22nd September 2003

BMS SCUDERIA ITALIA POISED TO CLAIM TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS

When BMS Scuderia Italia young guns, Thomas Biagi and Matteo Bobbi, took their 6th win of the season in Oschersleben, Germany yesterday – having started the race in 7th place on the grid – one Championship title chase appears to have been wrapped up.

Following the amended race result, the Brescia-based team has now an unassailable lead in the Teams’ Championship, and it looks almost certain that a Ferrari driver will also win the Drivers’ title – although that will not be decided until the next round of the FIA GT series in Estoril on 5th October. BMS Scuderia Italia has a 40 point lead over its nearest rivals, Lister Racing – the final points total being subject to the result of the latter’s appeal following the outcome of yesterday’s race.

The two Italians, driving the Care Racing owned Ferrari 550 Maranello nr.23, actually crossed the finish line in second place but took the win when the nr. 14 Lister Storm was excluded from the results for causing an avoidable accident. The British team has appealed, and the results of the race therefore remain provisional.

Bobbi and Biagi, in their first season of sportscar racing, are now 11 points clear of their nearest rivals, Swiss drivers Lilian Bryner and Enzo Calderari, who drive the nr. 21 Ferrari 550 Maranello, entered by Care Racing but managed by BMS Scuderia Italia. Bryner and Calderari, with Stefano Livio, finished in 3rd place in the amended results, and were delighted with the unexpected podium.

Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari unfortunately failed to score any points after retiring with clutch problems during the middle part of the race. The Italians are now 17 points behind the leaders, with only 20 points available.

Matteo Bobbi: “The team did really good work setting up the car for the race; it was fantastic. Both Biagi and I would like to dedicate this victory to our chief engineer, Marco Gadola, who lost his father two days ago and who could not be with us here today.”

Thomas Biagi: “With the restrictors we now have, it was sometimes difficult to even overtake the N-GT cars, as we have no power at the top, but we were lucky to have a very reliable and strong car.”

Marco Streparava, BMS Logistics Manager: “It was fantastic to have everyone there in Germany who has worked so hard on the programme to enjoy the victory, from Frederic and Yves Emmanuel Dor of Care Racing to Augusto Mensi, to all the team members. It was the best possible result for the team and for Michelin.

“We did not do much celebrating after the race though as our focus is very much on securing the Championships, something which is not yet certain. It could be any one of the three Ferraris we manage which achieves success in the Drivers’ chase, so we will wait for the next round to see what happens.”