FIA GT Championship

Gabriele Gardel championship win subject to appeal

A Euro’s worth of fuel might cruelly snatch from Gabriele Gardel’s grasp the Drivers’ GT1 Championship title after yesterday’s final round of the 2005 FIA GT Championship in Bahrain.

© FIA GT

Despite finishing 4th on track, which gave the Swiss driver enough points to take the title, the Larbre Competition car nr. 11 was found in post-race scrutineering to have insufficient fuel remaining in its tanks to meet the regulations. After a marathon 6 hours of deliberation by the Stewards, the car was excluded from the results. The team immediately appealed, and the results therefore remain provisional.

It was a bitterly disappointing end to the season for the French privateers who have won three races and scored consistently well in the season-long fight with the might of the four factory-backed Maseratis. Their initial joy at winning the Championship was soon dampened by the amount of time it took for the car to pass through scrutineering. By the time the Stewards made their decision known, Gardel was already on an aeroplane on the way home and was unable to comment on the developments.

The Drivers’ GT1 title would be the fifth Championship title in 2005 for the stable of Care Racing Ferraris (both Teams and Drivers in LMES and Italian GT with BMS Scuderia Italia), making it one of the most successful years ever for the Prodrive developed, built and powered cars.

The Bahrain race had been tense throughout, particularly the on-track battle between Gardel and Lamy and their closest remaining rivals in the points, Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider. An early threat from former Championship leaders Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger disappeared along with their title hopes when their gearbox failed after just 15 minutes of the race.

Lamy drove a superb two stints and, despite carrying 70kg of success ballast, he managed to overtake both Scheider and Babini at different times during the race. A podium finish slipped through his fingers on the very last lap as he slowed, running low on fuel, allowing the Corvette through for third place. “The race was difficult for everyone today. We had more weight in the car, which made a big difference, and because of our strategy of only two stops we were always trying to save fuel as well as stay ahead. I thought we would be okay, but it seems it wasn’t quite enough.”

Finishing in 8th place was Larbre Compétition’s second entry of Roland Bervillé, Raymond Narac and Steve Zacchia. Bervillé had had a difficult time at the start of the race, losing his grid position advantage in traffic. He was lucky to survive a touch from Collard in the Gruppe M Porsche, and had a difficult stint.

Both he and Narac were unable to find a good driving position and both complained of backache after their stints. Despite this, the Frenchmen found the car itself perfect to drive and, once Zacchia took the wheel for the final hour, he was able to push ahead and gain several places on the track.

Zacchia: “It was really pleasing. I managed to close the gap and, when I had Christophe (Bouchut) behind me in the Aston Martin, it motivated me even more to do good lap times and I could close even more. The car was good and I am very happy.”

The Russian Age Racing team were also pleased with the final outcome of their race and their 11th place, despite losing a lap due to a mix up in their pit signalling. With no radio communication, pit signals were the only means of showing the drivers when to pit and one additional lap on the track at the end of Vasiliev’s first stint very nearly resulted in the blue Ferrari 550 running out of fuel.

Nikolay Fomenko spoke for both he and his team mate after the race: “This has been the best race for Alexey and me all year, despite the mix up. The Ferrari is a fantastic car and I hope next year we have the chance to drive it again. With this car we have been able to be quicker and quicker and more aggressive on the track. When you are in the Ferrari, it feels like a real sportscar.”

Results:

1 17 Bouchut/Garcia Aston Martin DBR9 90 laps
2 16 Peter/Davies Maserati MC12 -26.209s
3 6 Longin/Kumpen/Hezemans Corvette C5R -1:33.423
4 9 Bartels/Scheider Maserati MC12 - 1 lap
5 3 Cioci/Montermini Ferrari 575 - 1 lap
6 5 Lechner/Ruberti Saleen S7 - 2 laps
7 12 Berville/Narac/Zacchia Ferrari 550 - 2 laps
8 10 Babini/Biagi Maserati MC12 - 3 laps
9 66 Lieb/Rockenfeller Porsche 996 (GT2) - 3 laps
10 18 Fomenko/Vasiliev Ferrari 550 -4 laps

Results are pending the appeal lodged by Larbre Competition

© 2005 Planetlemans.com.