Maranello, 22 April

Second round of the season for the FIA GT1 World Championship and the European FIA GT3 at Zolder, Belgium this weekend, with the AF Corse team competing in both series. In the FIA GT3, Gaetano Ardagna and Giuseppe Ciro took an amazing double at the wheel of the Italian team’s Ferrari 458 GT3, being the absolute dominant force at this event. Stefano Gai and Michael Lyons in the second AF car, got an equally good result: in Race 1 they took the chequered flag in third, while the second race saw them finish fifth, bringing home more valuable championship points. After this round in Belgium, Ardagna-Ciro lead the drivers’ table comfortably on 69 points with Gai-Lyons third on 58, while the Amato Ferrari run squad heads the team table on 128 points.

A good points haul for AF Corse, third in the team table in the FIA GT1 World Championship, thanks to a third place for Filip Salaquarda and Toni Vilander in the World Championship Race, which gave the duo the chance to make up for finishing only 13th in the Qualifying Race on Saturday, which was badly affected by rain. The second AF Corse crew in the FIA GT1 series, Franceso Castellacci and Enzo Ide, finished the first leg seventh. It was not a bad result given they had to pit on the formation lap. In the Championship Race, the duo finished eleventh, after a collision with another car, just as they were on their out lap after the pit stop. Castellacci was driving at the time and nevertheless managed to continue and was one of the quickest on track during his stint. The next round for both championships takes place on 6 May at Navarra in Spain.

Vitaphone Racing Team claimed its second consecutive win in the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy - the second round of the 2007 FIA GT Championship - at Silverstone today, when Thomas Biagi and Mika Salo drove their nr 1 Maserati MC 12 to victory.
They finished ahead of two Corvettes - the nr 5 Carsport Holland C6R of Hezemans and Deletraz, and the nr 4 PK Carsport C5R of Longin and Kumpen.
In GT2, AF Corse Motorola saw Dirk Müller and Toni Vilander take their second win, finishing ahead of both Racing Team Edil Cris cars, making a Ferrari one-two-three.  Ruberti and Pasini were second, with Cressoni and Rugola third.
The first-ever Citation Cup was won by Belgian team SRT, with drivers Tom Cloet and Pertti Kuismanen.  The G2 class was won by another Citation competitor, Red Racing, with the Chrysler Viper of Thierry Stepec and Sébastien Carcon.

FIA GT3 European Championship
Round 1 – Silverstone Race 1

HENRI MOSER and GILLES VANNELET FIRST WINNERS OF THE SEASON
19 years old Swiss driver Henri Moser, and Frenchman Gilles Vannelet, after a thrilling hour-long event, won the first race of the season, in the nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari 430. The first Corvette, the nr 18 of Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen was third and the first Aston Martin DBRS9, the nr 26 of Frederic Makowiecki and Jean-Claude Lagniez was fourth. With the nr 29 Damax Ascari in 5th position, the nr 11 Lamborghini in 6th position and the nr 7 Dodge Viper in 9th position, six different cars were in the top 10.

The Citation Cup makes its debut at Silverstone, with six cars competing in the GT1 and G2 categories, for non-professional drivers. With two JMB Racing Maserati MC 12 cars from Monaco, the SRT Corvette C5 from Belgium, the French Solution F Ferrari Maranello 550, the Swiss Kessel Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello and a Red Racing Chrysler Viper taking part, an international and extremely varied field is guaranteed. The winner will be on the GT1 podium, receiving a beautiful cup from Cessna/Citation and a ‘Paygasus Open Sky card’ giving up to three hours flying time in a Citation business jet. 
Mr Trevor Esling, the vice president of international sales for Cessna Aircraft, commented : “Cessna Citation is the largest manufacturer of business jets by volume in the world these days, all made in the United States. We manufacture a range of jets which goes up to and includes the Citation X, which is still the fastest commercial aircraft in production out there today, with a top speed of 0.92 Mach, just under the speed of sound. Speed, and all the technology associated with racing cars are all part of our business, so we feel there is an enormous amount of synergy between Cessna Citation products and the FIA GT Championship, and we are delighted to be sponsoring the Citation Cup.”
Stephane Ratel, Chairman of SRO, promoter of the FIA GT Championship, explained that the aim of the Citation Cup was to ensure that a place remained for non-professional drivers in the FIA GT Championship, the people who had been behind GT racing since the 1920’s, and also to help the best GT3 drivers to make the step up to GT1 or GT2 in the FIA GT Championship. “I really think that to do this, Cessna/Citation is the perfect match,” Ratel continued. “We share the same ideals, the same values. We love speed, exclusivity; I think there is a really natural link between prestigious sportscars and private jets. This is an ideal partnership for us, which I hope we will develop. We don’t expect all our drivers to go out and buy a Citation jet, but you can have a taste of it, with the Citation Cup.”

The two qualifying sessions were very close, and with more than 40 cars on the track, the traffic was a significant factor. During the first session, qualifying the cars for race one, Romain Bera was the quickest, claiming the first pole position for him in the FIA GT3 European Championship, and pole position for the Ford GT for its first ever race. Frederic Makowiecki set pole position in the second qualifying session, in the Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9, only 7 thousandths ahead of Thomas Mutsch in the Ford GT
 

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During two days, most of the FIA GT3 European Championship cars were in Dijon for the last official test session before the 2007 season gets underway.  Those present included two Tech9 Motorsport Porsche 997 Cup cars, a Ruffier Racing Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, First Racing Lamborghini Gallardo, a Riverside Corvette Z06 R GT3, an Aston Martin DBRS9, Berlanga Team Ascari KZ1R, Kessel Racing Ferrari 430 GT3, a Matech Racing Ford GT, an Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR GT3, an AutoGT Racing Morgan Aero V8 and a Multimatic Motorsport Ford Mustang FR500 GT. With good weather conditions, the official FIA GT3 test driver, Christophe Bouchut, was due to test all the cars at the fast Dijon-Prenois circuit.
Unfortunately, several cars had problems: during the first day Riverside Corvette Z06 GT3 and the Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR GT3 both suffered engine problems, while the Aston Martin DBRS9 had an accident, rolling impressively. Then during the second day, when Jacques Lafitte was driving the Morgan Aero for the first time, the engine blew up.

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25/03/2007

Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke started the season in the best possible way, giving All-Inkl.com Racing and the Lamborghini Murciélago their first FIA GT win.  With the new two-hour format, where strategy is incredibly important, the timing of the pit stops along with a safety-car period saw the nr 7 car take the lead.  At the re-start, a storming Bouchut kept the lead ahead of Philipp Peter, sharing the nr 19 PSI Experience Corvette C6 with FIA GT newcomer Luke Hines, and the PK Carsport Corvette C5 of Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen.  With fastest laps being set one after the other, a frantic finish finally saw Lamborghini claim its first win.

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24/03/2007

The first 80-minute practice season of the year was close and varied, with rain showers and a wet track making things even more interesting, with slick, intermediate and wet tyres all being used.  Four different makes led the session, with Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati and finally Corvette all taking their place at the top of the times.  But in the end it was the Corvette C5R of Kumpen and Longin – victorious here in 2005 – which set the best time. In GT2, BMS Scuderia Italia started its first GT2 season with the best time, for Collard in the nr 97 Porsche 997 GT3 RSR.
In the damp early part of the session, Barwell’s Aston Martin DBR9 set the best time of 1:37.901, Jonny Kane at the wheel.  He was followed by Bouchut in the nr 7 All-Inkl.com Lamborghini, and the leading GT2 car, the BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 of Collard and Malucelli.

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Koenigsegg has created a new race car - the CCGT, based on the production CC-model range. The CCGT complies with the ACO and FIA GT1 regulations.
The CCGT engine is based on the Koenigsegg CCX production engine with the superchargers removed but enlarged to 5.0 litre.

The reliability of the race engine is expected be exceptional as it is based on the proven strength and durability of the signifi cantly more powerful road car engine.

The minimum weight allowed for a GTI race car is 1,100 kg and most manufacturers struggle to meet this target, having to undergo massive weight saving programs.

Due to the fact the Koenigsegg CC cars are very light and stiff in road confi guration, the racing CCGT weighs in at just under an astounding 1,000 kg. This gives the possibility to place 100 kg of ballast freely within the car structure, still following the set rules. This should give Koenigsegg an interesting advantage over the competition.

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Monza 22/02/2007

The 2007 season of the FIA GT Championship got underway in Monza, with a press conference and test session around the powerful circuit.
Three sessions took place on track for the GT1 and GT2 cars, with a total of 20 cars taking to the track.  The best time of the day was set by the nr 23 Aston Martin Racing BMS DBR9, of Fabio Babini and Jamie Davies, in the third and final session of the day.  The car was also fastest in the other two sessions.  The track started off quite wet, after heavy overnight rain, but dried later and times came down.  Second-fastest of the day was the Racing Alliance Aston Martin DBR9, followed by the All-Inkl.com Lamborghini Murciélago.
The overall best time in GT2, the best time was set by the Michelotto Ferrari 430 GT2, in the hands of Jaime Melo, with a lap of 1:50.157.  Edil Cris was the fastest of the GT2 teams taking part in this year's Championship, with a lap of 1:50.481 in the third session, closely followed by Scuderia Ecosse.
Other cars out testing today included the Rock Media Pagani Zonda, the Phoenix Aston DBR9, the BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche, the JMB and Playteam Maserati cars, Tech 9 Motorsport and AF Corse.
The day also included a well-attended press conference, where Stephane Ratel outlined his projects for the year ahead.  Guest of Honour Kristian Ghedina, downhill skier, took to the stage to explain his love of speed and to interview last year's Champion, Andrea Bertolini, Runner-up Andrea Piccini, and GT3 Champion Sean Edwards, who has moved up to GT2 this year with Tech9 Motorsport.