FIA GT Championship

Bobbi and Melo take the GT2 Drivers Championship

© DPPI

Sixth across the line, and the last classified car in GT2 was the nr 58 AF Corse Ferrari of Bobbi and Melo, after an early race collision with the Vertigo saw the car come in for a long stop to repair a puncture and the radiator. It looked as if the title fight would go on to Dubai, but when the nr 59 was excluded, the drivers of the nr 58 had an unreachable lead in the GT2 Drivers Championship. With two wins this season, in Silverstone and Dijon, as well as second-place finishes at Spa, Mugello and Hungary, Bobbi and Melo have scored points in every round.
Although this is a first title for Jaime Melo of Brazil, it is Matteo Bobbi’s second victory, after he claimed the 2003 FIA GT1 Championship in 2003, with BMS Scuderia Italia. This feat was previously achieved by Christophe Bouchut, who won in N-GT in 2000, and then in GT in 2001. Olivier Beretta won in GT2 in 1998 and then overall in 1999, but with the same car and in effectively the same category. “It has been a very emotional day,” Bobbi said. “First of all Jaime had problems at the start of the race, and we lost a lot of points. I was very frustrated when I left the track. But then I had a phone call from Jaime who told me that the nr 59 had been excluded and we had won the title. It might not be the best way to conclude the battle, but the Championship is the Championship, and I am very glad to have another one in my pocket. Now we can go to Dubai with no pressure. I think the team, Jaime and I have done an unbelievable job this year.”