FIA GT Championship

Storming win for Larbre in Brno

Pedro Lamy and Gabriele Gardel drove a magnificent race at Brno to win the fifth round of the FIA GT Championship, at the wheel of the Care Racing supported Larbre Compétition Ferrari 550 Maranello.

Wet weather conditions midway through the race completely reversed the pattern of qualifying, and the defining moment came when Gardel caught and passed Michael Bartels? Vitaphone Maserati MC12 on the 35th lap, just beyond half distance, and pulled away with ease.

The Larbre Ferrari 550 is the first car to have won more than once in the 2005 season, Lamy and Gardel repeating their victory at the opening round of the Championship in Monza, and the Swiss is now the leader of the FIA GT1 Drivers Championship.

“I like Brno? said team owner Jack Leconte. “Each time I come here I win, and today we lead the championship. Now I am looking forward to Spa, and the opportunity to increase our lead.”

A thunderstorm on Saturday evening lowered the ambient temperature to a comfortable 21 degrees, but the track was dry at the start of the race. Anthony Kumpen spun his Chevrolet Corvette in the middle of the pack at the second corner, after bumping over a kerb on the inside, and reduced the field by three as Fabio Babini’s Maserati, Andrea Piccini’s Ferrari 575 and Peter Kox’s Lamborghini were sidelined with accident damage.

Christophe Bouchut was delayed in the Russian Age Ferrari 550 but chased after leaders Philipp Peter and Timo Scheider in their Maseratis, passing Scheider on the 10th lap and Peter, for the lead, on the 14th.

“We have changed the car a lot, and it all seems to be working? said Cirtek team owner Rob Schirle. “We have changed the settings and the gear ratios since yesterday and Christophe is very happy with the car.”

Bouchut led until the first pit stops at the end of the hour, handing over to Alexey Vasiliev as rain swept across the circuit. Conditions were tricky but the Michelins were demonstrably the best tyres to have, and the Russian was soon in the groove and setting times that equalled those of race leader Gardel, also on Michelin.

The two Care Racing Ferraris, powered by Prodrive built 6 litre V12 engines, were running first and third in the middle stint, split only by Scheider and Bartels in their Vitaphone Maserati, with Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger following in fourth place in their JMB Maserati MC12.

Vasiliev was all smiles when he climbed out of the Russian Age Ferrari in
third position. “The Michelin tyres were Number One? he said. “It was like we drive in Russia in the winter with small teeth in the tyres, you have fantastic grip, and that is how it felt today.”

Nicolay Fomenko took the third stint on intermediate tyres, but was unable to find a rhythm and lost two laps in the space of an 18 lap stint, dropping the Ferrari down to eighth position. Bouchut took the car to the finish, but was unfortunately unable to make up any places.

Pedro Lamy meanwhile controlled the race from the front, maintaining a lead of around tne minute throughout the final hour, taking the chequered flag with a Ferrari trade-mark swoop across the track. “The tyres were perfect today? said the Portuguese, “We were fast in all the stints, and Gabriele did an especially good job in the wet, it was very difficult out there and he made no mistakes at all.”

© 2005 Planetlemans.com.