31.08.2003  BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA HIT BY SMALLER RESTRICTORS AS FIA GT SERIES MOVES ON TO ANDERSTORP

In the FIA GT Championship, Jean-Denis Deletraz and Andrea Piccini took their second win of the season in the BMS Scuderia Italia 550 Maranello, while Stephane Ortelli and Emmanuel Collard were victorious in N-GT in the Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS. This year, those same teams and cars are currently leading the Championship, with BMS Scuderia Italia having had a run of six wins in the GT class, while Freisinger Motorsport has won the past three races, including a historic overall win in the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. 

Since last year, a lot of changes have taken place at the Scandinavian Raceway. Although the layout itself remains unchanged, all the run-off areas have been cleared and refilled with 2000 cubic metres of the Leeca material for which Anderstorp is famous. Around 1500 metres of tyre barriers have been set up, and the pit area has been redesigned, with 22 nine by eight metre tents as substitutes for the permanent pit buildings which it was not possible to finish in time. 

FIA GT

After six rounds, BMS Scuderia Italia has yet to lose a race. After five wins for Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi, who still lead the GT class in the Drivers Classification, the nr 22 car, driven by Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari, Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari, won the GT class at Spa, finishing second behind the history-making Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS of Stephane Ortelli, Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas. This means that the Italian team leads Lister Racing by 41 points in the GT Teams Classification. In the GT Drivers classification, Bobbi and Biagi have 50 points; their nearest rivals are Bryner and Calderari, 11 points behind, with Gollin and Cappellari a further point adrift. The highest-placed non-Ferrari driver is Lister's Andrea Piccini, with 31 points. 

In N-GT, Ortelli and Lieb now lead the Drivers points with 48 points, 13 more than JMB Racing's Fabrizio De Simone, with Team Maranello Concessionaires' Jamie Davies on 33.5 points. In the Teams Classification, Freisinger Motorsport lead TMC by 20 points, with JMB Racing three points behind the British team. 

Handicap weights for Anderstorp include 75 kilos for the nr 22 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello, with 60 for the nr 23 and 30 for the nr 21 Care Racing Ferrari. Absent at Spa, the nr 8 GMN Saleen and the nr 10 JMB Racing Ferrari should carry 60 kg as a consequence. In N-GT, the nr 50 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche and the nr 57 MENX Ferrari will both carry 40 kg, with the nr 99 RWS Yukos Porsche on 45 kg, both the latter including 30 kg for missing Donington and Spa respectively. 

POINTS CORRECTION

An error in the 12-hour results at Spa saw the points for 7th and 8th place inversed, giving the nr 89 TMC car and drivers half a point extra and the nr 53 JMB Racing half a point too few. This does not make any significant changes in the classification, but the points have now been adjusted, and an updated version has been attached. 

SMALLER RESTRICTORS FOR BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA

Further to a decision from the Bureau of the GT Commission, the two BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello cars, which have won the GT category in all six rounds this year, will have smaller air restrictors from the next round in Anderstorp. Article 78 of the 2003 FIA GT Championship Sporting Regulations states that in order to maximise equality of performance, the Bureau reserves the right to adjust the minimum weight of the car, the air restrictor sizes or the fuel tank capacity. Having checked the performance of the nr 22 and 23 Ferrari Maranello, the Bureau has decided to reduce the size of the restrictors for these cars, from 32.1 to 31.6. 

BMS has a healthy lead in both points tables, with Matteo Bobbi and Thomas Biagi leading the GT Drivers by 11 points, while the team has a lead of 41 points in the Teams classification. "Although we have to change the restrictors, we will do everything possible to stay in front. We are still quite confident for Anderstorp and Oschersleben," team logistics manager Marco Streparava explained. "But our engine is not the most powerful, and we are worried about Monza, which is a fast track. We still need more data. Bobbi and Biagi are ready to fight, as are Cappellari and Gollin, we have a real in-house fight between the two line-ups. There are no team orders, and the fighting is very good natured; it is good for our team that we they can compete on the same level. I think the end of the season will be very difficult, with the races so close together. But the holidays have given everyone renewed energy and we are all keen to get back to the track." 

TEAM MARANELLO CONCESSIONAIRES TESTS AT ADRIA

British team TMC, currently second in the N-GT Teams Classification, has been busy since the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. As well as entering a round of the BRDC British GT Championship at Thruxton, the team proceded to the Italian Adria Raceway track for a test with the car's developer, Michelotto, to test a number of enhancements. "Spa seems a distant memory, although it was only four weeks ago. The team has continued with its development work, and it shows. The car feels better than ever," Kelvin Burt explained. 

The changes to the driver line-up inaugurated at Spa will continue for the rest of the season, with Jamie Davies and Darren Turner sharing the nr 88 Ferrari 360 Modena, while Kelvin Burt and Tim Mullen drive the nr 89 car. "We have continued to work on a number of new initiatives with Michelotto in Padova, and whilst our engineers were confident of progress on paper, we wanted to put this new-found knowledge into practice ahead of round seven in Sweden," Team Manager Rod Benoist explained. "The car's pace is better than ever, and we can leave for Anderstorp next week confident of producing the results we need in our fight for the Championship." 

PERGL AND JANIS FOR MENX

After finishing in an excellent third place in N-GT during the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa, Team MENX is heading for Anderstorp, where drivers Robert Pergl and Jarek Janis are hoping to fight for more Championship points in their Ferrari 360 Modena. 

"The whole team is looking forward to returning to racing," Pergl said. "Spa was a major boost for everyone. This will be another unfamiliar circuit for me, but I am getting quite used to learning them now. We definitely want to score more points." Janis is also looking foward to another outing in the Ferrari. "I have never raced in Sweden, and do not know the track, but I learned the car in Spa, so the change from Formula 3000 should not be a big problem. I have worked well with the team, and I am looking forward to another racing weekend." 

Team manager Ivo Horn agreed : "Anderstorp is new to us, so we will be trying to find a good set-up on Friday, and to get the necessary information on fuel consumption and tyre wear. The car was completely rebuilt after Spa, and we hope for the same level of reliability we enjoyed during the 24-hour race."