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21.09.2003 A GOOD DAY FOR FERRARI AS THE ITALIAN MARQUE CLINCHES VICTORIES IN GT AND N-GT

The 25,000 spectators in the grandstands of the Motopark Oschersleben were treated to an action-packed race round the tight, winding circuit, in unseasonably hot conditions. With overtaking difficult, partly due to the circuit and partly due to the narrow speed differences between the GT and N-GT cars, the race was extremely close, with some fine battles. Unfortunately, the final race result came not on the track but in the Stewards’ room, and BMS Scuderia Italia inherited the overall win after the exclusion of the Lister Storm. Creation Autosportif took their first podium, ahead of the Care Racing Ferrari. In N-GT, a Ferrari one-two-three proved the pre-race predictions about this circuit, with JMB Racing taking a well-deserved second win of the season, ahead of the two Team Maranello Concessionaires cars.

BIAGI AND BOBBI MOVE CLOSER TO THE TITLE

Italian drivers Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi moved a step closer towards the 2003 FIA GT Championship today when they took their sixth win of the season in Oschersleben. Although they finished the race in second place, crossing the line 23 seconds behind the nr 14 Lister Storm, the Storm was later excluded from the results for causing an avoidable accident. The car, which had collided with the nr 4 Force One Chrysler Viper, was deemed to have put at serious risk the people working on the pit wall and the officials, when it hit the car on the straight line. The Viper hit the pit wall with force, bringing out the safety car. The driver, Philippe Alliot, emerged unscathed. The team, Lister Racing, has appealed the decision and the results therefore remain pending.

Appeal pending, in the Teams Classification, BMS Scuderia Italia now has a lead of 40 points over nearest rivals Lister Racing, which forms an unassailable lead in the Teams Championship with two rounds remaining.

As for Bobbi and Biagi, the two drivers, in their first season of GT racing, are now 11 points clear of their nearest rivals, Lilian Bryner and Enzo Calderari, who drive the nr 21 Ferrari 550 Maranello, entered under the Care Racing name but run by the same team. Bryner and Calderari, with Stefano Livio, finished in third place today in the amended results, and were delighted with the unexpected podium, especially after losing time in the pits when their engine would not start. Gollin and Cappellari, who failed to score today after retiring with clutch problems, are now 17 points behind, with only 20 points available. Andrea Piccini, the only non-Ferrari driver in the title chase before this round, is now out of contention, his Lister Storm retiring mid race with a broken radiator. “The team did really good work setting up the car for the race; it was fantastic,” Bobbi said afterwards. Both Biagi and I would like to dedicate this victor to our chief engineer Marco Gadola, who lost his father two days ago and who could not be with us here today.”

SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON FOR JMB RACING’S BERTOLINI AND DE SIMONE

Andrea Bertolini and Fabrizio De Simone led the second all-Ferrari N-GT podium today, in their nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena. Starting from pole, the two Italians dominated the race, only losing the lead due to differing pit stop strategies. They finished 12 seconds ahead of the fast-closing Team Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 360 Modena cars, with the 88 car of Jamie Davies and Darren Turner ahead of the 89 car of Kelvin Burt and Tim Mullen. The 61 EMKA Porsche, victorious in Sweden, ran an ambitious one-stop strategy and was forced to fall back from second to fourth in the closing stages of the race.

“We are very happy with this win,” Bertolini said. “The car was very fast today, we have worked hard all weekend, and this is especially thanks to the Pirelli tyres, which were excellent today.”

In the points, Ortelli and Lieb, who finished in fifth place today, are now 12.5 points ahead of Jamie Davies and fifteen points ahead of Fabrizio De Simone, with two races remaining. As far as the teams are concerned, 17 points separate Freisinger Motorsport from Team Maranello Concessionaires. Although the German team has a good lead, with 36 remaining in play, the title fight will continue on to the next round in Estoril, Portugal.

FIRST PODIUM FOR CREATION AUTOSPORTIF

For the first time in the history of the FIA GT Championship, a Lister Storm finished on the podium that was not run by Lister Racing. Creation Autosportif’s nr 6 car, driven by Bobby Verdon Roe and Marco Zadra, ran a sensible race, starting as frequently for them well down in qualifying, but keeping out of trouble and making steady progress. They crossed the line in third place, moving up to second. This was 2001 FIA Sportscar Champion Zadra’s first podium since he won his title two years ago, while Verdon Roe was delighted to have made such progress with the car before heading for his home round in Estoril.

TWO ON THE PODIUM FOR TMC

British Team Maranello Concessionaires, which started off the season in fine fashion with two cars on the podium in Barcelona and a win in Magny-Cours, has not had such an easy time since. However, today the team had its highest-scoring result since the first round, with the cars taking second and third place after a steady race, always running in the top of the N-GT class. Davies and Turner were classified 6th overall, with Burt and Mullen 7th, just two laps behind the overall GT winner.

THE GT RACE

Mike Hezemans, in the nr 5 Force One Viper, made the best start and got ahead of the pole-position holder Konrad Saleen, with the nr 7 Graham Nash Saleen in third place. Campbell-Walter made a good start in the nr 14 Storm, moving up to fourth. The Konrad Saleen was faster than the Viper, but could not get past, and Hezemans withstood the pressure for six laps, before Walter Lechner Jr got ahead at the Shell Esses and took the lead. He then began to pull away. Behind him, the nr 5 Viper, the nr 7 Saleen and the nr 14 Lister were involved in a frantic battle for second place, while a similar fight took place for 5th between the nr 4 Viper, the nr 15 Lister and the nr 23 Ferrari.

On lap 19, Campbell-Walter overtook Erdos for third place, and began to chase Hezemans. By the time the first pit stops took place, Lechner Jr had built up an impressive lead of over 30 seconds. This was reduced to 18 after the pit stop to hand over to Toni Seiler, who soon found himself under pressure from a charging Nathan Kinch in the nr 14 Lister, with Kumpen in the nr 5 Viper close behind in third. On lap 64, the Saleen slowed, with a problem with the front left wheel, and Kumpen overtook Kinch and took the lead. However, the Force One Viper, which had already lasted longer than in any other race this season, ran into reliability problems again, giving the Lister the lead. Although Kinch had a spin, he continued with no problems and handed over to Campbell-Walter, who was now followed distantly by the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello, with the nr 4 Force One Viper nearly a minute behind the BMS car, with only these three cars on the same lap. On lap 101, the Lister Storm was coming up to lap the nr 4 Force One Viper when the two cars collided, the Viper going into the pit wall. The safety car was brought out for the track to be cleared, closing the field up. However, Campbell-Walter pulled away from the nr 23 Ferrari and took the line with a lead of 23 seconds, with the nr 6 Creation Autosportif Lister in third place.

However, the Steward’s enquiry into the accident excluded the winning Lister Storm from the results. A separate enquiry excluded the nr 2 Konrad Saleen, which was originally classified in sixth place, for dangerous driving during the safety car procedure. This rearranged the finishing cars, with the nr 23 BMS Ferrari taking the win, ahead of the Creation Autosportif Lister and the Care Racing Ferrari. The nr 7 Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen was fourth, with the nr 18 Zwaan’s Racing Chrysler Viper fifth and the second GNM Saleen sixth.

The Wieth Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello took a well-deserved two points for seventh, with the nr 10 JMB Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello taking its first point of the season, Christian Pescatori getting on the scoreboard at long last. The car had been running a competitive 5th for much of the race, before stopping with a suspension failure. The nr 9 car, fast throughout the weekend, failed to start the race after an engine problem in the warm-up.

THE N-GT RACE STORY

Bertolini, in the nr 52 JMB Racing Chrysler Viper, made a good start and by lap three, there were three GT cars between his Ferrari and the nr 50 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS, in third place. The nr 57 MENX Ferrari 360 Modena incurred damage in a collision before the first corner, and had to pit for new tyres, effectively putting the car out of contention. By lap 9, Ortelli was only 4 seconds behind Bertolini, followed by Darren Turner in the nr 88 TMC car. The situation remained remarkably stable for the next thirty laps, until the leader came into the pits for a first stop. The nr 88 TMC Ferrari got ahead of the Freisinger Porsche and took the class lead.

By lap 50, the three leading N-GT cars, the nr 88 TMC; the nr 61 EMKA Porsche and the nr 89 TMC Ferrari, were yet to stop, while the nr 52 car was fourth. When the cars finally pitted, De Simone took the lead again in the JMB car, followed by the nr 50 Freisinger and the nr 88 TMC Ferrari. The final pit stops for the 52 and 50 put the nr 88 back in the lead, but Bertolini retook the advantage on lap 93, while Ortelli, who went wide on his first lap out of the pits, dropped back to 5th. By lap 110, after the safety car, the nr 61 EMKA car was running second in N-GT, but over the last laps it dropped back to fourth, overtaken by both TMC Ferraris for an all-Ferrari podium for the second time this year, and an identical result to Barcelona.

The nr 61 EMKA finished fourth, after an extremely rapid engine change between the warm-up and the start, and Freisinger fifth. The nr 74 Eurotech finished in a good sixth position on the return of Jordan and Sumpter to the Championship, with the team reaching their objective of getting both cars to the finish line. The nr 99 RWS Yukos Porsche of Daoudi and Wolff was seventh, dropping a place on the last lap, with the nr 51 Freisinger Porsche of Longin and Daoudi taking the final point for eighth.

LAP-BY-LAP

Race Start : 11:20, Total distance : 137 laps = 502.38 km or 3 hours
Starting Grid : 2 - 5 - 7 - 4 - 15 - 14 - 23 - 22 - 6 - 10 - 21 - 11 - 19 - 8 - 18 - 52 - 88 - 50 - 89 - 16 - 61 - 57 - 51 - 74 - 99 - 86 - 77 - 69 - 53 - 75 - 85

JMB Racing nr 9 will not start the race due to engine failure, Porsche nr 85 will not start the race following engine problems, Porsche nr 61 - engine change after warm-up, car to start normally

Weather : sunny and hot, track dry

Start - Viper madikes a better start, and Hezemans leads into the first corner ahead of the two Saleen S7-R cars. Campbell-Walter makes a good start, moving up to 4th, while Piccini goes wide at the start and drops back.
Lap 1 GT : 5 - 2 - 7 -14 - 4 -1 5 - 23 -19 - 22 - 8
N-GT : 52 - 88 - 89 - 50
Lap 3 At the start of lap 3,. Walter Lechner Jr is attacking Hezemans for the lead. Hezemans withstands the pressure. Bertolini is 13th in the lead of N-GT, with 3 GT cars between his nr 52 JMB Ferrari and the nr 50 Freisinger Porsche in 2nd place.
Lap 3 Ferrari nr 57 to the pits, changes rear right tyres after incurring damage before the first corner of the race, at the right back corner.
Viper nr 11 to the pits, the front left wheel arch bodywork is damaged, team tries to repair
The top 3 are very close, with the nr 5 0.198 ahead of the nr 2, and the nr 7 0.5 behind him
Lap 4 Hezemans has pulled away by a couple of tenths
Jamie Campbell-Walter sets best lap time so far, 1:26.119, in the nr 14 Lister
Lap 5 GT : 5 - 2 - 7 - 14 - 4 -15 - 23 -22 - 8 - 6
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 99
Lap 6 The battle continues between the nr 5 Viper and the nr 2 Saleen, only 0.2 behind.
Lap 7 The nr 2 Konrad Saleen takes the lead at the Shell Esses; the nr 7 GNM tries to overtake the Force One Viper as well.
GT : 2 - 5 -7 - 14 - 4 - 15 -23
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
The top four cars are within 1.5 seconds of each other.
Lap 8 Walter Lechner Jr begins to pull away; he now has a lead of 3 seconds, having set the fastest lap of the race so far : 1: 25.051
Lap 9 Erdos is attacking Hezemans for second place
Ortelli in the nr 50 Porsche is 4 seconds behind the leading JMB Ferrari
As the Konrad Saleen pulls away, there is a huge fight for second place, with only 0.6 seconds separating the nr 5 Viper, the nr 7 Saleen and the nr 14 Lister, all nose to tail round the corners
Lap 10 GT : 2 - 5 - 7 - 14 - 4 -1 5 - 23 -22 - 6 - 8 - 10
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Lap 11 Another close fight for 5th place between the nr 4 Viper, the nr 15 Lister and the nr 23 Ferrari, with both Piccini and Biagi setting their best times of the race so far.
Lap 12 Campbell-Walter drops back slightly after getting caught up in the N-GT traffic
Lap 13 The nr 2 now has a lead of 8.6 seconds, with Erdos 0.3 seconds behind the nr 5 Viper. The Championship leader is down in 7th place.
Lap 15 GT : 2 - 5 - 7 - 14 - 4 - 15 - 23 -22
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Campbell-Walter has closed back up to the within 0.8 of Erdos in the nr 7 Saleen
Lap 16 Saleen nr 8 to the pits, checks and rejoins
Lechner Jr is over a second faster than all the other drivers, the only to lap in the 1:26 bracket
Lap 18 Erdos is challenging Hezemans for second again, with Campbell-Walter only 0.6 behind the Saleen.
In N-GT, Bertolini has a lead of 4.7 seconds over Ortelli
Lap 19 Porsche nr 69 to the pits, 4 tyres changed, plus fixing front bumper
Cars 5, 7 and 14 are nose to tail again, within 0.6 seconds
Campbell-Walter overtakes Erdos for third place and begins to chase Hezemans
Lap 20 GT : 2 - 5 - 14 - 7 - 4 - 15 - 23 - 22 - 6 - 10
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74 - 99
Lap 22 Campbell-Walter is faster than Hezemans at the moment
The leading Konrad is 14.3 ahead
Lap 23 Battle between the nr 5 and nr 14; Erdos drops back slightly
Debris on the track at the start/finish line, and the nr 14 Lister runs over it
Lap 25 GT : 2 - 5 - 14 - 7 - 4 - 15 - 23 - 22
N-GT : 52 - -50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Lap 26 Lechner Jr now has a huge lead of 23 seconds
Lap 27 Piccini, in the nr 15 Lister, is fighting with Alliot in the nr 4 Viper for fifth place; 0.3 separates them
Lap 30 GT : 2 - 5 - 14 - 7 - 4 - 15 - 23 - 22 - 6 -10
N-GT : 52 -50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Lap 32 Saleen nr 8 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Chaves
Lap 34 The nr 57 MENX Ferrari is off in the gravel
Lap 36 GT : 2 - 5 - 14 - 7 - 4 - 15 - 23 - 22 - 6
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Ferrari nr 16 to the pits, fuel tyres and driver
Ferrari nr 53, fuel, tyres and driver to Gosse
Lap 38 Ferrari nr 23 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Bobbi
Lap 40 2nd placed Viper nr 5 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Kumpen. The car has done its first pit stop of the year.
Viper nr 18 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Abbelen
Porsche nr 74 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Sumpter
Ferrari nr 10 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Pescatori
Ferrari nr 21 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Livio
Lap 42 Ferrari nr 52 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to De Simone
Viper nr 4 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Hallyday
Ferrari nr 22 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Cappellari
GT : 2- 14 - 7 - 4 - 15 - 22 - 5 - 6
N-GT : 88 - 50 - 52 - 61 - 89 - 51
Porsche nr 77 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Fomenko
Lap 43 Viper nr 11 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Roos
Lister nr 6 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Zadra
Porsche nr 75 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to David Jones
Lap 44 Lister nr 14 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Kinch
Lechner Jr still leads by 46 seconds over the nr 7 Saleen
Saleen nr 7 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Newton
Lap 45 Race leader nr 2 Saleen to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Seiler; car swerves slightly on exit
Porsche nr 86 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Felbermayr Jr.
Lister nr 15 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Sterckx
Lister nr 19 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Knapfield
Lap 46 Porsche nr 50 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Lieb
GT : 2- 14 - 5 - 23 - 22 - 7 - 15
N-GT : 88 - 61 - 89 - 50 - 52 - 51 - 99
The gap between the nr 2 and the nr 14 is now down to 18 seconds, due to pit work. Kumpen is 9 seconds behind Kinch
Lap 47 Kinch has a slow lap
Ferrari nr 53 off the track, smoke pouring from the back. Fire extinguished by marshals
Lap 50 GT : 2 - 14 - 5- 23 - 22 - 15 - 7 - 4 - 6
N-GT : 88 - 61 - 89 - 52 - 50 - 51 - 99
The leading N-GT cars are those who have not yet made their pit stops. The nr 52, in fourth, is the first that has pitted. The nr 88 is now in 10th place overall.
Lap 52 Smoke coming from the back of the nr 11 Henrik Roos Viper
Lister nr 19, which had gone off in the Hotel corner, is being towed to a safe position
Lap 53 Kinch is speeding up and closing on the nr 2
Lap 54 Porsche nr 61 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Sugden, 2nd in N-GT
Lap 56 GT : 2 - 14 - 5 -23 - 22 - 15 - 4
N-GT : 88 - 89 - 52 - 50 - 61 - 51 - 99
Lap 58 Nathan Kinch, in the nr 14 Lister, is now just 11 seconds behind the nr 2 Konrad Saleen
Turner still leads in N-GT, in 12th place
Lap 60 The Saleen's lead is diminishing, with Kinch catching Seiler, now 8.7 behind
Porsche nr 69 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Gerold Ried
Lap 61 Kumpen, in the nr 5 Viper, is now only 0.5 behind Kinch, in a fine battle for second place.
Lap 62 Ferrari nr 57 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Pergl
Porsche nr 99 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Wolff
Lap 63 N-GT leader Ferrari nr 88 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Mullen
Lap 64 Seiler is slowing on the track, with a problem on the front left wheel; Kumpen passes Kinch and the Saleen and takes the lead
Lap 65 Saleen nr 2 to the pits, problem with wheel nut , fuel and 4 tyres
Lap 66 GT : 5 - 14 - 23 - 2 - 22 - 15 - 4 - 6 - 21
N-GT : 52 -
Lister nr 15 to the pits, bonnet off, problem with fluid pouring underneath
Porsche nr 51 to the pits, fuel,tyres and driver to Gardel
Lap 69 The nr 5 Viper, goes wide and then goes slow on the track, smoke from the back. Kinch takes the lead in the nr 14 Lister
Saleen nr 8 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Ramos
Lap 70 Viper nr 5 to the pits, possible brake problem / clutch, fuel, tyres, driver to Hezemans
Lap 72 GT : 14 - 23 - 4 - 22 - 6 -
Viper nr 5 comes out and stops at the end of the pit lane, gets going again
Lap 73 The nr 14 Lister is shedding gravel and has possibly been off the track
Porsche nr 77 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Vasiliev
Ferrari nr 22 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Gollin
Lister nr 15 pushed into the garage due to a radiator leak
Lap 75 Ferrari nr 57 goes off
Porsche nr 69 spins and continues
Viper nr 5 pushed into the garage
Saleen nr 2 to the pits, fuel, front tyres only and driver to Konrad
Lap 76 GT : 14 - 23 - 4 - 6 - 10 - 21 - 7 - 18
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Lister nr 6 goes wide over the grass
Lister nr 14 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Campbell-Walter; Bobbi takes the lead
Stop and Go penalty of 10 seconds for car nr 69 for speeding in the pit lane
Lap 77 Saleen nr 7 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Erdos
Lister nr 6 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Verdon-Roe
Ferrari nr 22 to the pits - clutch problem
Porsche nr 86 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to von Gartzen
Lap 78 Ten second stop and go penalty to Porsche nr 51; car pushed instead of engine started by the driver
Viper nr 11 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Wallinder; purging the breaks
Lap 80 GT : 23 - 4 - 14 - 10 - 21 - 6 - 18
N-GT : 52 - 50 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 74
Viper nr 4 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Alliot
Lap 81 Porsche nr 51 to the pits for its stop and go
Ferrari nr 23 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Biagi
Viper nr 18 to the pits
Ferrari nr 22 retires from the race
Ferrari nr 10 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Derichebourg
Lap 82 Campbell-Walter retakes the lead
Ferrari nr 21 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Calderari - problems
Porsche nr 75 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Godfrey Jones
Ferrari nr 52 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Bertolini
Lap 83 Porsche nr 50 to the pits, front tyres and driver to Ortelli
Porsche nr 74 to the pits, fuel, tyres and driver to Jordan
Lap 84 The nr 14 Lister has a lead of 24 seconds over the nr 23 Ferrari
Lap 85 Stephane Ortelli goes off the track on his first lap in the car; rejoins. (5th in class)
Lap 88 GT : 14 - 23 - 4 - 6- 10 - 21 - 7 - 2
N-GT : 88 - 52 - 61 - 89 - 50 - 99
Lap 89 The gap between leader Campbell-Walter and second placed Biagi is now 25 seconds; Alliot in the nr 4 Viper is a further 58 seconds behind, the only three on the lead lap.
Lap 92 Jamie is the fastest driver on the track at the moment; the nr 6 Creation car is in an excellent 4th place, while the nr 10 JMB Racing is an excellent 5th, which must be its best place in race this year.
Lap 93 Bertolini in the nr 52 JMB Racing overtakes Davies in the nr 88 TMC Ferrari for the N-GT lead. Sugden is 3rd in the leading Porsche
Lap 94 Alliot is lapping consistently around 1:27, and closing the gap to Biagi
Lap 96 Three of the top four cars in N-GT are yet to make a second pit stop (88, 61, 89)
The nr 14 Lister leads by 32 seconds over the nr 23 Ferrari, with the nr 4 Viper third.
Bertolini leads N-GT over the nr 88 TMC Ferrari
Lap 98 GT : 14 - 23 - 4 -6 - 10 - 21 - 7 - 2
N-GT : 52 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 50 - 99 - 74 - 51
Lap 100 Campbell-Walter coming up to lap the nr 4 Viper
Lap 101 Contact between the Lister and the nr 4 Viper when lapping down the pit lane straight. The Viper veers to one side, crashes in the barriers, jumps back and lands hard, spinning across the track, with the front in flames. Alliot out OK. The Lister continues
Lap 102 Porsche nr 69 to the pits
Lap 103 Safety car, due to the nr 4 Viper and significant amounts of debris on the track
Viper nr 11 to the pits
Lap 105 Saleen nr 2 to the pits, fuel, tyres and rejoins
Saleen nr 7 to the pits
GT : 14 - 23 - 6 - 10 - 21 - 7 - 2 - 18
N-GT : 52 - 88 - 61 - 89 - 50 - 99 - 74
Viper nr 11 to the pits
Lap 108 Safety car returns to the pits; racing resumes. Biagi in the nr 23 car is now just 5.9 seconds behind the nr 14 Lister.
Drivers from cars nr 14 and nr 4 are under enquiry.
Lap 110 Campbell-Walter is pulling away, and now is 9 seconds ahead of the nr 23 Ferrari
Tim Sugden in the nr 61 moves ahead up to 2nd in N-GT
Viper nr 11 to the pits & retires
Lap 112 GT : 14 - 23 - 6 - 10 - 21 - 7 - 2
N-GT : 52 - 61 - 88 - 89 - 50 - 99 - 74 - 51
Lap 113 Problem for the nr 10 JMB Racing, with a front left wheel jammed - car to the pit lane
Lap 117 Sugden has dropped back to fourth in N-GT during the last laps
Lap 119 Chequered Flag
GT : 14 - 23 - 6 - 21 - 7 - 2 - 18 - 8
N-GT : 52 - 88 - 89 - 61 - 50 - 74 - 99 - 51
The N-GT result is exactly the same as during the first round of the season at Barcelona, although the TMC driver line-ups have changed
First podium for Creation Autosportif.
After the race, the nr 14 Lister was excluded from the results for causing an avoidable accident, putting life in danger. The nr 2 Saleen was excluded for dangerous driving during the safety car period.
This gives the GT results as : GT : 23 - 6 - 21 - 7 - 8 - 16 - 10

DRIVER QUOTES

Thomas Bobbi : nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello - 1st, GT: "The team did really good work yesterday to set up the car for the race. With the restrictors we have, it was sometimes difficult to even overtake the N-GT cars, as we have no power at the top. It is going to be more of a problem in Estoril and Monza. But we are very pleased to win and to extend our points lead. But both Matteo Bobbi and myself would like to dedicate this win to Marco Gadola, who is not here this weekend due to the death of his father. We would like to thank him for all his hard work. We did our best for him."

Marco Streparava, BMS Scuderia Italia :"We built this good result the same way as all the others this season, with good team-work and good, consistent drivers. The nr 22 car had clutch problems, and so could not finish, but it was a great result for the nr 21 car. They all did a fantastic job."

Lilian Bryner, nr 21 Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello - 3rd, GT: "The car went well, but it was a difficult race, and very hot. We had a problem in our second pit stop, when the car wouldn't start, but other than that is was OK and we were very pleased to finish on the podium."

Stefano Livio, nr 21 Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello - 3rd, GT: "After three months without racing, it was very nice to come back and to finish third. The car was good today, and I am very pleased."

Enzo Calderari, nr 21 Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello - 3rd, GT: "We will continue to fight to see if we can win the Championship. Bobbi and Biagi have a good lead, but we are not far behind. There are no team orders, and I think we will have some good races."

Philipp Peter - nr 9 JMB Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello - DNS : "We had a brand-new engine for the warm-up this morning, but it broke and we couldn't even race. The nr 10 car had a broken suspension pin. Our career with the 550 finished like it started, but we can now turn a page and we are all looking towards the future."

Andrea Bertolini - nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena - Winner, N-GT : " It was a very good race. In the second stint, Fabrizio was very quick; it was an unbelievable stint. It is very hard, because the N-GT class is very close, all the drivers are fantastic. I think I have to give special thanks to the Pirelli tyres. In Anderstorp they were very quick and consistent for the race, and for Oschersleben it was the same. They have done very good work. This is only our second win, as the throttle broke in Anderstorp. Four or five cars could have won every one of our races. But I think this is a special day for us and for Ferrari, to have all our cars on the podium"

Fabrizio De Simone - nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena - Winner, N-GT : "It seems that all the Ferrari cars were in good condition here. We had a really good step up with the tyres, all the work everyone in Ferrari, Pirelli and the team has done has all been in the right direction and it was really good out there. It was difficult today with traffic, and cars going off and bringing dirt onto the track, so we just paid attention and built up the times."