05.09.2003 THE BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA TEAM ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK ON TRACK AT ANDERSTORP
After the month-long break from racing, the Care Racing supported BMS Scuderia Italia team are looking forward to renewing their challenge for title honours in the FIA GT Championship. The 7th round of the series takes place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp, Sweden this coming weekend.
Despite torrential rain during part of the 2002 race, Jean-Denis Deletraz and Andrea Piccini took their second win of the season in the BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello. The team is looking to repeat this success, but faces a much bigger hurdle due to the imposition by the FIA of new, smaller restrictors for the remainder of the Championship.
Article 78 of the 2003 FIA GT Championship Sporting Regulations states that in order to maximise equality of performance, the Bureau of the GT Commission 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 Maranellos, which have won the GT category in all six rounds this year, the Bureau has decided to reduce the size of the restrictors for these cars, from 32.1mm to 31.6mm.
"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”, BMS 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 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."
After the mixing of driver line-ups for the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa, things return to normal for Anderstorp with car nr 23 being campaigned by Matteo Bobbi and Thomas Biagi; car nr 22 by Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari; and car nr 21, the Care Racing entry, featuring the experienced Enzo Calderari, Lilian Bryner and Stefano Livio.
After five wins, Biagi and Bobbi lead the GT class in the Drivers Classification with 50 points. Their nearest rivals are Bryner and Calderari, 11 points behind, with Gollin and Cappellari a further point adrift. In the GT Teams’ points standing, the Italian team lead Lister Racing by 41 points.
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