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Paddock News
- 30 cars are due to take part in this fourth round, with 16 in the GT
category and 14 in the N-GT category.
- New for this round is the nr 81 Morgan Aero 8, entered by British team
Morgan Motors for Neil Cunningham and Paula Cook. However, the car did not
go out on the track today as further documents concerning the homologation
have still to be presented by the team, by tomorrow morning.
- Veloqx Motorsport has also entered a Ferrari 360 Modena for Guy Smith and
Andrew Kirkaldy, both of whom are due to drive for Team Maranello
Concessionaires in the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa.
-Tom Coronel, a race-winner for Lister in 2001, has rejoined the team for
this round. The Dutch driver, currently racing in the FIA European Touring
Car Championship for Carly Motors, will be strengthening the team following
Jamie Campbell-Walter's qualifying crash at Le Mans, which has left the
former Champion with three broken ribs. "I am sure I can drive, but I am not
certain that I could do two stints," Jamie explained.
-French Sportscar specialist Emmanuel Collard has joined EMKA Racing, to
drive alongside Tim Sugden in the nr 61 Porsche 996 GT3-RS.
-Maciej Marcinkiewick, from Poland, who drove the nr 12 Proton Porsche 911
GT2 at Brno, has moved to the team's new Porsche 996 GT3-RS for this round,
alongside father and son team Gerold and Christian Ried.
-British driver Johnny Mowlem, who competed for Autorlando and JVG Racing
last season, will be replacing Walter Lechner Jr in the nr 99 RWS Yukos
Porsche 996 GT3-RS, who is competing in the Porsche Supercup this weekend.
-Creation Autosportif has announced that Christophe Bouchut, double winner
of the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa and reigning FIA GT Champion, will be
joining the line-up of their nr 6 Lister Storm for this year's race.
Bouchut will drive with Marco Zadra and Bobby Verdon-Roe. "I think they
will make a good combination," team principle Ian Bickerton explained.
"Bobby finished second last year, Christophe won the race and has prior
Lister experience, and Marco also raced there last year, as well as in
various Sportscar races. It is a big move for Christophe, who is sad to
leave Larbre, but we are very pleased that he is joining us."
-Four regular teams are missing from the N-GT grid for Round 5. The nr 54
Cirtek Motorsport Porsche, the nr 58 Autopalace Ferrari 360 Modena and the
nr 56 Alda Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS all have technical difficulties,
while the nr 57 MENX Ferrari 360 Modena is missing due to ill-health of team
owner and driver Robert Pergl. The cars will have 30 kg penalty weight for
the next penalty-bearing race in Anderstorp.
First Free Practice Session : Lister and EMKA fastest
Jamie Campbell-Walter showed no signs of ill-effect from his broken ribs, as
he set the fastest time in this morning's first free practice session for
the Donington round of the FIA GT Championship, with a lap of 1:29.819. At a
track that Lister knows well, the nr 14 Lister Storm led for much of the
session, with its main rival being the nr 15 Storm of Deletraz and Piccini.
Another front-runner was the nr 7 Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R, with
Tommy Erdos setting a lap of 1: 30.512 with half an hour to go, placing the
car second and demoting the nr 15 Storm to third. The nr 5 Force One
Festina Chrysler Viper GTS-R of Hezemans and Kumpen, who won here last year,
were fourth fastest, ahead of the two BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550
Maranello cars.
In N-GT, the nr 61 EMKA Racing Porsche 996 GT3-RS of Sugden and Collard was
fastest, with a time of 1:34.595, closely followed by the nr 89 Team
Maranello Ferrari 360 Modena, with Kelvin Burt setting a time of 1:34.632.
New to the Championship, the nr 80 Veloqx Motorsport Ferrari 360 Modena of
Kirkaldy and Smith was third, ahead of the two Team Eurotech Porsche 996
GT3-RS cars.
Second Free Practice Session : BMS and Freisinger best in the wet
The light rain varied in intensity throughout the second qualifying session,
but it never stopped for long enough for times to equal those in the morning
session. The nr 23 BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello of Biagi and Bobbi , currently
leading the Championship, was consistently fastest throughout the 90-minute
session, with a best time of 1:39.481, set during one of the drier periods.
The nr 14 Lister Storm, fastest in the morning, improved to second later in
the session, with a lap of 1:41.753, over 2 seconds slower than the Ferrari'
s best time. The nr 21 Care Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello of Calderari,
Bryner and Livio was third, followed by the two Force One Festina Chrysler
Viper GTS-R cars. A number of cars had problems, including the nr 52 JMB
Racing Ferrari 360 Modena, and the nr 8 Graham Nash Saleen S7-R, both of
which spun after touching the white lines in the wet. In the N-GT class,
the Porsche 996 GT3-RS cars dominated, led by the two Freisinger Motorsport
cars, followed by the nr 74 Team Eurotech and the nr 61 EMKA Racing
Porsches. The best of the Ferrari cars was in fifth, the nr 88 Team
Maranello car of Mullen and Davies, which led the nr 80 Veloqx Motorsport
and the nr 89 Team Maranello car.
NOTES AND QUOTES
Franz Konrad - nr 2 Saleen S7-R : "We've had a number of little problems,
like the wrong gear ratios, and a broken sensor on the throttle, which meant
that the car was practically undriveable in the wet. So, considering the
problems, we are very pleased with our times. We know where we are, we can
fix everything and hope it will all be right tomorrow."
Steve Zacchia - nr 4 Force One Chrysler Viper : "This is my first time at
Donington, and I have never really driven the Viper in the wet, so I was
very cautious out there today. It's going better and better, but I really
hope it will be dry on Sunday."
Thomas Erdos - nr 7 Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7-R : "It was very good
this morning. We had a bit more time between the races, and we were able to
work more on the car. We have not yet had a chance to test, so there is
still more to come. I am very happy with the time we set this morning - we
are back where we think we should be. But we are running up against some
very professional teams ! It helps being back on familiar territory, after
a number of tracks that were totally new to us."
David Terrien - nr 10 JMB Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello : "I had an alarm on
the dashboard, so I stopped by the side of the track as a precaution. But
everything is OK, and the car was going well this morning."
Jamie Campbell-Walter - nr 14 Lister Storm : "The car is nice. As for me,
it hurts when I get in and out, but when I'm driving, the adrenaline takes
over and I'm fine. The car was quick out of the box, just as we expected,
and I know we can still go quite a bit quicker. We tried the tyre compound
we first used in Brno, which was good round here too, but no other major
changes. Nathan did 10 laps, but Tommy did not get a chance to drive as we
had a minor engine problem at the end."
Andrea Piccini - nr 15 Lister Storm : "The car was good and we set a fast
time in the morning. We have solved all our engine problems, which is good,
but I still need to get closer to Jamie Campbell-Walter. I know the track,
but I have never driven the Lister here before. I'm quite happy in the dry,
but it is difficult in the wet, and I still have problems finding the limits
with this car in those conditions."
Matteo Bobbi - nr 23 BMS Ferrari 550 Maranello : "It went very well today.
We had a problem with the first set of tyres this morning, so we only used
one set, and 5th was not bad. The Lister is quicker than us in the dry, but
in the afternoon we had some very good tyres from Michelin for the rain.
The car was excellent, and you do not notice the penalty weight in the wet,
so we are really hoping for rain on Sunday."
Bert Longin - nr 51 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS : "We were
first and second in the rain, which must be OK. But we are not so close to
the nr 50 car in the dry conditions. Our car is one of the few not to have
a sequential gearbox - we have to earn it with some good results. We are
pushing all the time; we're here to learn. But I think this race could be
very important in terms of the Championship, especially with the next race
being the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa."
Fabrizio De Simone - nr 52 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena: "The car was very
good in the morning, very consistent. But in the afternoon, I went into the
gravel, and the engine stalled, so we lost much of the session."
Emmanuel Collard - nr 61 EMKA Racing Porsche 996 GT3-RS : "It took me a
while to get used to the car, as the gear-box is different from those I was
used to. But the car is excellent, and Tim and I hope to win ! We'll see
on Sunday."
Christian Ried - nr 69 Proton Competition Porsche 996 GT3-RS : "We were
quite happy with 9th at Brno for our first time out in the new car. Each
time I get in the car, I'm able to go a bit faster, and we hope to manage
to finish in the points this time."
Mike Jordan - nr 74 Team Eurotech Porsche 996 GT3-RS : "I am pleased;
everything is going well and we're on pace. If everything continues to go
well, it should be OK. Our car has a lovely balance, and is working well,
and both cars are up there together. So we're hoping it carries on like
this . But I think it's going to be very close out there this weekend."
Tim Mullen - nr 88 Team Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 360 Modena : "We
didn't get out until about 40 minutes into the first session, due to lots of
little problems. It will be completely different in the afternoon due to
the rain, but it will be good experience for us, as we have not had much wet
running so far."
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