Last year the G.P.C. team caused a stir by finishing second behind the BMS Scuderia Italia (having moved to LMES racing this year). The team finished also second at the Spa 24 hours. This year two Ferraris 575 GTC will be aligned in the FIA GT series. A third car could enter the LMES. Contrary to last year the Ferrari 360 Modena will no longer be raced in the new GT2. Deletraz and Piccini return to Ferrari now that Jean-Paul Driot (DAMS) decided to stop his Lamborghini project.

This year the German importer of Saleen will enter two cars in the FIA GT, the two having been used last year by Vitaphone Racing (which switched this year to Maserati). If enough sponsoring can be found the cars could also entered some rounds of the LMES. A third car will be raced by Franz Konrad himself at the PROCAR series. With Alzen/Naspetti and the Lechner Bros Konrad has two teams able to beat the Maseratis. Last year his Vitaphone Saleen won three rounds at the FIA GT Series.

GLPJ Carsport originated as a joint venture with GLPK from Belgium and Carsport Holland. Now that the C5-R is no lon-ger raced by the factory, Toine Hezemans could buy a former works car, victorious at the ALMS from Pratt & Miller. The car will be equipped with the new sequential gearbox, with the new motor and with new aerodynamics. Not ready for the Monza Test Days, the car is actually prepared at the GLPK garage in Hasselt. Winning the Spa 24 hours is the team's ultimate dream.

Last year Graham Nash Motorsport won three podiums in the LMES. In FIA GT racing the team was less convincing with two eleventh places as best. This year, so confirmed PR mana-ger Andy Woolgar, the team will enter its two Saleens as well in the FIA GT series as in the LMES. Moreover some races of the AMLS will be contested. The team started already in the Sebring 12 hours (but finished as last with 0 laps...). Last but not least Graham Nash will enter also his new Porsche 996GT3-RSR in the GT2 class. Just as last year the British team will use several drivers. Among them Paolo Ruberti (already last year a GNM driver) and the young Joel Cama-thias will be regular drivers of the #7 Saleen S7-R.

Vitaphone Racing Team changed its Franz Konrad owned Saleen to two Maseratis MC12, closely supported by Maserati Corse. At the Monza Test Days one of the new Maseratis realised the fastest time over six sessions. After several difficulties the MC12 was homologated by the FIA, despite the fact it's a pure works car, not derived from any street version (the streetversion was derived from ... the race car). Now that Uwe Alzen quit Vitaphone Facing Team (to join Konrad) ex-DTM racer Timo Scheider will replace him. On the other car Fabio Babini and Thomas Biagi will be the drivers.

Founded in 1988 Larbre Compétition is one of the most successful teams in endurance racing. With Porsche and Viper it won three times the FIA GT Series. With Ferrari it won last year the LMES. This year the team comes back to the FIA GT with two cars prepared by Care Racing Develop-ment. Another car will be a regular entrant at AMLS races. Also at the Le Mans 24 hours Jack Leconte will be present with his cars. For the 2005 season he opted for a reliable car with nothing than top-drivers. Bryner/Calderari won last year the Spa 24 hours. Gardel comes from BMS and won two races in 2004. Lamy won in 1998 the FIA GT2 championship.

Hans Reiter, who reached last year a podium place at the unique race his Lambo entered, has the intention to let race his car at several rounds of the 2005 FIA GT Series. The car misses still top speed but seems among the fastest on tracks with lots of curbs. With Norman Simon as team mate of Peter Kox, Hans Reiter can count on two excellent drivers. It seems that the car will be absent at the Spa 24 hours.

Only one Lister Storm will be active in 2005 FIA GT racing. The car was seen at the Monza Test Days, where it had engine problems, so that Liz Haliday got even not a drive. Last year the works Lister retired at half season. This year it belongs to Laurence Pearce's intentions to do the full season with the Evo version of the Lister Storm.

This year Jean Michel Boureche will let race one or two Maseratis MC12 GT, sponsored by Pirelli and Red Bull. The cars were not ready for the Monza Test Days. In GT2 JMB has two cars available on a race-to-race basis. They were at the Monza Test Days, but have not be entered for the first round at Monza. It is feared that the Maserati(s) will lack practice during the first rounds. Support will come from Maserati Corse, from Pirelli and from Red Bull. In the LMES JMB will be present with two Ferraris 575 GTC. Two Maseratis are also scheduled for the Italian GT Championship. Last year JMB won the Donington round at the FIA GT Series. In 2001 the Monaco based team won the series in N-GT.

This year Cirtek Racing is associated with R.A.R. from Russia to let race a Ferrari F550 Maranello. At the Monza Test Days the car was really fast, clocking the second best time, with triple FIA GT Series winner Christophe Bouchut behind the wheel. His two co-drivers, Alexej Vasiliev and Nikolai For-menko raced last year on a Freisinger Yukos Porsche 996 GT3. At the LMES and AMLS Bouchut is a regular driver for Labre Compétition. Bouchut has the strong intention to win the FIA GT Series this year for the fourth time. The Maseratis could be his strongest opponents.

Developed by Fréderic Dor's Prodrive, the Aston Martin DBR9 was THE car FIA GT needed to be a superb attraction. It's probably the best placed car to beat the Maseratis. Unfortu-nately the two Astons will probably be only seen at the Tourist Trophy Anniversary in Silverstone (round #3 of the FIA GT Championship). The car will be raced in the AMLS and at the Le Mans 24 hours. At the Sebring 12 hours Aston Martin already wrote history by finishing fourth overall and winning its class in its very maiden race!

Max Stanco, son of a well-known architect, himself a former ski-sport enthusiast, will race this year Franze Konrad's Saleen, having won several pole positions last year. Co-driver will be Rafal Janus who won last year the GT Champi-onship in Poland. It's not sure that the car will be present at Silverstone and at Spa, since the dates of those rounds collide with dates of rounds of the Polish GT Championship, where Stanco wants to enter the car too.

After a test at Adria Raceway, mid-March.there were rumors on several web sites that the Maserati MC12 of the Italian Racing Box, could be entered at one or more rounds of the FIA GT Championship. Fact is that the car will be raced by Perazzini/Matteuzzi at the Italian GT Championship, but that nothing proves that Andrea Montermini, who tested the car, will have a possibility to race it in the FIA GT Series. It seems rather wishful thinking, since Maserati Corse speaks only of the Racing Box car in the Italian GT Championship.

Jonathan France created Embassy racing at the end of 2003. The team raced a Corvette at the British GT Champi-onship. After a disastrous year they switched to a Porsche GT3-RSR. Looking at their web site one finds a link to "sponsorship". If you expect to find there their partners, you are dreaming. Instead of mentioning their sponsors, they are begging for sponsorship. Really the very last team where one should invest his sponsoring money. This year the team will enter the 3 last rounds of the FIA GT Series.

The Slovak team of Rudolf Machánek, last year only involved in a couple of races of the FIA GT Championship, has the strong intention to enter this year the complete series with two cars. Of all regular entrants of the 2005 FIA GT Series, one of Machánek's cars realised in GT2 the third best time behind the two works cars of Gruppe M, however... 4 seconds slower than the fastest GT2 car.

The Italian Porsche dealer Orlando Redolfi has the intention to let race one of his four racing Porsches at 5 or 6 rounds of the 2005 FIA GT Championship. At the Monza Test Days his GT3-RSR realised the 7th time on 13 GT2 cars, 3 seconds behind the Gruppe M works cars. Last year he entered only the Spa 24 hours, finishing 14th. His other cars will be raced at the Italian GT Championship.

The Scuderia Ecosse - taking the name of the legendary team which raced the Jaguars in the 1950s - came to racing in 2004. With its Ferraris 360 GTC it won seven rounds of the British GT Championship. This year Stewart Roden will enter his cars at the Le Mans 24 hours, at the LMES and at the British GT Championship. Since round #2 of the FIA GT Series is also a round of the British GT Championship, the two Modenas will be raced at Magny Cours (F).