06.09.2003  BIAGI & BOBBI THIRD ON GRID AT ANDERSTORP AS FLYING SALEEN'S CLAIM FRONT ROW

GT

Austrian driver Walter Lechner Jr took his first pole position in the FIA GT Championship in Sweden today, with an electrifying lap of 1:28.899 round the 4.025 km circuit.  After starting the season in the N-GT category with RWS Yukos, Lechner moved to Konrad Motorsport for the previous round in Spa-Francorchamps, when he set the second-fastest qualifying time round the Belgian track.  Despite not spending much time in the car this weekend, he was the only driver to go beneath the 1:29 barrier, and was 0.858 seconds faster than the second car, also a Saleen.  "I still don't know the limit of the car, and the tyres were not up to temperature, so I could have been two or three tenths faster," Walter said.  "But the car is working well, and I am very happy with my first GT pole."  This is the third pole position for Konrad Motorsport, Jean-Marc Gounon having claimed the front of the grid for the team in Pergusa and Brno.

It will be a Saleen front row on the grid for tomorrow's race, with the nr 7 Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R of Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton qualifying second with a time of 1:29.757.  Behind the two Saleen cars, the next 10 GT cars set qualifying times within one second, promising an extremely close and interesting three-hour race tomorrow.  The Championship-leading BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello of Biagi and Bobbi was third fastest, followed by the two Lister Racing Storms.

N-GT

Emmanuel Collard set the fastest time in the N-GT category in Anderstorp today, and will start from 18th position on the grid tomorrow, in the nr 61 EMKA Racing Porsche 996 GT3-RS.  The Frenchman, who won the race here last year in the Freisinger Motorsport Porsche, set a time of 1:33.083 in the morning session.  "Last year was very different as it was raining hard.  But the car is going well, we have a good set-up for the race, and my team-mate Tim Sugden is very quick, so I am confident for tomorrow.  I think the outcome will depend on making no mistakes and having a good pit-stop."  Collard was eight tenths of a second ahead of the rest of the field in the morning, but Andrea Bertolini, in the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena, closed to within a tenth of the nr 61's time in the afternoon session, overtaking the nr 50 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS of Ortelli and Lieb.  The two Team Maranello Concessionaires cars were fourth and fifth fastest.

FIRST QUALIFYING SESSION

Qualifying for the seventh round of the FIA GT Championship got off to a rapid start in Anderstorp, with Walter Lechner Jr repeating his free practice feat and setting a lap time of 1:28.899, on just his second lap.  No-one else was able to come near to the time set by the yellow Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7-R, with its nearest rival being the Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R.  Tommy Erdos set a time of 1:29.757 towards the very end of the session, 0.858 seconds behind the Konrad car. 

Matteo Bobbi was extremely pleased with third place on the provisional grid, for the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello.  "My main aim is the Championship, and as I am in front of my main rivals Fabrizio Gollin and Andrea Piccini, I am happy," the Italian said.  The two Lister Racing Storms were fourth and fifth, with Andrea Piccini setting a time of 1:30.065, less than a tenth of a second ahead of his team-mate Jamie Campbell-Walter. 

There was a similar situation in the N-GT category, with the nr 61 EMKA Porsche of Tim Sugden and Emmanuel Collard setting a time of 1:33.083, nearly eight tenths faster than the second-fastest car, the nr 50 Freisinger Motorsport car of Stéphane Ortelli and Marc Lieb.   The two Porsches led a group of four Ferrari 360 Modena cars, the fastest of which was the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari, driven in qualifying by Andrea Bertolini.  The two Team Maranello Concessionaires cars were fourth and fifth overall, ahead of the MENX Ferrari of Pergl and Janis.  The nr 51 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS failed to set a time, due to problems with the new engine installed overnight, which the team will replace in time for the afternoon session. 

SECOND QUALIFYING SESSION

With temperatures relatively high, and the sun shining brightly, it was not expected that many drivers would improve on their morning times during the second 45-minute qualifying session at Anderstorp.  However, in the early part of the session, Jamie Campbell-Walter set a lap of 1:30.067, improving on his morning time by nearly a tenth of a second. However, just two thousandths of a second slower than the best time set by his team-mate Andrea Piccini, the nr 14 Lister Storm remained in 5th position for tomorrow's grid.  "Still, it's better than starting from the back, like in Spa," Campbell-Walter said. 

Jamie's time remained the fastest in the session. Another car to improve its time was the nr 19 Creation Autosportif Lister Storm of Jean-Marc Gounon and Paul Knapfield, which has been suffering from engine problems, but had a better run, setting the 7th best time in the second qualifying, but remaining 13th on tomorrow's starting grid. 

However, the most significant improvement came from the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena, with Italian driver Andrea Bertolini setting a lap of 1:33.199 to close in on the nr 61 EMKA Racing Porsche and take second place on the N-GT grid from the Freisinger Motorsport Porsche of Ortelli and Lieb.  The second Freisinger Motorsport Porsche, driven by Longin and Gardel, set a time of 1:35.399 after missing the first session, placing them 9th in N-GT.

Overall, the session saw the nr 9 JMB Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello of Peter and Babini set the second fastest time, with a lap of 1:30.856, with Andrea Piccini third in the nr 15 Lister Storm.  The nr 5 Force One Festina Chrysler Viper GTS-R of Hezemans and Kumpen was fourth, with Cappellari and Gollin, the heaviest car this weekend with 75 kg of ballast, fifth.

In N-GT, the nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena was fastest, ahead of the nr 88 TMC Ferrari of Jamie Davies and Darren Turner, with pole-sitters EMKA Racing third.