FIA GT : Monza : Ferraris Improve
1.4.01

The first round of the FIA GT Championship was eagerly awaited by Ferrari fans because of the far more serious attempts that were likely to be seen this season.

Team Rafanelli had entered two of their superb-looking 550 Maranellos and the JMB team had entered two 360 Modenas, both teams employing some well-rated drivers.

The two JMB 360's went quite well, one finished and the other was quick

The grid order was impossible to comprehend in that, after initial qualifying, the six fastest GTs and the six fastest N-GTs went through to a Superpole session where the top 12 places on the grid are determined by a single flying lap. The rest of the entry then have a further 15 minutes to try to set a better time in their quest to move up the order. All clear? No, we didn't understand it either....

The lead 550 of Naspetti/Schiattarella took part in the Superpole session and finished seventh on the grid. The second 550, although not qualifying for the Superpole, nevertheless set a subsequent excellent time and started second of the "also rans". The quickest 360 Modena, driven by Pescatori/Terrien, was also going extremely well and set the second best N-GT time in the short 15 minute session.

The Duez/Blieninger 550 finished fifth overall

During the race the Naspetti/ Schiattarella car was plagued by a broken nose and eventually landed in the gravel on lap 67 and stayed there for the duration. The other 550, driven by Duez/Blieninger came through to a fine fifth place finish in the car's debut race. "I am really happy", Bleininger said. "The car's shown its potential today and it is certainly the most beautiful on the grid!"

Similarly, the JMB Racing 360 Modena performed well, with the Pescatori/Terrien car rising to third place in N-GT until brake problems ended their race on lap 26. The second JMB 360 of Garbagnati/Pregliasco/Lambertini was some three seconds per lap slower than its stablemate but nevertheless finished in 14th place in its class.

The race was won by the dominant Lister Storm of Campbell-Walter/Coronel followed by the Chrysler Viper of Bouchut/Belloc. Those are the cars the 550's must beat this year.

A promising start - the next round will be at Brno on 16 April. We eagerly await the appearance of the Prodrive 550's, which are set to join the FIA GT season about half way through.

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