FIA GT CHAMP 2004, ZHUHAI ROUND 11
MASERATI'S SECOND WIN
They make it 1-2. Luhr/Maassen win N-GT Series!

November 14 - At Zhuhai, in China, 29 cars were present for the final round of the 2005 FIA GT Championship. Once more there were no Listers, whilst the Dutch and French Viper were only present as field fillers. For Lister and Viper the FIA GT story seems definitively over. At the qualifications the Ferrari 550 Maranello of Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel was the fastest, followed by the two terrible Maseratis MC12. Series winners Lucca Cappellari and Fabrizio Gollin were not in, since their #2 Ferrari Maranello was now shared by Drudi/Dor/Cadei. The race was fully dominated by the two Maseratis, taking the two first places at the finish with Bertolini/Salo finishing 1 second earlier than Herbert/de Simone. Only one other car finished in the same lap, the Bobbi/Gardel Ferrari 550 Maranello, having won the round at Dubaï. Christophe Bouchut, having joined Calderari/Bryner on the #3 Ferrari Maranello finished fourth overall.

In N-GT Lucas Luhr and Sacha Maassen caused a stir by winning in extremis the N-GT class after Ortelli/Collard had to withdraw after 57 of the 113 laps. By finishing second in N-GT behind the Ferrari 360 Modena of Pescatori and Melo, Luhr and Maassen won eventually the FIA GT series for N-GT drivers. For Pescatori - having lost his team mate de Simone during the four last rounds (after his move to Maserati) it was only his second N-GT victory of the season.  [JPVR]


FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI ROUND 10
FERRARI 550 OF BOBBI & GARDEL TAKES 2ND WIN
But Cappellari/Gollin are series winners!

October 10 - In Dubaï, at the one but last round of the FIA GT Championship, Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel not only qualified as first - ahead of the two terrible Maseratis - but they also won the race, their second victory of the season. At the finish they had an advance of 42 seconds over the Maserati MC12 shared by Johnny Herbert and Fabrizio de Simoni. Two other cars finished in the same lap: the #3 Ferrari 550 Maranello of Biagi/Calderai/Bryner and the #5 Saleen S7 of Bartels and Alzen. By finishing fifth, at one lap, Cappellari and Gollin ensured their overall victory in the series: with one round to go their advance over Bobbi/Gardel is more than 10 points - 10 points being the maximum which can be won at the last round.
It seems that the rôle played by the Listers and Vipers during the past years is definitively over. Just as at Oschersleben no Listers came at the start, whilst the Vipers of the Swaan Bros and of Beltoise were only present as field fillers, at no moment envolved in the combat for victory. The Maserati of Bertolini/Salo, having won last month, was retired just before mid-race.

In N-GT Lucas Luhr and Sacha Maassen won once more, already their sixth victory of the season. Their arrears on Ortelli/Collard, running the sister Yukos Porsche, is now down to 2.5 points. That means that it is not impossible that Luhr and Maassen will win the N-GT class, should Ortelli and Collard have technical problems during the real last round at Zhuhai in China. Just as at Oschers-leben they finished one complete lap behind the Luhr/Maassen Porsche. The Ferrari 360 Modena of Pescatori - now with Jaime Melo as team mate - finished again third in the N-GT class. This year the Porsches won nine of the ten rounds, the Ferrari Modena only once. [JPVR]


FIA GT CHAMP, OSCHERSLEBEN ROUND 9
MASERATI'S FIRST WIN
They beat the Ferrari 550 by one complete lap!

September 19 - At Oschersleben it became more and more obvious that the nrew Maseratis are killing the series. Contrary to all other cars, having been derived from street cars, the Maseratis are real race machines, built in function of competition. On the German circuit they dominated the complete field.
At the German circuit Lechner/Seiler/Konrad were the fastest qualifiers with their #4 Saleen. Series leaders Cappellari/Gollin were second. Both Maseratis, handicapped by 90 kgs of extra ballast were res. fifth and seventh.  But shortly after the start they moved up, setting the pace. The Bertolini/Salo Maserati was followed by three Ferraris 550, one Ferrari 575 and the #8 Saleen of Goodwin/Fontes, after the #34 Maserati of Herbert/de Simone lost two laps in the pits.
Towards the final stages of the race Bertolini and Salo lapped the entire field. At the finish they had one lap over the series leaders Cappellari and Gollin. Since the Maserati can win no points for the series Cappellari/Gollin added 10 new points to their total, so that - without miracle - they seem to go after the series win. Their runners-up, Bobbi and Gardel finished fifth, good for 5 points. Third place went to the Saleen of Goodwin/ Fontes, their best result this year.

N-GT saw Lucas Luhr and Sacha Maassen taking their fifth win of the season at the wheel of the #99 Yukos Porsche 996 GT3-R. At the qualifications they were already fastest in their class, ahead of the #62 Ferrari 360 Modena, now shared by Pescatori and Belgium's Vincent Vosse. In the race those two cars and the Porsche 996 GT3-R of Ortelli and Collard were pulling away from the rest of the N-GT cars. At the finish Luhr and Maassen had one complete lap over Ortelli and Collard and over Pescatori and Vosse. That means that they are narrowing the gap with the N-GT leaders Ortelli/Collard. They have good hope that, with two rounds to go, they can still finish as winners of the N-GT class. [JPVR]


FIA GT CHAMP 2004, IMOLA ROUND 8
#5 SALEEN S7-R: THIRD WIN
 Alzen/Bartels do it again - "Killer" Maseratis 2nd & 3rd

September 8 - At Imola several new cars entered the FIA GT Competition. Among them the two new Maseratis MC12, pure factory cars, not derived from an existing race car as all other cars. Both cars finished at their maiden race, with res. 65 kg and 60 kg ballast, second and third. Already now they are considered as the "killers" of the FIA GT Championship. There were also the two Lamborghinis Murcielago R-GT entered by DAMS. They were absolutely not so convinging as the Reiter sister car, having finished 3rd in Valencia at its lonely outing.  There was also the yellow Ferrari 360 Modena, entered by Scuderia Veregra, having moreover a Chrysler-Viper GTS-R in the GT-class.
Winners, for the third time, were Uwe Alzen and Michael Bartels with their Vodaphone Saleen S7-R. During the whole race they were purchased by the two Maseratis and no less than 5 Ferraris 550 or 575. But at the finish all Ferraris were at least one lap down to the fast Saleen. Pics of the new Maseratis and Lambos are to be found below.
Luca Capellari and Fabrizio Gollin, having finished fourth, despite 100 kg of extra weight, are still leading the series, 16.5 points ahead on their team mates Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel, having finished sixth at Imola. They had to start with 45 kg ballast.

N-GT saw Pescatori hang onto a narrow lead over the repaired #99 Freisinger Porsche of Lucas Luhr, but eventually managed to ease away in the second half of the first stint, then hung on to a reasonably safe margin, which was looking good at 28 seconds at the flag. Some hours later, the Ferrari was excluded, but the GPC team has appealed. It became a Yukos / Freisinger 1-2-3, with the heavier Ortelli / Collard RSR in second (after Ortelli had an off under braking), the Vassiliev / Bergmeister car third. The Piccolo / Berton 360 was a distant fourth. Ortelli and Collard (72 points) are now 8.5 ahead of Maassen and Luhr, with Pescatori still on 46. [JPVR]


FIA GT CHAMP 2004,  SPA 24H - ROUND 7
#2 FERRARI 550 M WINS
Yukos Porsches confirm, BMW M3 fast but not enduring

August 1 - The Proximus 24-hours of Spa-Francorchamps saw the #2 BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello starting from the pole, since Fabrizio Gollin took TQ in 2'15"047 ahead of the #5 Vitaphone Saleen S7-R (2'15"221) and the #1 BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello. There were 42 cars at the start. Among them we found in GT-R no less than 15 cars: 4 Ferraris 575 GTC (on ranks 4-5-8-21 on the grid), 4 Saleens S7-R (ranks 2-7-12-18 on the grid), 3 Chrysler Vipers GTS-R (ranks 10-13-41), 2 Ferraris 550 Maranello (ranks 1-3 on the grid), and 2 Lister Storms (ranks 9-15 on the grid).  In N-GT we noted 14 starters, except for the #62 Ferrari 360 Modena - fastest N-GT on the grid in 2'20" 861 - and for the Nissan 350Z, all Porsches 996 GT3R. Moreover there were 9 cars in the special G2 class. Among them the Corvette C5-R realised the 6th place on the grid. More impressive however were the 2 Schnitzer BMW M3R cars, real factory cars, and going like bombs at the early stages of the race. Other cars in this national class are the 2 Vertigo-Streiff cars and a lot of Porsches 996GT3. In the G3 class (single-made series cars) we noted 3 Porsches GT3-Cup, 1 Viper GTS-R and 1 Lotus Elise. 
Immediately after the start Uwe Alzen took the lead with the #5 Vitaphone Saleen, followed by the Ferraris 550 and 575 GTC. The #9 Zwaan's Viper refused to start and was retired without having left the pits. After 20 minutes the N-GT leading Ferrari 360 Modena suffers a tire puncture damaging the rear wing. The car finishes in the barriers and is beyond repair. The pace car comes out and Alzen decides to make a pit stop for fuel. The same is done by the 2 Schnitzer BMWs. The Ferraris stay all behind the pace car.
During the four first hours we found the Ferraris #1, #2, and #11 in front with the Vitaphone Saleen. Due to the several pit stops the Schnitzer BMWs and the Freisinger Porsches 996 GT3R were at a given moment found among the top-5. Especially the BMWs were extremely fast, achieving laps in nearly the same time as the leading GT-R cars. 
At 19h20 the leading Vitaphone Saleen S7-R stops along the circuit offering the Ferraris #1, #2 and #11 the three first places. The #143 BMW looses several laps in the pits with an oil leak. The #142 will loose its 4th place with a tire puncture, but can come back in the two following hours. After 6 hours of racing positions are: 1. #11 Ferrari 575 GTC 145 laps, 2. #1 Ferrari 550 Maranello, 3. #2 Ferrari 550 Maranello, 4. #143 BMW M3 GT3 at 2 laps, 5. #77 Porsche 996 GT3R (N-GT leader), 6. #7 Saleen S7-R at 4 laps, 7. #50 Porsche 996 GT3R, 8. #10 Viper GTS-R, 9. #88 Porsche 996 GT3R at 7 laps, 10. #18 Ferrari 575 GTC at 9 laps. The fastest Freisinger Yukos Porsche lost 13 laps in the pits but is running again at the 20th place.
At mid-night the three Ferraris race always together, followed with the surprisingly fast #143 BMW. But shortly after the #1 Ferrari 550 Maranello hits a debris and looses 21 laps in the pits for repairs of the whole front of the car. It rejoins the race in 17th position. The lonely surviving #7 Saleen has to retire at 01h and the two Listers run in problems. Shortly before mid-race the #143 BMW M3 - third at that moment - stops at Stavelot with electrical failure. Positions after 12 hours are: 1. #2 Ferrari 550 Maranello 286 laps, 2. #11 Ferrari 575 GTC at 1'01", 3. #77 Porsche 996 GT3R at 3 laps (N-GT leader), 4. #50 Porsche 996 GT3R at 6 laps, 5. #143 BMW M3 at 8 laps (but no longer racing), 6. #10 Viper GTS-R at 11 laps, 7. #99 Porsche 996 GT3R at 15 laps, 8. #88 Porsche 996 GT3R at 17 laps, 9. #75 Porsche 996 GT3R at 18 laps, 10. #1 Ferrari 550 Maranello at 19 laps. The #142 BMW, having lost more than one hour in the pits during the evening, is making a great come-back in the hands of Hans-Joachim Stuck and both Müllers.
It's still night when the spectators realise that BMW will not win its 19th Spa 24-hours. Indead the vaillant #143 doesn't pass any longer, whilst the #142 is 26 laps behind the two leading Ferraris in 15th position. It's now obvious that the struggle for victory lane goes between the four gentlemen drivers on the #2 BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello and the four professional drivers on the #13 GPC Giesse Ferrari 575 GTC. During the 13th hour the "professional" Ferrari takes the lead, having a 25 seconds lead over the "gentlemen" Ferrari at the end of the 13th hour. One hour later the difference is already 1'42". The #1 Ferrari 550 Maranello is now already 6th, but at 19 laps of the leaders. In 5th pmosition, behind the two Yukos Porsches we find the Zwaan's #10 Viper (at 11 laps). The #142 BMW is already 11th. After 15 hours the difference between both leading Ferraris is up to one lap. The #142 BMW enters the top-10. At the end of the 18th hour drama for the GPC Giesse Ferrari:
The diffuser 'drops', wearing away the vertical strakes, and leaving an almost featureless panel, which is what is held up by the rubber straps. So top driver line-up in damaged, less-developed Ferrari against more of an amateur line-up in highly-developed Prodrive 550. The #10 Zwaan's Viper has to retire with a blown-up motor. Positions after 18 hours are: 1. #13 Ferrari 575 GPC 417 laps, 2. #2 Ferrari 550 Maranello at 2"34, 3. #50 Porsche 996 GT3R at 7 laps (leading N-GT), 4. #77 Porsche 996 GT3R at 10 laps, 5. #1 Ferrari 550 Maranello at 20 laps, 6. #99 Porsche 996 GT3R at 24 laps, 7. #71 Porsche 996 GT3 at 25 laps, 8. #17 Ferrari 575 GTC at 32 laps, 9. #142 BMW M3 at 34 laps, 10. #69 Porsche 996 GT3R.
The #88 Gruppe M Porsche and the #75 Seikel Porsche are retired. The problems with the rear of the GPC Giesse Ferrari make it for Miko Salo (his first 24-hour race!) impossible to come back on the BMC Ferrari 550 Maranello. The #17 Ferrari 575 GTC, lucky winner at Donington, looses valuable time in the pits with suspension problems. Positions are maintained until the last hour. Then BMB decides to call the #1 into the pits and to wait there until the last minutes. They play on security, defending the 3rd place in GT-R. In the overall standings the #1 looses 2 places, dropping from 5th to 6th. As a result of this strategy the 3 Freisinger Yukos Porsches finish on ranks 3-4-5 with the BMW M3 immediately behind as 6th. The #2 Ferrari 550 Maranello, with Liliane Bryner doing the last stint, wins the race ahead of the #11 Ferrari 575 GTC, where Vincent Vosse did the last stint. For results  after 24
see below   [JPVR]



  No. Class Team Drivers Car Laps Best
1 2 GT BMS Scuderia Italia F.Gollin/L.Cappellari/E.Calderari /L. Bryner Ferrari  550 Maranello 558 laps 2.18.885
2 11 GT GPC Giesse Squadra Corse F.Babini/Ph.Peter/Vincent Vosse/Mika Salo Ferrari 575 GTC 557 laps 2.20.220
3 50 N-GT Yukos Freisinger Motorsport St. Ortelli/E. Collard/Romain Dumas Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 545 laps 2.23.052
4 77 N-GT Yukos Freisinger Motorsport Alexei Vasiliev/T. Bernhard/J. Bergmeister Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 543 laps 2.23.399
5 99 N-GT Freisinger Motorsport Lucas Luhr/Sascha Maassen/Marc Lieb Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 528 laps 2.23.631
6 142 G2 BMW Motorsport Hans Stuck/Jorg Muller/Dirk Muller BMW M3 GTR 525 laps 2.21.129
7 1 GT BMS Scuderia Italia M Bobbi/G Gardel/S Livio/M-A de Castro Ferrari 550 Maranello 523 laps 2.18.864
8 71 N-GT JWR Mike Jordan/David Jones/Godfrey Jones Porsche 911 GT3-RS 521 laps 2.30.864
9 69 N-GT Proton Competition C.Ried/G. Ried/Felbermayr sr/Felbermayr jr Porsche 911 GT3-RS 512 laps 2.30.959
10 123 G3 Mulhner Motorsport Peter Wyss/Vanina Ickx/J-F Hemroulle Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 507 laps 2.35.349
11 124 G3 Mulhner Motorsport K.Thiim/K.Abbelen/H-J Bermes /T. Koll Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 503 laps 2.32.614
12 186 G2 TGB Racing R.Penders /J.André/N. de Gastines/E Jamar Porsche 911 GT3-R 494 laps 2.29.656
13 100 G2 Belgian Racing S Ugeux/R Kuppens/Bas Leinders Vertigo Streiff 491 laps 2.34.371
14 66 N-GT Autorlando Sport F Groppi/Luigi Moccia/Liz Halliday/M Soli Porsche 911 GT3-RS 483 laps 2.28.212
15 121 G2 Markant Racing Sluszy/Vollebergh/Van Rossem/P.Scheurs Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 483 laps 2.37.710
16 17 GT JMB Racing Wendlinger/Mueller/B Longin/P-Y Corthals Ferrari 575 GTC 480 laps 2.20.752
17 32 GT Force One Racing Festina Gilbert/F Jakubowski /F Labhardt /Ph Alliot Chrysler Viper GTS-R 477 laps 2.21.565
18 103 G2 PSI Motorsport P Martinet/M Sourd/Van Sande/Ph Thillie Porsche 996 Turbo 457 laps 2.27.986
19 13 GT GPC Giesse Squadra Corse E Naspetti/G Morbidelli/F Bouvy/D Defourny Ferrari 575 GTC 420 laps 2.18.111
20 73 N-GT Cirtek Motorsport N Fomenko/Vic Rice/John Grant/A Jones Porsche 911 GT3-RS 418 laps 2.30.127
21 116 G3 EBRT Menage/J Close/L Pecoraro /Sylvie Delcour Lotus Elise 341 laps 2.47.044
22 18 GT JMB A Gosse/P Kutemann/Andrea Garbagnati Ferrari 575 GTC 154 laps 2.25.307
23 10 GT Zwaans GTR Racing Team Lemeret/Fanny Duchateau/Duez/L.Deman Chrysler Viper GTS-R 365 laps DNF 2.22.610
24 75 N-GT Seikel Motorsport G Rosa/Alex Caffi/L.Drudi/Robin Liddell Porsche 911 GT3-RS 360 laps DNF 2.27.101
25 27 GT Creation Autosportif Campbell-Walter/Derbyshire/Verdon-Roe Lister Storm 350 laps DNF 2.19.693
26 115 G3 US Carworld Racing R Wijnen/R Frijns/R Grouwels/X Maassen Chrysler Viper 323 laps DNF 2.28.231
27 88 N-GT GruppeM Tim Mullen/J Cocker/T Sugden/W Hughes Porsche 911 GT3-RSR 301 laps DNF 2.26.826
28 108 G2 SRT Y Lebon/E Cayrolle/A Kumpen/M Goossens Chevrolet Corvette C5-R 295 laps DNF 2.19.704
29 143 G2 BMW Motorsport P Lamy/K Mollekens/A Garcia/Andy Priaulx BMW M3 GTR 278 laps DNF 2.22.666
30 70 N-GT Graham Nash Motorsport St Van Bellingen/A Fumal/M Orts/Edi Gay Porsche 911 GT3-RS 221 laps DNF 2.35.004
31 7 GT Ray Mallock Ltd. M Ramos /T Erdos/Chris Goodwin/M Newton Saleen S7-R 220 laps DNF 2.19.902
32 14 GT Lister Storm Racing Ian Donaldson/Gregor Fisken/Rob Schirle Lister Storm 216 laps DNF 2.22.846
33 28 GT Graham Nash Motorsport P Ruberti/S Zlobin/G-M Gabbiani/C Geoffroy Saleen S7-R 110 laps DNF 2.20.093
34 111 G3 Signa Racing Team Rafael Coenen/Patrick Chaillet/G Bruno Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 93 laps DNF 2.40.034
35 5 GT Vitaphone Racing Team M Bartels/U Alzen/E van de Poele/F Konrad Saleen S7-R 78 laps DNF 2.18.711
36 8 GT Ray Mallock Ltd. Ray Mallock/Michael Mallock/A Wiseberg Saleen S7-R 50 laps DNF 2.21.938
37 85 N-GT RJN Motorsport Rosenblad/Buncombe/Radermacker/Cunningham Nissan 350Z 49 laps DNF 2.37.162
38 4 GT Konrad Motorsport Treml /T Seiler/Walter Lechner/P Knapfield Saleen S7-R 43 laps DNF 2.22.185
39 105 G2 Emeraude Racing O Baron /A-A Corbel/C Bigourie/G Tremblay Porsche 911 GT3-RS 35 laps DNF 2.38.363
40 101 G2 Track Promotion C Lefort/Yves Lambert/J-P Van de Wauwer Vertigo Streiff 23 laps DNF 2.37.926
41 62 N-GT GPC Giesse Squadra Corse C Pescatori/F de Simone/A Bertolini Ferrari 360 GTC 7 laps DNF 2.26.353
42 9 GT Zwaans GTR Racing Team A & R van der Zwaan/H Roos/Val Hillebrand Chrysler Viper GTS-R 0 laps DNS no time

FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP 2004, ROUND 6
#17 FERRARI 575 GTC WINS
 Alzen/Bartels: no third victory  at Donington Park (GB)

June 26 - At Donington Park (GB) Austria's Karl Wendlinger (ex-F1) and Brazils Jaime Melo won  after an absolutely nail-biting finish to the three-hour race.  After leading for much of the race, and after having opted for two instead of three pit stops, Karl Wendlinger had seriously to slow down if he wished to avoid running out of fuel. For Uwe Alzen, having started from pole position, the JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC was found meat during its slow last lap. He could pass the black Ferrari without any problem, when at the penultimate corner, after a collision between the race leading #5 Saleen S7-R and ye #99 Freisinger Yukos N-GT Porsche of Lucas Luhr, Wendlinger could pass the Vodaphone car to win, 6 seconds ahead of poor Alzen, missing his third victory.  Babini and Peter took third for GPC Giesse. Eventually Ferrari made it 1-3-4-5-6-7.
This year only Saleen can beat the Ferraris 550 and 575. For the 575 it's only its first victory of the season and its second in two seasons. The Lister is no longer able to win. On the holy British home ground the work's Lister was even absent, and it can be feared that the car will not seen back this year. The Creation Autosportif Lister, good for three top-5 places this year was retired. The two Dutch Chrysler Vipers are nothing more than field fillers, especially now that Christophe Bouchut and Marc Goossens are no longer behind the wheel.
Luca Capellari and Fabrizio Gollin, having finished fifth, despite 100 kg of extra weight, are still leading the series, 9 points ahead on their team mates Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel, having finished fourth at Donington Park.
N-GT was dominated by the Yukos Porsches - Stephane Ortelli/Emmanuel Collard finishing ahead of Sacha Maassen/Lucas Luhr. First Ferrari in N-GT was the Scuderia Ecosse Modena 360, finishing fourth in its class, headed by the Gruppe M Porsche 996 GT3-R shared by Tim Mullen and Jonathan Cocker. [JPVR]


FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP 2004, ROUND 5
#5 SALEEN S7-R WINS AGAIN
Second victory for Alzen/Bartels at Brno (CZ)

May 31 - At Brno the #5 Saleen S7-R, shared by Uwe Alzen and Michael Bartels won for the second time this year. They dominate the race from start to finish. Despite a lost wheel at the last stages of the race, they maintained at the finish a 30 seconds lead over the #17 Ferrari 575 Maranello of Karl Wendlinger and his new team mate Jaime Melo from Brazil (having replaced Austria's Toto Wolff). Alzen/Bartels lost the lead after their wheel problem but could catch the #17 Ferrari (having had a 12 seconds lead) three laps before the finish. The Capellari/Gollin Ferrari 550 Maranello came 39 seconds short to win.
At Brno the works Lister Storm #14 was again absent. That happened also with the Wieth Racing #22 Ferrari 550 Maranello. The Lambor-ghini Murcielago was once more absent. On the #10 Chrysler Viper - no longer competitive - former FIA GT champion Christophe Bouchut was replaced by Stéphane Lemeret. On the #28 Saleen S7-R Villaroel and Becker were replaced by Luca-Pirri Ardizzone and Anthony Kumpen. After 5 rounds Capellari/Gollin are leading the standings with 40 points, 9 more than Bobbi/Gardel who finished only 14th.
A few kilometres away from the finish line, Matteo’s Ferrari suddenly came to a halt due to a problem with its fuel sensor. Matteo, who was in 2nd place behind Alzen, had to have the Marshalls push his car off track. The race ended there for team-mates Bobbi& Gardel. It was a very unhappy and undeserving ending after a great pole position on Saturday and after leading the race for most of the time till the last few laps.
In N-GT there were 9 cars at the start, a record this season. New were the #61 Porsche 996 GT3-R of the all Czech team Racz/Venc, the #60 Porsche 996 GT3-R of their country mates MacHanek/Honzik and the #63 Porsche 996 GT-3 of Felbermayr/Felbermayr. Winners in N-GT were Pescatori/Simone in the #62 Ferrari 360 Modena, letting the #99 Porsche 996 GT3-R of Maassen/Luhr 29 seconds behind. Class leaders Ortelli/Collard came 42 seconds short and finished as third N-GT.


FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP 2004, ROUND 4
FERRARI MAKES IT 1-2-3
Saleens cannot confirm their Magny-Cours victory...

May 14 - At Hockenheim the Saleens - despite their position on the first row of the start grid - could not confirm their splendid performance of Magny-Cours, where Bartels/Alzen offered their team a first victory.
An action-packed race, full of excitement, changes of lead and plenty of good and bad luck saw BMS Scuderia Italia claim a full sweep of the podium, with Bobbi and Gardel taking their first win of the season ahead of Cappellari and Gollin, with the BMS Care Racing car third.
Only 23 cars were found at the start. Among them as few as 7 N-GT cars. The Lamborghini Murcielago, so surprising at round #2, was not there. The #14 Lister Storm, absent at the previous round was back, but had to struggle among the back benchers after initial technical problems. Eventually another Lister-Storm, the #27 entered by Graham Nash Sport took the 4th place ahead of two Ferraris 575 Maranello entered by GPC Giesse Squadra Corsa.

In N-GT Maassen-Luhr won their third consecutive class win, ahead of Ortelli's sister car. The lonely Ferrari 360 Maranello was third in its class.

At the provisional ranking Lucca Capellari and Fabrizio Gollin lead the GT-R class, three points ahead over Matteo Bobbi and Switzerland's Gabriele Gardel. All other teams follow already at more than 20 points. In N-GT Ortelli-Collard have still a two points lead over Maassen-Luhr, despite three class wins of the last named team. Ferrari boys Pescatori/di Simone follow already at twelve points of the leading Porsche team. Christian Reid/Gerold Leid, who could score not the smallest point in the three preceeding seasons are now fourth in N-GT.


FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP 2004, ROUND 2
FERRARI MAKES IT 1-2

April 19 - The BMS Ferraris 550 Maranello, having finished first and second at Monza, finished again as the two first at round #2 in Valencia. The biggest surprice, however, came from the Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT, entered by Reiter Engineering for Oliver Gavin and Peter Cox. The brand new car finished third at its maiden race, only 1'01"86 behind the winners Cappellari/Gollin. Nobody could expect that the Lambo was that fast, since it was already a half miracle to find it at the start. Just as in Monza the Saleens were fasted qualifiers with a TQ in 1'31"368 for the Bartels/Alzen Vitaphone Saleen, heading the yellow sister car of Konrad/Seiler/Lechner. The Lambo had to start of the 5th place on the grid, despite it was the fastest car in the afternoon. However the realised time was not accorded.
The lonely other car to finish in the same lap as the winners was the Wendlinger/Wolff/Lechner Ferrari 575 Maranello finishing 19 seconds behind the Lambo.
This time there were already 7 N-GT cars at the start. The Zakspeed Modenas 360 were still not there, but there was a Modena 360 entered by DMR for Vivancos/Reyes. The car was retired after 45 of thr 112 laps. Probably it was a one round entry of the Spanish Team. New at the start was the blue Czech Porsche 996 GT3-R of Vonka Racing. The car finished 16th overall and 6th in N-GT. Absent was the #56 Porsche 996 GT3-R seen at Monza. N-GT win went to the Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3-R of Maassen/Luhr, finishing 7th overall, and 3 laps ahead of their N-GT runner-up, the Ferrari 360 Modena of Pescatore/Simone (finishing 10th), just ahead of the Ortelli/Collard Porsche 996 GT3-R. There were 26 starters and 19 of them reached the finish.


FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP 2004, ROUND 1
FERRARI MAKES IT 1-2-3-4-5

March 30 - This year the FIA GT Championship started no longer at Magny-Cours as last year, but at Monza. In total 24 cars showed: 18 in the class GT-R (the same number as at the 2003 curtain raiser) and only 6 in N-GT (12 less than at the opening of last year). Although there came 9 Ferraris Maranello at the start, and although they won the pole position with Fabrizio Gollin (I) in the #2 BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello, ahead of Matteo Bobbi (I) in the sister car, fastest car at Monza was the #5 Vitaphone Saleen of the ex-DTM racers Uwe Alzen and Michael Bartels (fired in 2003 by res. Mercedes and Opel). This car was not only the fastest during Sunday's warm-up (in better weather conditions), but also during the race. Unfortunately none of the 4 started Saleens was a match for the Maranello 9-cars Squadra. Bartels retired already after 7 of the 87 laps - 6 laps later than Franz Konrad who was already out after the first lap. The two ther Saleens finished the race, however res. 8 and 17 laps behind the winner. The two started Listers were also no match for the Ferraris since they had to retire after 19 and after 29 laps. Eventually some opposition came from the old Dutch Vipers, where Christophe Bouchut/Marc Goossens and owner Arjan van de Zwaan finished 6th overall, 3 laps behind the winners.
Eventually the Maranellos took the 5 first places, with Luca Cappellari/Fabrizio Gollin as winners in the 550 of BMS, aheead of their team mates Matteo Bobbi/Gabriele Gardel in a similar machine. Third, and last car in the same lap of the winners, was the 575 Maranello of Fabio Babini/Philip Peter. Then followed the second Giesse 575 and the #3 550 at res. one and two laps. In N-GT victory went to the Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3R of Stephane Ortelli/Emmanuel Collard, finishing 7th overall in the same lap of the lonely Ferrari 360 Modena finishing 8th.

PRESENTATION FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP 2004

Monza March 5 - Big surprise on March 1 when the FIA publishes the full-season entry list for the 2004 season. Number of N-GT cars having subscribed is seriously down: only 8 cars (of them no less than 3 Ferraris 360 Modena still to be confirmed: those of Zakspeed Racing and the one of Scuderia Cavalihno, both still in search of full-season sponsorship). Several regular N-GT teams disappeared: Eurotech (GB) with its 2 Porsches 996 GT3R, Maranello Concessionaires (GB) with its two Ferraris 360 Modena, EMKA Racing (GB) with its fast 996 GT3, JMB Racing (F) with its two fast Modenas, and Menx (CZ) with its 360 Modena. That makes no less than 8 cars less in N-GT. Moreover Alda Motorsport from Poland, America's Cirtek Motorsport, France's Auta Palace Star Rent, Italy's Autorlando and Germany's Seikel Motorsport, who all retired from active racing in the course of last year, decided not to come back. Only Freisinger Motorsport -  last year very successful with Stéphane Ortelli who won 3 rounds and the N-GT ranking - and Austria's Proton Competition decided to make a new season with their Porsches 996 GT3, four in total, since Freisinger has this year, apart from his #99 car, two Yukos Motorsport Porsches with a Russian sponsor.  The lonely other regular N-GT entrant for 2003 is CPC Giesse Squadra Corse (I) entering a lonely Ferrari Modena 360. That implies that if the entries of Zakspeed and Cacalihno are not confirmed - what seems to be the case - only FIVE N-GT cars will be present at all rounds. Indeed, the Porsche 996 GT3 of AB Motorsport will only be entered at the two Italian races.
In the GT-R class things are totally different. Here we noted no less than 27 full season entries. Of them the two Maseratis MC (only ready for Spa), the DAMS Lamborghini Murciélago (with Dick Barber help?), the 575 Maranello of Scuderia Cavalihno, the second Lister Storm and the second Zwaans' Viper are far from sure, but even if they stay absent there are at least 21 regulars in GT-R. Among them there are 4 Ferraris 550 Maranello, 2 by BMS Scuderia Italia, 1 by Care Racing Development and 1 by Wieth Racing. There are 5 or 6 Ferraris 575 Maranello: 2 by GPC Giesse Squadra Corse, 2 by JMB Racing (having ex-F1 and ex-DTM racer Karl Wendlinger as newcomer - pic: above left), 1 by JMB and perhaps 1 by Scuderia Cavalihno. There are no less than 5 Saleens S7-R: 2 by RML (Ray Mallock Limited), 1 by Konrad Motorsport, 1 for the ex-DTM racers Uwe Alzen and Michael Bartels (cf their pics on the last row) and Vitaphone Racing Team, and 1 by Graham Nash Sport. Of the 7 Vipers seen in competition last year only 1 is left: the #9 of Zwaans GTR Racing Team. A second one is no entered in co-operation with Sweden's Henrik Roos who quit his Roos Optima Team. All other Viper teams of last year are out: Larbre Compétition, Force One Festina Cars, Paul Belmondo Racing and Roos Optima Team. Last but not least 3 Lister-Storms are left: 2 by the Lister Storm Cars factory (having actually only a budget for 1 car) and 1 by Creation Autosportif.


FIA GT 2004 IN A NUT SHELL

At the Monza Test Day of 5 March there were no Zakspeed Porsches, no Maseratis, no Lamborghini, no Cavalihno Ferraris. Famous new FIA-GT drivers on the track are Karl Wendlinger (A), Uwe Alzen (D) and Michael Bartels (D). Christophe Bouchut (F), the 2002 FIA GT Champ was back at one of the Zwaans Vipers together with Marc Goossens (B). Several top racers of last year are not seen back, among them from England B. Verdon-Roe, Tim Sugden, Martin Short, Guy Smith, Tim Mullen, Jamie Davies, Kelvin Burt, Darren Turner, Johny Mowlem, etc.; from France Jean-Marc Gounon, Philippe Alliot, Jean-Philippe Belloc, Boris Derichebourg, David Terrien, Jean-Denis Deletraz, and David Haliday; from Italy   Andreo Bertolini, Andrea Chiesa, Luca Drudi and Andrea Piccini; from Czechia Thomas Enge, Robert Pergl and Jarek Janis (now in DTM); from Belgium Pierre Kumpen and David Sterckx; from Portugal Ni Amorin; from Sweden Magnus Wallinder (S); from Germany Marc Lieb, etc.  Number of newcomers is thus seriously less than the number of endurance racers having found no wheel for the 2004 season. With the withdrawal of all Britisch N-GT teams and of the French Vipers especially France and England come this year at the start with much less racers than in 2004.
This year there are 11 rounds, one more than last year. On the calendar only Monza, Brno, Magny-Cours, Spa and Ochsersleben are retained for 2004. Imola, Silverstone, Jarama, Anderstorp and Estoril were changed for Hockenheim, Valencia, Imola, Dubaï and Zhuhai. Those two last deplacements outside Europe increase costs of the entrants seriously.

  GTR Car GTR Competitor GTR Drivers (except for Spa 24-hours) 1 2 3 4 5 6

7A

7B

7C

8 9 10 11 pts
1 Ferrari 550 Maranello BMS Scuderia Italia Matteo Bobbi (I)/Gabriele Gardel (CH) 2 2 4 1 14 4 2 10 7 6 5 1 3 74.5
2 Ferrari 550 Maranello BMS Scuderia Italia Lucca Cappellari (I)/Fabrizio Gollin (I) - Drudi/Dor/Cadei [#11] 1 1 3 2 3 5 3 1 1 4 2 5 12 87
3 Ferrari 550 Maranello Care Racing Development Lillian Bryner (CH)/Enzo Calderari (CH)/Ste Livio (I)-Bouchut 5 NF NF 3 7 7 - - - 5 6 3 4 55
4 Saleen S7-R Konrad Motorsport Walter Lechner (A)/Franz Konrad (D)/Toni Seiler (D) NF 17 5 NF 6 22 NF NF NF NF 19 23 NF 9
5 Saleen S7-R Vitaphone Racing Team Uwe Alzen (D)/Michael Bartels (D) NF NF 1 17 1 2 NF NF NF 1 23 4 NF 44
7 Saleen S7-R Ray Mallock Limited Thomas Erdos (BR)/Mike Newton (GB) 12 6 NF NF 15 8 6 NF NF 14 7 9 14 14
8 Saleen S7-R Ray Mallock Limited Miguel Ramos (PT) /Chris Goodwin (GB)/Fontes [9] 10 14 12 11 16 9 34 NF NF NF 3 NF 7 14
9 Chrysler Viper GTS-R Zwaans GTR Racing Team Henrik Roos (S)/Klaus Abbelen (D)/Rob vd Zwaan (NL) NF 19 11 NF NF NF NF NF NF - - - - 0
10 Chrysler Viper GTS-R Zwaans GTR Racing Team  Bouchut(F)/A vd Zwaan(NL)/ Goossens(B)-St. Lemeret (F) 6 11 10 7 9 13 8 6 NF 24 16 22 15 11
11 Ferrari 575 Maranello GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Phillip Peter (GB)/Fabio Babini (I) 3 NF 6 6 4 3 1 2 2 7 11 6 8 51
13 Ferrari 575 Maranello GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Mike Hezemans (NL)/Emanuele Naspetti (I)/Morbidelli [9] 4 NF 17 5 NF 6 27 29 19 8 NF 16 6 21
14 Lister Storm Lister Cars Patrick Pearce (GB)/Paul Knapfield (GB)/Tom Coronel (GB) NF NF - 16 - - 12 NF NF - - - - 1
15 Lister Storm Lister Cars X.X/X.X. -