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Jarama 2002

Lease Plan

02/06/2002

30/05/2002

N-GT Preview

N-GT Championship

JMB Racing still in command

French team JMB Racing continues to lead the N-GT class, having scored two wins, a second place and two third places to build up an impressive early-season score. Although Pescatori and Montermini finished second in Brno, the No 51 Ferrari 360 Modena of Bertolini and Garbagnati failed to finish for the first time, having been involved in an accident, which brought the safety car out.

"Twice during the same weekend I had a collision with the same Paul Belmondo Viper," Garbagnati explained. "Once in the free practice, and then again during the race. In the race, I spun, and Lilian Bryner came up and hit me. Paul Belmondo came up to apologize. Besides that, I had started well, and was lapping around 2:09. Bertolini is an excellent team-mate, who sets the car up really well. I am usually a second slower than him, but during Brno, I was within a second of Christian Pescatori for the first ten laps. So I am really happy with my progress, and I think we could have done a great race." The Italian is looking forward to the next race : "Jarama is a nice track, I like it, and I think it will be very good for our car. I hope to do well and get a good result. My expectations have gone up this season; I used to aim for the top six, but now I'm aiming for the top three! My first podium has made me more relaxed, but also increased the pressure. But Silverstone was phenomenal, a dream come true. For a gentleman driver, who spends all week at work as I do, to achieve something like that at the weekend with a professional team, is really very good indeed."

First win for Freisinger

Freisinger Motorsport took their first win of the season at Brno, with Marc Lieb and Stephane Ortelli withstanding constant pressure from the No 50 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena. Now second in the classification, the team is looking forward to the next round.

"The team had a test session with Dunlop at Jarama earlier in the year, when they chose the tyres to use this season. They also did a long endurance test, which should be a good help," Ortelli explained. "I am looking forward to seeing how things go. The car is going better and better, but I know Ferrari is working hard too. Basically my feelings are mixed. We did a good job at Brno, and I think the circuit at Jarama will suit us well too, with sweeping, long corners." With Lieb unavailable for Jarama, the team has not yet announced Ortelli's partner. "It will be someone fast," Ortelli explained. " I enjoyed working with Marc, and I can guarantee that we will race together again before the end of the season. It's going to be interesting in Jarama, not only a battle between Porsche and Ferrari, but between Pirelli and Dunlop. The other Porsche teams are also looking strong, especially Jurgen von Gartzen and Philipp Peter."

Two cars for Autorlando Sport

Autorlando Sport, a consistent point-scoring team since the start of the 2002 season, will have two Porsche 996 GT3-R cars on the grid at Jarama. The first car will be in the hands of the usual line-up of Austrians Philipp Peter and Toto Wolff, who finished in third place at Brno. A second car will be entered for Swiss driver Joel Camathias, currently competing in the Euro F3000 Championship, and Italian Luca Rangoni, the man who has dominated the Renault Sport Clio Trophy since 2000.

Joel drove a number of races last season, but this will be Rangoni's first race. "We did a one-day test last week to check everything was OK, as the car had not run since Estoril," Camathias said. "It was fantastic, as it has been a long time since I raced the Porsche. I was at Jarama last year, but we did not run for very long during the race. This year, I hope to finish ! Autorlando are doing very well this season, with good drivers in Philipp Peter and Toto Wolff, drivers with lots of experience. For me, it is excellent to be driving with someone like Luca Rangoni, as I have much to learn. I really hope to finish the race to gain more experience. "

MAC Racing return

Italian team Mac Racing, a frequent competitor in the N-GT class of the FIA GT Championship, will enter two Porsche 996 GT3-R cars in the Jarama round. The first will be driven by the Merendino brothers, Francesco and Michele, who already drove for the team in Silverstone. The brothers held a press conference in their native town of Palermo recently, to launch their motorsports programme for this season. They will take part in the FIA GT Championship with Mac Racing, with the support of the Sicicilian tourism, communications and transport office.

"Silverstone was not easy for us, as the plan came together at the last minute," Michele Merendino said. "We did not know the track, and had never driven the Porsche 996 GT3-R before. We know the FIA GT Championship is very competitive, and we are eager to get used to the new circuits, the car and the team. For our home race at Pergusa, we would really like to be in the top six !" FIA GT regular Mauro Casadei and Moreno Soli, who drove a GDL Racing BMW 320i in last season's FIA European Super Touring Championship, will share the team's second Porsche 996 GT3-R. "After twenty years as a touring car driver, I am very excited to be driving a fantastic car such as a Porsche 996 GT3-R," Soli said. "I raced at Jarama last year, and I really like the track; it is very tough to find the right compromise between the set-up of the car, the performance and the tyre consumption. I am happy to be taking part in the FIA GT Championship."