of pole-setter Ortelli in the Freisinger Porsche. However, by lap 6, Ortelli regained the lead, after an excellent, clean battle between the two drivers. Bertolini, suffering from tyre problems, dropped back, with the nr 61 EMKA Porsche and the two Team Maranello Concessionaires cars moving up behind the leading Freisinger Porsche. After the pit stops, the nr 52 began to recover, and Fabrizio De Simone brought the car back up to second place. The nr 89 Ferrari had a long pit stop and dropped out of contention, leaving the nr 88 in third place ahead of the EMKA Porsche. Although local hero Tomas Enge was setting some fast laps when he took over from Robert Pergl, he was not able to move higher than fifth.   
After the three hours of racing, Ortelli crossed the line with a lead of 15 seconds over the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari, with the nr 88 TMC Ferrari third. Sugden and Short took a fine fourth in the nr 61EMKA Porsche.  The second Freisinger Porsche of Gardel and Longin was sixth, while Team Eurotech placed its two Porsche 996 GT3-RS cars in seventh and eighth. Gerold and Christian Ried, in their first race in the new Proton Competition Porsche 996 GT3-RS, finished just outside the points in ninth place.

> CLASSIFIED RESULT FROM BRNO

Race Start : 11:20
Total distance : 93 laps = 502.47 km or 3 hours 
Starting Grid :  2 – 14 – 23 – 22 – 15 – 5 – 7 – 8 – 4 – 6 – 9 – 18 – 21 – 10 – 11 – 16 – 50 – 52 – 89 – 57 – 99 – 58 – 61 – 88 – 51 – 74 – 75 – 56 – 12- 77 – 54 – 53 - 69

Weather : sunny and warm, with a light breeze, track dry.  Temperatures air 24°, track 35°

RWS Yukos has changed the engine on the nr 99 Porsche, which blew an engine during the warm-up.  It took the team just one hour …

The nr 54 Cirtek Porsche is starting from the pit lane

Start Gounon keeps the lead into the first corner, pulling away from the nr 14 Lister Storm , which is closely followed by the nr 23 BMS Ferrari. 
Lap 1 GT :  2 – 14 – 23 – 5 – 22 – 15 – 4 – 9- 8- 7 
 N-GT :  52 – 50 – 89 – 99 – 58 – 61 – 88 
 Gounon set the fastest lap with a time of 1 : 59.505, and has a lead of 2.503 seconds
 Good start by Hezemans, in the nr 5 Viper, moving up to fourth from 6th on the grid.
 Bertolini overtook N-GT pole setter Freisinger
 The nr 10 went off at the first corner
Lap 2 Gounon improves the best lap to 1:59.171
Lap 3 The nr 2 Konrad Saleen now has a lead of 4.860 seconds over the nr 14 Storm; Piccini in the nr 15 Storm is just 0.3 seconds behind Gollin in the nr 22 BMS Ferrari in the battle for 5th
Lap 5 Big fight between Bertolini and Ortelli for the N-GT lead, with the Porsche nose to tail with the Ferrari
 GT : 2 – 14 – 23 – 5 – 22 – 15 – 4 – 9 – 8
 N-GT : 52 – 50 – 89 – 61 – 99 – 51 – 58
Lap 6 Ortelli in the nr 50 Freisinger Porsche  takes N-GT lead ahead of Bertolini
 Gounon has a lead of 6.4 seconds over Campbell-Walter in the 14 Lister
Lap 8 Ferrari nr 16 to the pits
Lap 9 Porsche nr 77 to the pits, pushed into the garage – retires with a broken engine
Lap 10 GT : 2 – 14 – 23 – 5 – 22 – 15 – 4 – 9 – 7
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 61 – 89 – 51 – 88 – 99
Lap 11 Ferrari nr 16 rejoins, 4 laps down, with a steering problem
Lap 12 Sugden, in the nr 61 EMKA Porsche, overtakes the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari for second in N-GT
Lap 15 GT : 2- 14 – 23 – 5 – 22 –15 – 4-  7 – 9
 N-GT : 50 – 51 – 52 – 89 – 51 – 88 – 99 – 58
 The nr 89 TMC Ferrari is right behind the nr 52 JMB Ferrari
Lap 17 Saleen nr 8 to the pits; fuel, tyres but pulls away leaving the tyre gun attached to the car.  Stops in the pit lane for it to be removed.
Lap 18 Bobbi in the nr 23 Ferrari is only 1.3 seconds behind the nr 14 Lister for second place
Lap 19 Burt, in the nr 89 TMC car, overtakes Bertolini in the nr 52 Ferrari for third in N-GT
 The nr 12 Proton Porsche pulls to the side of the track 
Lap 20 nr 5 Force One Viper going slowly on the track, apparently with a blown tyre.  Bodywork flies off the car.  Drops down the field. 
 Saleen nr 8 returns to the pits
Lap 21 GT : 2 – 14 – 23 – 22 – 15 – 4 – 7 – 9
 N-GT : 50 – 61 – 89 – 52 – 51 – 88 - 58
 Viper nr 5 to the pits, blown tyre, driver change to Kumpen, tyres and fuel
 Car nr 18 receives a 20 second stop and go penalty due to starting the race with only two marked tyres
Lap 22 The nr 2 Konrad car now has a lead of 15.594 seconds over the nr 14 Lister Storm
Lap 25 GT : 2- 14 – 23 – 22 – 15 – 4
 N-GT : 50 – 61 – 89 – 52 – 51 - 88
Lap 26 nr 56 Alda Motorsport Porsche spins off the track into the gravel
Lap 27 nr 18 Viper to the pits for its penalty
Lap 28 Ferrari nr 9 to the pits – pushed into the garage
Lap 29 Porsche nr 56 to the pits after their off; fuel
Lap 30 Race leader nr 2 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Seiler
 Ferrari nr 23 to the pits,  fuel, tyres and driver to Biagi
 Ferrari nr 21 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Bryner
Lap 31 Lister nr 6 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Zadra
 Lister nr 15 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Deletraz
 Ferrari nr 22 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Calderari
 Viper nr 11 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Roos
 Viper nr 4 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Hallyday
 Viper nr 18 to the pit, fuel, tyres and driver to Arjan van de Zwaan
Lap 32 Porsche nr 61 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Short
Lap 33 Race leader nr 14 Lister to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Kinch
 Ferrari nr 52 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to De Simone
 Viper nr 5 to the pits
 Porsche nr 69 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Gerold Ried
 Saleen nr 7 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Newton
 Viper nr 4 and nr 5 retire – 5 due to the tyre damage, 4 with a blown engine
Lap 35 Ferrari nr 16 to the pits with a cooling problem
 Oil reported on the track at turn 11
 GT : 23 – 2 – 22 – 14 – 15 – 21 – 7
 N-GT : 50 - 88 – 89 – 51 – 57 – 99
nr 16 returns to the pits
 Porsche nr 51 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Longin
Lap 39 Porsche nr 74 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Jordan
 Porsche nr 50, N-GT leader, to the pits. Fuel, tyres and driver to Lieb
Lap 40 Saleen nr 8 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Amorim
 GT : 23 – 2 – 14 – 22 – 15 – 21 – 6 – 7 – 11
 N-GT : 88 – 89 – 50 – 57 – 52 – 99  -61 – 51 – 75
 Biagi has a lead of 19.099 seconds over second placed Seiler in the Konrad car
Lap 42  Ferrari nr 57 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Enge
 Porsche nr 99 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Daoudi
 Porsche nr 56 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Doubrzanski
 Ferrari nr 88 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Davies
Lap 43 Kinch is only 0.709 seconds behind Seiler in the fight for second place
 Ferrari nr 89 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Turner
Lap 44 Ferrari nr 53 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Gosse
Lap 45 Kinch overtakes Seiler for second place overall
 Ferrari nr 58 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Gomez 
 GT : 23 – 14 – 2 – 22 – 15 – 21 – 6 – 7
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 61 – 89 – 88 – 51 – 57 – 99
Lap 46 Nr 14 stopped on the track after spinning ; gets going again.  Drops down to 6th place
Lap 47 GT : 23 – 2 – 15 – 22 – 21 –14 – 6 – 7
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 61 – 89 – 88 – 51 – 57
Lap 49 Biagi now has a lead of 38 seconds over Seiler in the nr 2 Saleen, which is being attacked by Deletraz in the nr 15 Lister Storm
Lap 50 Deletraz attacks but Seiler resists
Lap 52 The nr 15 overtakes the nr 2 for second place
Lap 53 Porsche nr 61 to the pits, left tyres, fuel and driver to Sugden
 GT : 23 – 15 – 2 – 22 – 21 –14 – 6 –7
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 89 – 88 – 61 – 51
Lap 54 Ferrari nr 89 to the pits, pushed into the garage
Lap 57 Saleen nr 2 to the pits; fuel, tyres and driver to Konrad
 Lister nr 14 to the pits, fuel tyres and driver to Campbell-Walter
Lap 58 Ferrari nr 22 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Gollin
 Ferrari nr 58 stopped on the side of the track
 Ferrari nr 89 rejoins the race, electrical problem
Lap 60 Lister nr 15 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Piccini
 Race leader nr 23 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Bobbi
 Lister nr 6 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Verdon-Roe
 Porsche 99 to the pits, fuel and rear tyres only
 Ferrari nr 21 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Livio
 Porsche nr 69 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Christian Ried
Lap 61 GT : 23 – 15 – 22 – 14 – 21 – 18
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 88 - 51
 Ferrari nr 16 to the pits – problem starting
 Viper nr 11 to the pits, fuel tyres and driver to Wallinder
Lap 63 Viper nr 18 off the side of the track
Lap 67 Ferrari nr 52, 2nd in N-GT, to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Bertolini
Lap 68 Bobbi in the nr 23 Ferrari has a lead of 50 seconds over Piccini, who has pulled out his lead over Gollin to 2.8 seconds.  Campbell-Walter is in 4th place, 22 seconds behind Gollin, and is currently lapping faster, with 40 minutes of the race remaining. Saleen nr 2 to the pits, fuel only.  It rejoins, but appears to be going slowly on the track
Lap 70 Saleen nr 2 to the pits again – rear cover removed- electrical problems - rejoins

Lap 70 GT : 23 – 15 – 22 – 14 – 21 – 6
 N-GT : 50 – 88- 52 – 51 – 61 – 57
Lap 73 Campbell-Walter is closing gradually on the nr 22 for third place, and is now 15 seconds behind
 Porsche nr 51 to the pits
 Car nr 16 receives 10 seconds stop and go penalty due to the engine not being started by the driver
Lap 74 Porsche 74 to the pits
 Ferrari nr 16 to the pits – cooling problem
Lap 76 Porsche nr 99 going slowly  - to the pits – retires with transmission problems
Lap 77 The nr 14 Lister is now 9.99 seconds behind the nr 22 Ferrari, with 16 minutes remaining, with Campbell-Walter approximately a second a lap faster than Gollin
 GT : 23 – 15 – 22 – 14 – 21- 6 – 7
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 88 – 61 – 57 – 51
Lap 80 N-GT leader Porsche nr 50 to the pits – splash and dash
Lap 81 Gollin is now only 1.9 seconds from Piccini, with Campbell-Walter 6.5 seconds behind Gollin
Lap 82 Ferrari nr 89 to the pits, splash and dash
 GT : 23 – 15 – 22 – 14 – 21 – 6 – 7
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 88 – 61 – 57
Lap 83 Piccini goes wide ; Gollin closes up.
 Campbell-Walter is over a second faster than the other cars in the front pack, lapping with consistent 2:01 laps instead of 2:03.  He is now 4 seconds from the Gollin
Lap 84 Piccini, Gollin and Campbell-Walter are within 6 seconds of each  other, with less than three minutes remaining.
Lap 86 GT : 23 – 15 – 22 – 14 – 21 – 6 – 7 - 8
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 88 – 61 – 57 – 51 – 75 – 74
Lap 87 Chequered Flag
 Fourth win for Bobbi and Biagi in the nr 23 BMS Ferrari
 Piccini takes second place in the nr 15 Lister , 0.129 seconds ahead of Gollin in the nr 22 Ferrari, with Campbell-Walter a further 3.6 seconds behind for fourth
 In N-GT, Lieb and Ortelli repeat their 2002 win in the nr 50 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche, ahead of the nr 52 JMB Racing and the nr 88 TMC Ferrari of Davies and Mullen
 GT : 23 – 15 – 22 – 14 – 21 – 6- 7 – 8
 N-GT : 50 – 52 – 88 – 61 – 57 – 51 – 75 – 74

Tomas Biagi – nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia : “The team did a great job today, with excellent pit stops.  I think my career experience helped me a lot today, as I saw the oil and shifted down, and I was able to stay on the track.  We had excellent tyres from Michelin today, which were very consistent.  We took care of the car, as it was not easy with 100 kg.  We were not fast over a single lap, but we were very consistent.  We are leading the Championship, but I am looking at this race by race, as there is still a long way to go and many races, especially the 24 Hours of Spa.  But this is a nice moment, and I am enjoying it, as tomorrow I will start working hard again for the next race !”

Marco Streparava – Team Manager BMS Scuderia Italia : “We are slightly surprised with our result, as we are not as fast as the Saleen or the Lister, but we have worked hard for this, and we had an absolutely fantastic pit stop which allowed the nr 23 to gain two positions.  That is  team work !  We have to thank Michelin for their support, as this seemed to be a Dunlop race.  We have worked hard to lead the Championship, and it is fantastic.”

Fabrizio Gollin – nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello – 3rd in GT : “It was a very exciting end to the race, just like last year.  And just like last year, I finished in third position.  But I am happy with the result, and we were lucky because the Lister was very fast here.  I worked a lot this weekend for the rest of the season. We tried a lot of things to make the car faster for the future, because we know that the competition is also very fast.”

Andrea Bertolini – nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena – 2nd in N-GT : “This race was good for the Championship.  My first stint was very good, and I had a very clean fight with Stephane.  However, I had a problem with the first set of tyres, but it was fine after we changed.  Fabrizio had a good stint, and then my final stint was very quick. With the new points, it is very important to score at each race.  The N-GT category is very, very close, and I think Spa is going to be extremely interesting.”

Tim Mullen – nr 88 Team Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 360 Modena – 3rd in N-GT : “We had big problems during free practice and qualifying, so this is a very good result for the Championship.  The circuit was quite similar to Barcelona in the way that the car handled, and we had no grip.  We have a lot of work to do, but now we have the time to do it before the next race in Donington.”   The nr 89 car had a linkage problem in the gearbox, which lost them a lot of time.  “The team did a good job to put it back together, but it has been another difficult weekend,” Darren Turner explained.

Tomas Enge – nr 57 MENX Ferrari 550 Maranello  - 5th in N-GT: “I am very happy to see the chequered flag again after two non-finishes !  We had some oversteer today, but apart from that the car was fine.  I pushed quite hard, but although we had tried for a one-stop strategy, the situation was quite marginal, so we decided to do a splash-and-dash and play it safe.  I have to thank our many fans for their support today !  It’s our best result so far, so it’s very good for the team on home ground, considering the pressure.  We’ll carry on working hard and see what happens next race.”