06.10.2003 SCUDERIA FERRARI OF WASHINGTON CRUISE TO THEIR SEVENTH WIN OF THE SEASON IN VIRGINIA

Scuderia Ferrari of Washington drivers Brent Martini and Cort Wagner drove their Ferrari 360 GT to a dominating GT victory yesterday in the VIR 400. The win extends the pair's lead in the GrandAm GT Drivers championship, and the Scuderia's lead in the GT Team championship.

The win was the team's seventh this season, and has them on track to break the GrandAm record for single season GT wins as well as tying the record for consecutive GT wins, which the team set in the 2002 GrandAm season.

"Smooth and steady won our race," said Wagner. "We had a lot of pressure taken off early on when the BMW broke, so we just ran our own pace and tried to stay out of trouble. It was really about keeping our heads up and being smooth in a well prepared car, which Ferrari of Washington gave us. I wish they'd all go like this."

"Our race was really with the Schumacher Porsche," Martini added, "particularly after the problems the Marcus BMW guys had, but the truth of the matter is that the Ferrari was the better car all weekend. We now have great experience as a team, and Glenn and the crew put together an outstanding car. Cort does a great job setting up a car I can drive fast, and the car was meticulous all weekend long. We were just bulletproof." 

Team Manager Glenn Marquis was also pleased with the weekend. "Brent and Cort took an important win, and made it look easy. The championship isn't settled, but this really helped. I was also pleased with our 'experiment.' We ran a second Ferrari 360, a Challenge car, looking toward the 2004 GrandAm SGS class. Those drivers, Asher Hyman, Jeff Segal, and Jim Wilson, proved that the Challenge Ferrari will be a great car for that class, and we're already making plans for next year."

The Wagner/Martini car eventually finished 5th overall, two laps behind the winning DP-class Bell Motorsports Chevrolet Doran but four laps clear of the 2nd placed GT-class finisher, the TPC Racing Porsche GT3 Cup car shared by John Littlechild and Jeff Altenburg. The second Scuderia Washington entry, the Ferrari 360 Challenge, came home in 15th place, 5th in GT and ten laps ahead of the overall winners.