Race 1

Scuderia Playteam Sarafree goes straight to the podium

- Ferrari F430 no. 7 – Thomas Kemenater / Gianluca Tedoldi
- Ferrari F430 no. 8 – Max Busnelli / Gabriele Lancieri

Sunday, 11 May 2008 – The second round of the Sara GT - Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo was run in very warm Italian weather. Record temperatures were the backdrop to an tremendous job on the part of the team after the unlucky weekend of Monza, with Scuderia Playteam Sarafree coming out as the winner. At the end of 25 laps the checkered effectively signalled the first position of Busnelli-Lancieri who were followed just behind by the Ferrari F430 no. 23 of Easy Race and then the no. 4 of Racing Team. The blue and silver Playteam Sarafree Ferrari F430 no. 7 finished the race in 10th place

The start of the race saw Busnelli in the Ferrari F430 no. 8 starting from the front row while Kemenater in the no. 7 F430 was in 5th position. The rolling start was the scene of an initial melee even before crossing the starting line with Busnelli solidly maintaining second place behind Postiglione’s Ferrari F430 no. 23. Then during the first lap in which several cars left the track, Thomas Kemenater was able to maintain his position. These positions were maintained until the driver changes.

In the 12 lap Kemenater who had remained in 8th place switched driver duties with Tedoldi. Busnelli instead elected to turn over the car to his co-driver Gabriele Lancieri two laps later during a pit stop while he was leading the race. From this moment on the race was a hard fought competition that saw Lancieri eat up a 10th of a second lead of the F430 Ferrari no. 23 taking over first place 10 minutes prior to the chequered flag. The end of the 48 minute race saw co-drivers Busnelli and Lancieri climb to the top step of the podium while Tedoldi-Kemenater finished up in 10th place.

“Today was sweet music to our ears. To be among the first ten for a first time in Italy is a good result,” stated Gianluca Tedoldi. “Thomas did an incredible job in the first part of the race handing me a car that was in 8th place with perfect tyres. I pushed more than I should have taking small risk for a few laps before the end which ended up with a moment in the sand. I could have perhaps been more careful and done better than yesterday.

The first race went very well. I wanted to hand over the car to Gianluca in good condition and think I successfully did so,” said Thomas Kemenater. “This was a straight forward race without many problems. I managed to maintain my position in spite of a slight contact with another car during the departure. After the driver change Gianluca finished the job. I am satisfied.

“Following our unfortunate attempt in Monza this was what we needed. Gabriele and I, together, did a fantastic job,” according to Max Busnelli. “We ran a good race even though the start was not entirely normal. Postiglione had effectively set a very slow pace and we practically started from a full stop. Despite the risk of stalling I wanted to spare the rear tyres as much as possible because I had experienced a bit of under steering. I wanted to be able to hand the car off to Gabriele in as good a condition as possible. I knew that my co-driver was perfectly capable of attacking the lead vehicle. I must say that this tactic provided the best outcome for the team.

When asked Lancieri said, “We are satisfied because we were able to put things back in order after the disappointing start off in Monza. After Max’s turn in the car, I was able to easily take first place and managed to maintain it with an easy pace that did not over use the tyres and without unnecessary risks. The race finished like we wanted. We are very pleased.




RACE 2

Scuderia PlayTeam Sarafree again takes points in the 2nd round at Mugello

- Ferrari F430 no. 7 – Thomas Kemenater / Gianluca Tedoldi - 0” handicap
- Ferrari F430 no. 8 – Max Busnelli / Gabriele Lancieri – 15” handicap

Sunday, 11 May, 2008 - After barely 5 hours after welcoming co-drivers Lancieri and Busnelli to the top position on the podium, Scuderia PlayTeam Sarafree were confronted with unhoped for results. The second race saw the Ferrari F430 no. 8 of Lancieri-Busnelli finish in 9th place while the Ferrari F430 no. 7 of Kemenater and Tedoldi had to undergo an early withdrawal from the race.

At the end of the second qualifying session, the departure grid had Lancieri and Busnelli in the third row when Tedoldi was preparing to go into the race in 9th position. The departure was the arena for an anticipated initial battle for the outcome of the race right from the start. It was at this point point that Lancieri making the most of his initiative and experience managed to navigate through the grouped up cars to enter the first curve in 4th place. During this time Tedoldi maintained 18th place but then ended up in the sand during the 5th lap thus knocked out of the race early on. The 5th lap was also costly to the Ferrari F430 of Lancieri who was overtaken and continued his part of the race in 6th place.

The lead group maintained the same positions as the starting grid throughout the first part of the race with the Porsche no. 12 opening a gap of more than 11 seconds ahead of the 2nd place Ferrari F430 no. 16. At the 11th lap, Busnelli took over driving duties from his team mate Lancieri and got back on the track after holding for the regulation 15 second handicap resulting from his win in the first race. After a spectacular comeback, characterized by a series of overtaking throughout the second part of the race, Busnelli took the blue and silver team colours to 9th place by the end of the race.

According to Gianluca Tedoldi “At the Buccine curve the car following me violently rammed into mine forcing me off of the tack. I finished in the sand when I had actually been attempting to overtake car in front that had continuously been blocking me thus forcing me to go slower than I wanted. I am unhappy for my co-driver and the team, but at that point I could do nothing at all.

“This was a more difficult race than I would have thought because the penalty caused me to get into the race well behind. It was difficult losing the initiative and had to work really hard having been relegated to constant overtaking. The car was a bit destabilized by this. I pushed as hard as I could but was too far back from the lead group. We did win two points, which is better than nothing.

“I started fairly well in spite of contact with the car driven by Mediani. I continued at a discreet rhythm, but at the Buccine curve I was passed by Aguas and Caffi. At the driver change over we had to contend with the 15 second handicap which conditioned all of the second part of the race. Unfortunately it went like this till the end. Now hopes are for the next races.

Knockhill will honour Scottish BTCC star David Leslie by naming a corner after him at the circuit.

The left-hander at the bottom of Duffus Dip will be re-christened 'Leslie's Bend' during this weekend's British GT race meeting in memory of the nine-time BTCC race-winner who died aged 54 in a plane crash almost two weeks ago.

His widow Jane, sons Graham and James, and father David Sr will all be at the circuit to see the corner renamed.

Knockhill's Ray Smith said: "We are honoured that David's family have willingly agreed to attend this Sunday's race meeting to help everyone who will be here honour a great racing driver, sportsman, gentleman and friend."

The corner had a special significance for Leslie, as he rolled his Ecurie Ecosse Vauxhall Cavalier there in 1993 after suffering a steering failure.

In a further mark of respect, Leslie's 1997 BTCC Nissan will be demonstrated around the circuit by fellow Scotsman Anthony Reid - Leslie's teammate that season.

Paddy Shovlin and Michael Cullen (#15 CR Scuderia Ferrari 430) took the first win of the season in an incident packed race that saw one of the closest finishes in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and a Ferrari 1-2-3. Joe Osborne and Michael Broadhurst became the first drivers to win in the new GT4 class in their Team RPM Ginetta G50.

The incidents happened before the cars even took to the track after James Gornall (#40 Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper Competition Coupe) had his qualifying times disallowed after the ride height of the Viper was found to be below the permitted level. This dropped Gornall from 3rd on the grid and forced the Southampton driver to start from the pitlane. He was joined at the end of the pits by Hunter Abbott in the Rob Austin Racing Ginetta G50 after he joined the track after the pitlane had closed.

Also missing from the grid was the Team Eurotech - Preci Spark Ascari of David and Godfrey Jones and also the Cadena Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9 of Barrie Whight and Gavan Kershaw after the car experienced engine failure in the first qualifying session.

Michael Meadows (#14 CR Scuderia Ferrari 430) started his first British GT race from pole position and he led the 24 car grid around the 2.7-mile Oulton Park circuit behind the pace car. As the lights went out Meadows got a good start but was immediately under pressure from Paddy Shovlin and had to defend his line through Old Hall. As the pack headed down to Cascades Piers Johnson's Team Modena Lamborghini ended up on the grass and in a shower of dirt rolled, bringing out the safety car. Johnson was OK but his car wasn't going to be taking any further part in the weekend's proceedings.

After three laps the race went green once again and Meadows defended his lead as Shovlin piled on the pressure. Further back James Gornall was making rapid progress from the back of the field and by lap 6th was up to 13th from 24th on the grid.

Michael Meadows continued to lead Shovelin, with the third CRS Ferrari of Jeremy Metcalfe shadowing the leading pair. At Knickerbrook Meadows appeared to outbrake himself and went straight through the chicane. He headed up Clay Hill in the lead but through Druids Shovlin and Metcalfe went past the lead Ferrari as Meadows obviously had a problem. The No 14 Ferrari trundled into the pits.

Paddy Shovlin and Jeremy Metcalfe were now 1st and 2nd, with the Tech 9 Lamborghini of Oliver Morley in 3rd and Phil Burton in the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari. In GT4 Hunter Abbott (#55 Rob Austin Racing Ginetta G50) and Peter Snowden (#63 Chad Racing Aston Martin N24) were side by side across the line, with Abbott getting ahead as they went down towards Cascades for the 8th time. However Abbott's car slide sideways on the run down the hill and dug into the soft ground, the Ginetta rolling a number of times before coming to rest. Hunter Abbott walked away from the massive accident that destroyed his car, a testiment to the strength of the safety cell installed by Ginetta, but went to hospital suffering minor burns to his hands and face. However this caused a red flag to be displayed, stopping the race.

The restart would be over 30-minutes, with the pit window coming after 10 minutes and last 10 minutes. It would also be a straight race to the flag and the grid would be formed by the positions of the cars on the track when the red flag was shown.

Paddy Shovlin started the race from pole position and when the red lights went out he moved ahead of Metcalfe, who in turn came under pressure from Morley in the Lamborghini. David Ashburn in the Trackspeed Porsche spun at Cascades but recovered as did the number 20 Viper of Craig Wilkins.

The two leading Ferrari's started to pull away from the Tech 9 Lamborghini, with Morley coming under pressure from Phil Burton and Nick Foster in the #2 Team RPM Viper. James Gornall continued his move up through the field and as the pit window opened he had risen to 5th place, overtaking Nick Foster at Cascades on the 4th lap.

With the pit window open the cars started to stream into the pits to change drivers. Shovlin and Metcalfe pitted at the same time and while Shovlin's teammate Michael Cullen exited in good time, Luke Hines found himself stranded in the pitlane with a Ferrari that wouldn't start. A 20-second delay put Hines down the order and out of contention.

When the pitstops had all been completed it was Cullen in the lead ahead of Adam Wilcox in the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari, with Tom Ferrier in the Tech 9 Lamborghini ahead of Paul O'Neill in the #1 Team RPM Viper and Allan Simonsen in the CiM Ferrari.

Ferrier was the first to fall by the wayside when he went off at Hislops Chicane on lap 12. O'Neill was now 3rd but one lap later he too went wide at the allowing Simonsen and Richard Williams in the Trackspeed Porsche to go through.

Cullen and Wilcox were now split by just 0.3 seconds, with Simonsen closing the gap to the leading pair by 2 seconds a lap. With two laps remaining Simonsen was right on the rear bumper of the Wilcox Ferrari, the top 3 split by 0.6 seconds. The Dane tried every trick in the book to get past Wilcox and the Englishman was forced to defend, allowing Cullen a bit of breathing space.

This is how it remained until the chequered flag, the gap between 1st and 3rd just 0.518 seconds, with the Trackspeed Porsche of Richard Williams another 0.801 seconds behind Simonsen.

In GT4 a long pitstop gifted Michael Broadhurst in the #51 Team RPM Ginetta G50 the win in GT4 ahead of Stewart Linn in the #88 IMS Motorsport Ginetta.

British F3 National Class race winner Michael Meadows got his British GT career off to a flying start by claiming pole position for the opening round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

He took his CR Scuderia Ferrari 430 with a time of 1m40.666s, 0.470s ahead of teammate Paddy Shovlin in the #15 CRS Ferrari. Third spot was claimed by James Gornall in the Team Trimite Viper, with the third CRS Ferrari of Jeremy Metcalfe in 4th.

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Allan Simonsen stormed to pole position for Round 2 of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

He took his Christians in Motorsports Ferrari 430 to the top of the time sheets with a 1m38.995 lap, 0.6 seconds ahead of Tom Ferrier in the Tech 9 Lamborghini Gallardo and 0.718 seconds ahead of Richard Williams in the Trackspeed Porsche 997. Rob Austin took pole position in the GT4 class, 1.9 seconds ahead of Michael Broadhurst in the Team RPM Ginetta G50.