FIA GT Championship

British GT…en France! - Magny Cours British GT Preview.

The British GT Championship has something new for 2005: a race at Magny Cours, home of the French Grand Prix, alongside the FIA GT Championship contenders. After a dominant showing at the opening British GT round at Donington a few weeks ago, the Scuderia Ecosse team can’t wait to sample the international competition in France this weekend.

© Frank Feenstra / Planetlemans.com

Situated in rural France, some 160 miles south of Paris, Magny Cours is a popular circuit due to its unique configuration of high speed chicanes and slow speed corners. Add to the mix an unusually smooth surface which results in low grip levels and a large field of GT cars and you have an interesting weekend on your hands!

Nathan Kinch is looking forward to returning to Magny Cours. “I’ve raced here a couple of times but the most memorable would be back in 2003 when I did the FIA GT race for Lister. We were leading the race but the throttle cable snapped with two laps to go so naturally I’m hoping for better luck this time around! It will be interesting to see how we fare against the FIA GT2 cars; to see how we get on against our old rivals, GruppeM, but let’s not forget they are a works team now. It should be a very interesting weekend!”

Nathan’s team-mate, Andrew Kirkaldy, has never raced at Magny Cours but did test his Ferrari there recently so he won’t need to spend time getting acquainted with the track. “This is one of the few circuits I haven’t raced at but we have tested there so that’s no problem”, commented Andrew. “The circuit definitely suits our car and I think we’ll be able to put on a good show. The GT2 group looks incredibly competitive and judging by the results at Spa we need to be on the lookout for those TVRs now too!”

After taking a podium finish at the first race, Chris Niarchos is raring to go in his 360 GTC. “I am really looking forward to next weekend. The track is very technical in sections as well as being very fast. That should suit the Ferraris very much. Tim and I believe we have a very good package entering the race. We tested at Magny Cours a month ago and we were fast! Tim has won there before and although I have never raced there before I like the circuit a lot and feel we have every chance of a great result.”

Tim Mullen enjoys racing at Magny Cours and has tasted success at the French track. “I won at Magny Cours in a Ferrari in the 2003 FIA GT race and there is every chance that history could repeat itself. The competition is tight at the top with Nathan and Andrew, the TVRs and of course the Porsches, but three hours is a long time and anything could happen. It’s a good track; very smooth with a couple of nice fast corners and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

The weekend’s running begins on Friday morning with the first Free Practice session. The Kinch/Kirkaldy Ferrari (Car no.83 for this race) will carry 30kgs of success ballast at Magny Cours as a result of the victory at Donington. The Niarchos/Mullen (No.82) will carry 10kgs after taking third place in the first round.