For the FIA GT season´s high light the 24 Hours Spa (27th July – 03rd August), the drivers line up on the two Corvettes of Phoenix Carsport Racing are fixed.

At its essence, the end goal of motorsports is about making a car faster.

And while Rahal Letterman Racing has a myriad of experience in making open-wheel and sports cars go faster – as its 20 wins and 29 poles would attest to – its project to turn a back-of-the-pack Aston Martin DBRS9 into a fearsome speed machine was unlike any challenge it had ever faced.

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 20, 2008) – Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., led every lap Sunday to win the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course SPEED GT Presented by Remington race, Round Five of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship. Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach , Calif. , and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton , Fla. , completed the top three.

Darren Turner, winner of the GT1 class of the 24 Heures du Mans for the past two years, will join Gigawave MotorSport for the Total 24 Hours of Spa race.

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2008) – Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., captured his second SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT pole of the season and will lead the field at the start of Sunday afternoon’s Mid-Ohio SPEED GT Presented by Remington race. Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach , Calif. , will start second.

The Lotus knocked off the seventeen car field thatincluded Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche for his first podium finish. After qualifying on the front row just 0.6 seconds off the Aston Martin DBRS9 of John Kaias, Peter Lucas, who has steadily improved over 2 years of competition bagged a new lap record of 1min:33.45s for the category in the Lotus. A record previously held by Paul Stokell in a Lamborghini Diablo GTR.

Lucas claims first Lotus outright GT Championship victory and lap record

A Lotus Elise defeated the motor racing giants at last weekend's round of the GT Championship at Eastern Creek Raceway with the marque's maiden outright race win.

(Sydney, Monday July 14th 2008) Astuti Motorsport has broken though for their first win as a team in the Australian Championship after John Kaias took his Aston Martin DBRS9 to the overall victory in round four of the 2008 championship held at Eastern Creek Raceway.

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 17, 2008) – The teams of SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge had better be well rested after a six-week break in action, because the unpredictable Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is the next stop on the schedule. This weekend brings Round Seven of the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship as well as the Mid-Ohio SPEED GT Presented by Remington to the scenic central Ohio circuit.

TOPEKA, Kan. (July 15, 2008) – The Aston Martin DB9 will return to SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT competition this weekend for the Mid-Ohio SPEED GT Presented by Remington.

Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin celebrated their third win of the year after a rear wheel problem denied James Gornall and Jon Barnes a dream way to win the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper finished 7th, which was good enough to put the title beyond doubt. Newly crowned GT4 Champions Matt Nicol-Jones and Stewart Linn finished the weekend with their sixth win from twelve races.

Jon Barnes and James Gornall moved a step closer to the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT title by winning Round 11 at Brands Hatch, finishing ahead of Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen who remain their only challengers with three races remaining. However the day belonged to Matt Nicol-Jones and Stewart Linn who finished 3rd in class to become the inaugural Avon Tyres British GT4 Champions.

Melbourne based Aston Martin driver John Kaias has taken his maiden round victory and two race wins at round 4 of the Australian GT Championship held at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Circuit (July 12-13) at the weekend.

Kaias, Ward & Poulton all take maiden round wins at Eastern Creek.

Overall results
GT Championship: 1. J KAIAS 2. P LUCAS 3. P HACKETT

GT Challenge: 1. G WARD 2. G COOK 3. R KIMBER

GT Production: 1 . T Poulton

The Australian GT Championship are back in action and the qualifying times are below.

Day 1 of Round 4 at Eastern Creek saw some of the GT field take to the circuit for unofficial non-compulsory practice. The first session was red flagged after a handful of laps when David Stevens (Ferrari 430) made heavy contact with the wall at turn 9 putting him out of the weekend prematurely. Dave was thankfully OK however the rear of the car will require considerable rebuild prior to Round 5 at Phillip Island to get it back on track

The last time Jos Menten got behind the wheel of a Corvette C6.R was back in October 2006. The 27 years young driver from Haelen reached an agreement with Phoenix Carsport - winners of last year's Total 24 Hours of Spa. This German team, which is competing with two Corvette C6.Rs in the FIA GT championship, will be counting on the capable hands of Jos Menten, Uwe Alzen, Alexandros Margaritis and Robert Schlünssen with their power beast bearing race number 6.

After four races in the FIA GT-championship the SRT drivers Christophe Bouchut and Xavier Maassen are presently in second place in the championship rankings. With the most mythical race of the season, namely the 24 Hours of Spa looming on the horizon and with double points to be earned, SRT has compiled its driver crew who will further confirm the team’s success over these last few months.

With the recent announcement that the British F1 GP is moving to Donington, this would effect the sportscar world whose main races take place on the Silverstone circuit.

On July 7th, Stephane Ratel and Patricia Kiefer visited the site of the future Eurasia Autodrome Domodedovo, which will be located near the Domodedovo Airport, 35 km South of Moscow, along with Eurasia Project Manager Pavel Volkov, Clive Bowen, Apex Circuit Design Managing Director, and Jolyon Price from Ridge & Partners.

The fight for the Australian GT Championship continues this weekend at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Circuit (July 12-13). As the most exotic category in Australian motor sport, the recently re launched and re branded Australian GT Championship has performed a review process that now sees cars competing for the GT Championship, together with the GT Challenge, and GT production classes.

Sutherland Shire resident Scott Bargwanna will tackle Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway this weekend in Round Five of the Shannons Nationals, engaging in a sportscar David versus Goliath battle.

Oschersleben: Post Race Reports from FIA GT and FIA GT3
SRT
Rob Bell
Phil Quaife

Following on from a highly positive Monza, where Eric De Doncker won no less than two races of the GT4 European Cup at the wheel of the Ford Mustang FR500C Insulco Motorsport 98, he was back on track this weekend at the German Oschersleben circuit. The Belgian driver was fully determined to defend his leader’s position in this European competition, even though the technical character of the German track was not necessarily to the American car’s entire liking.

Austrian team Jetalliance claimed its first one-two at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, when 32,000 spectators over the weekend saw the team close out the front row of the grid on Saturday, then confirming the performance of their two Aston Martin DBR9 cars by crossing the line in first and second in Sunday’s two-hour race. Phoenix Racing’s Corvette finished third, ahead of the two Vitaphone Maserati MC 12s, allowing Bartels and Bertolini to pull out a two-point lead in the Drivers classification.

Oschersleben: Selected Team Recaps After the Race
CR Scuderia
Scuderia Ecosse
Charouz Racing Systems
Thomas Biagi

The FIA GT3 European Championship has reached the halfway point - and finally a race has been won by something other than a Ford GT. The No.38 MM-Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3 of Martin Matzke and Jiri Skula claimed the victory, ahead of two La Torre Motorsport Dodge Viper Competition Coupe cars - second was the No.42 entry of Gabriele Sabatini and Giuseppe de Pasquale, with Dino Lunardi and reigning champion Gilles Vannelet third in the No.43 car.

Oschersleben (D) Belgian Racing will not take part in the fourth race of the FIA GT championship. During the practice session a part of the suspension broke and damaged the engine.

A close qualifying session for the fourth round of the FIA GT Championship saw Austrian team Jetalliance claim a fine one-two to occupy the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s two-hour race.

Before the FIA GT3 European Championship arrived at Oschersleben for the third event of the year, the GT Bureau decided to add 100kg of ballast to the Ford GT, making a massive 140kg. That wasn’t enough to stop Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen from taking their first win of the season in the No.19 Matech GT Racing Ford GT – the team has now won all five races this year.

Charismatic competitor Peter Hackett is a welcome ‘returnee’ to the re-launched 2008 Australian GT Championship.

Not only will Hackett provide additional driver talent to the grid for Round 4 of the Championship at Eastern Creek (July 12-13) but he will do so in style at the wheel of the second Aston Martin DBRS9 to compete in Australia.

Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) will screen round 4 of the FIA GT Championship LIVE from Oschersleben on Sunday having agreed a deal to take over the coverage for the rest of the season.

TOPEKA, Kan. (July 3, 2008) – The first half of the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships has already produced its share of thrills and spills. Some of those spills have been serious enough to sideline a car or driver, but the second half of the season is looking bright for those teams whose took a serious hit, both on and off the track.

With the Spa 24 Hours approaching, Feedmesportscars will bring you some video of previous events.

TOPEKA, Kan. (July 2, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. and WC Vision LLC announced today an agreement in which WCVision has secured the long term marketing and licensing rights for the SPEED World Challenge® racing series.

Three rounds, three different winners. The 2008 season of the FIA GT Championship has got off to an excellent start, with Phoenix Racing becoming the third team to savour victory in GT1, after Jetalliance in Silverstone and SRT in Monza . With only two cars so far managing to finish on the podium twice, the points are extremely close.

Peter Kox (NL) will not be able to drive at the FIA-GT event in Oschersleben this coming weekend. After his serious accident in the ADAC GT Masters race at the Norisring yesterday, he had a check-up at a hospital in the Netherlands.

With one of the toughest races in the world fast approaching, the CR Scuderia team is delighted to announce its driver line-up for the 2008 Total 24 Hours of Spa.

Race two this weekend at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo di Valencia confirmed the competitive form of Scuderia Playteam SaraFree’s Ferrari F430 no. 8 driven by Max Busnelli \ Gabriele Lancieri. Both Busnelli and Lancieri have now scored 60 points this season and are only three points behind the leaders. Meanwhile, the other Ferrari F430 no. 7 finished in 10th place, collecting a few valuable points for the team’s second car.

Bradley Ellis (car no. 52) suffered a serious accident at Thruxton circuit (Hampshire), Sunday 29 June, in the Team RPM Ginetta G4 during round 10 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The incident happened on lap four at Woodham Hill, approaching the Club chicane, where a rear impact sent Bradley off the track and into a marshals’ post at high speed.

James Gornall and Jon Barnes extended their championship lead with victory in Round 10 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Thruxton, leading home Jeremy Metcalfe and Luke Hines in a 30-minute shortened race. Nigel Moore and Joe Osborne took the honours in GT4, ahead of championship leaders Stewart Linn and Matt Nicol-Jones.

Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen took the first win of the year for the Christians in Motorsport team in an incident packed race at Thruxton in Round of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Simonsen took the chequered flag over six seconds ahead of Aaron Scott in the ABG Motorsport Viper and a further 2.8 seconds in front of championship leader Jon Barnes in the Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper. Rob Austin and Hunter Abbott took the win in the GT4 class but a 10-second penalty for overtaking under yellows handed the win to Championship leaders Stewart Linn and Matt Nicol-Jones.

These are busy times for the CR Scuderia boys and girls. The GT team has just arrived back from Italy so it is a quick turnaround before this weekend’s British GT event at Thruxton. The CRS drivers are all still right in the championship battle so, coupled with the fact that Thruxton is an incredibly quick circuit, the team is set for a weekend of fast and furious racing.

A few days after the highs and lows of the Le Mans 24 Hour, Allan Simonsen was winging his way to Italy for the third round of the FIA GT Championship. Once again he'd be aboard the Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR-9 GT1.

With the 3rd race of the FIA GT Championship at Adria out of the way and a fourth place finish in the bag, Scuderia Ecosse team are pleased to announce that Ferdinando Monfardini has accepted an invitation to come on board as the third driver for forthcoming 24 hours of Spa race at the beginning of August.

Adria: Selected Recaps After the Race pt2
SRT
PK Carsport
Thomas Biagi

Adria: Selected Recaps After the Race pt1
Joel Camathias
Jos Menten
CR Scuderia

A close and exciting race in both categories, under the setting sun, gave the spectators at the Adria International Raceway an excellent evening of entertainment in Italy today. Driving through the sunset into the darkness, the yellow Phoenix Racing Corvettes finished first and third, with Vitaphone taking second with the Maserati MC 12. In GT2, AF Corse strengthened its lead with a fine one-two, with BMS Scuderia Italia making it an all-Ferrari podium.

The FIA GT Championship has returned to the Adria International Raceway, not far from Venice, for the third round of the season. The race will be held on Saturday evening, starting at 19:50, driving through the sunset into the night.

Following the new and exciting evolution of the GT Championship, series organisers range of Lotus vehicles to race within the new three-tier structure. This is to allow new and existing Lotus vehicles to enter and be highly competitive in a national category. With previous GT Championship catering solely for GT3 specification cars, the recent announcement of three-class structure is met with much enthusiasm within Lotus Cars Australia.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 18, 2008) - Andy Pilgrim is a lucky guy. He’ll be the first to tell you that. From racing motorcycles in England, to becoming a Champion road racer in the United States and a GM factory driver, all while growing a successful business, the pieces have all settled into place. Many struggle to accomplish just one of those things, but the English-born Cadillac CTS-V driver makes it look effortless.

For the third round of the 2008 season, the FIA GT Championship remains in Italy, but moves southwards, to a track which is diametrically opposed to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza Short, tight and twisting, the Adria International Raceway, built in 2002, is on the FIA GT calendar for the third time. The race will be held on Saturday evening, racing into the sunset and beyond.

The nr 61 Prospeed Competition Porsche 997 GT3 RSR of Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook has been reinstated in the Monza results, further to the successful appeal in front of the FIA International Court of Appeal.

Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer secured the first win for the Ford GT in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, taking the chequered flag in the sunshine at Snetterton just 2.8 seconds ahead of championship leaders Jon Barnes and James Gornall in the Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper, with James Sutton and Michael Meadows a distant third. Matt Nicol-Jones and Stewart Linn returned to the top step of the GT4 podium to record their 4th win of the year to extend their GT4 championship lead.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 8, 2008) – After a historic weekend in 2007 saw him win all three SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge races, Randy Pobst’s 2008 trip to Watkins Glen International may not have been as busy, competing in just one event, but was successful nonetheless, winning the SCCA SPEED GT Round Four race from the pole. Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton , Fla. , and Michael Galati, of Olmsted , Ohio , completed the top three.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 8, 2008) – Randy Pobst, of Gainesville , Ga. , will start Sunday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT race from pole at Watkins Glen International. Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton , Fla. , will start second for the Round Four race, part of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend.

Patrick, your first steps in motor sport go back some fifteen year, but SRT has only recently become a fully-fledged professional team. Why this switchover?

Gembloux - Belgian Racing has chosen Maxime Martin to complete the line-up next to Bas Leinders and Renaud Kuppens during the 24h of Spa-Francorchamps 2008.

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship is Norfolk-bound this weekend for the next two rounds of the 2008 season. The playing field has changed recently with the re-equalisation of the Vipers and Lamborghinis boosting their performance, and with the added challenge from the Ford GT it looks like the competition will be tougher than ever at Snetterton.

Team Modena return to Snetterton in Norfolk for this weekend's (June 7th and 8th) rounds of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship - scene of their debut in the series last year and where the Gallardo announced itself on the British scene by setting a new lap record. Now up to full strength with a pair of Lamborghini Gallardos, the team will be aiming to use their year's experience to go one better than the second place they recorded at Rockingham in the previous meeting.

CAMS & GT have finalised and reached agreement that ensures stability for the long term growth and development of GT racing in Australia and are now off and running for the rest of 08 and for the future!!

After winning both Rockingham races in 2007, Team RPM were once again victorious in 2008 as Steve Clark took the chequered flag behind the safety car to win his and Paul O'Neill's first Avon Tyres British GT race. The circumstances were a bit bizarre after the Viper inherited the lead after race leader Leo Machitski spun out at Gracelands while following the safety car in the Tech 9 Lamborghini. Rob Austin and Hunter Abbott won their second British GT4 class race well ahead of championship leaders Stewart Linn and Matt Nicol-Jones.

James Gornall and Jon Barnes became the latest winners in the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship as the Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper Competition Coupe took the chequered flag ahead of the Team Modena Lamborghini of Adam Jones and Piers Johnson. James Sutton and Michael Meadows were a distant third in the CR Scuderia Ferrari. Stewart Linn and Matt Nicol-Jones won the GT4 class, just pipping the Ginetta of Rob Austin and Hunter Abbott at the finish line by just 0.697 seconds.

James Sutton and Michael Meadows put their Knockhill nightmares behind them by taking a podium finish at Rockingham today. The British pair started the race from sixth place after the Lamborghinis and Vipers showed their new pace in qualifying after a recent performance break.

After a long break the British GT Championship returns this weekend for three days of Bank Holiday racing at Rockingham. Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin are at the top of the leaderboard after some great performances in the first few races of the season, including their win at Oulton Park.

Following on from the spectacular start at Silverstone, with the two victories of the Ford GTs of Mutsch and Khan, the Matech Racing team headed on down to Monza, for the following round of the FIA GT3 European championship. Notwithstanding the temperamental weather conditions, both the free practice as also the qualifying sessions proved that the three Ford GTs entered by the Swiss team were on tune, the power beasts achieving impressive grouped results; 3rd, 4th and 5th places for the first leg, prior to Thomas Mutsch clinching another pole position allowing him to take on the morning heat in full confidence.

Monza: Team and Driver Recaps after the Race pt3
PK Carsport
Charouz
Scuderia Ecosse
CR Scuderia

Monza: Team and Driver Recaps after the Race pt2
Gillet
Allan Simonsen
Davide Rigon
Michelin

Jos Menten
Thomas Biagi
Joel Camathias
Paolo Ruberti

The Australian GT Championship and the Aston Martin Asia Cup have formed a relationship which will see both groups assisting each other to build and gain in strength and stature.

The second round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship saw victory go to Belgian team SRT, with their Corvette C6-R. Second in qualifying in the wet, triple FIA GT Champion Christophe Bouchut and his team-mate Xavier Maassen, from the Netherlands, took a fine win in Monza today.

Reigning British GT champions Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis have been reunited this year, to race the No.21 Matech GT Racing Ford GT in the FIA GT3 European Championship. They avoided the mayhem in the early laps of the first race at Monza, and managed to outpace their rivals, to take victory; they took the lead of the race with nine laps remaining and then eased off to the chequered flag.

TOOELE, Utah (May 18, 2008) – Tommy Archer may have changed teams from 2007 to 2008, but the result at Miller Motorsports Park was the same—a win in SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT, part of the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix Presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels. Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach , Calif. , and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton , Fla. , completed the podium.

A rather strange qualifying session saw Jetalliance’s Alex Müller set pole position as the chequered flag fell. Until shortly before the end of the session, it looked as if Emmanuel Collard would become the first GT2 driver to take overall pole since Antonio Garcia in 2001.

The weather proved to be the most important factor in qualifying for the weekend’s two races in the FIA GT3 European Championship. Light rain was falling and the track was wet when the first 20-minute session got under way. The outcome was two sessions with numerous spins and incidents; in the second session the No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT claimed pole, but the first session was actually decided some time after chequered flags flew, when the stewards disallowed the best time of the No.44 Gravity Racing Ascari KZ1R GT3, promoting the No.28 Marc Sourd Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3 to pole position.

TOOELE, Utah (May 17, 2008) – Defending race winner Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., scored his seventh career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT pole position today for Sunday’s Round Three race at Miller Motorsports Park, part of the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Grand Prix of Utah Presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels. Ritch Marziale, of Tempe , Ariz. , will start a career-best second.

Last week we bought you the first half of race 3, round 1 of the 2008 Australian GT Championship, well here is the end of the race.

Nearly a month after the season got off to a thrilling, close-fought start in Silverstone, the teams and drivers of the 2008 FIA GT Championship will be heading back to Italy, and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which hosted the official pre-season tests in March.

The Australian GT Championship for 2008 kicked off as a support act for the A1GP and race 3 saw appalling weather conditions.

Round two of the 2008 FIA GT Championship takes place next week at Monza, the place where Italians go to worship motorsport. The 'Pista Magica', as Monza is known locally, is the fastest track on the FIA GT calendar, and it is one that every Ferrari team relishes. To win at Monza in a Ferrari is a special feeling for a racing driver so the CR Scuderia boys will be going all out to hit the top spot next weekend.

No longer merely satisfied with their successful progress in this season’s European FIA GT3 championship, the Swiss Matech Racing team will also be competing in the ADAC GT Masters 2008, the German national competition based on the FIA GT3 regulations. The kick-off for this championship will take place on 10th and 11th May at the Oschersleben circuit

Austrian team RBImmo / B Racing has announced a new title sponsor, iPOS, and a new manager - Rob Schirle, a well-known figure in the FIA GT paddock, and a race winner with Russian Age Racing in 2005.

The current Spanish GT champions have started the defence of the title in the best way – a pole position and a victory in the circuit of Jarama, where the first meeting of the Spanish GT Championship 2008 has been held. Despite the accident which forced them to leave the first race, Domingo Romero and Peter Sundberg have worked without a rest with a good final result.

The Swiss Matech Racing team took off on a high note at the first round of the FIA-GT3 European Championship in Silverstone, with the Ford GT scoring a double victory. The team managed by Martin Bartek is entering, with the full support of Ford Racing, three Mustang FR500GT3s in the FIA-GT3 European Championship, the first one being driven by the Belgian Eric De Doncker and the Canadian Scott Maxwell.

Following the round cancellation of the previous round of the Australian GT Championship, details emerged of actions that could put the long term viability of the series in doubt. Talks commenced last week to secure the future of the series.

In the opening round of the 2008 FIA European GT3 debut at Silverstone last weekend, the Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR GT3 had an extremely impressive and competitive showing, and counted a top five finish amongst its final tally.

Larbre Competition has taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2008 Le Mans Series due to an increasing workload in other championships.

Scuderia AC Argentina made an historic FIA GT Championship debut at Silverstone at the weekend, with drivers Gaston Mazzacane and Esteban Tuero finishing a respectable 13th in class on their series debut.

ALPINA can look back on a long and successful history in international motorsport. Well-known F1 and Touring Car drivers such as Niki Lauda, Jacky Ickx, Hans Stuck and Dieter Quester gripped an ALPINA steering wheel on their way to winning three European Touring Car Championships. ALPINA pilots also won the Nürburgring 24 Hours numerous times, as well as the 24 Hours of Spa in 1970.

Silverstone: FIA GT Race Recaps pt2
Aston Martin
PK Carsport
SRT
Gillet

Silverstone: FIA GT Race Recaps pt1
Scuderia Ecosse
CR Scuderia
Trackspeed
Michelin

GT Racing in Australia is at crisis point. Over the last week the Australian GT Championship has gone into a tail spin which threatens its existence and the integrity of GT racing in Australia.

The Australian GT Championship are confident of their continual existence and claim to have “some very exciting prospects for 2009”.

But the rest of the tale does not look so rosy.

Silverstone: FIA GT3 Recaps after the Race
Matech
Hexis
Bradley Ellis
Tom Cloet

The 2008 season of the FIA GT Championship got off to the best possible way, with a truly thrilling Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy in Silverstone. Despite the extremely poor weather, with heavy fog and rain, which improved later, 25,000 spectators turned up to watch the exciting programme, which included the FIA GT3 European Championship, the GT4 European Cup and the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli.

Thomas Mutsch and Ian Khan made the perfect start to the season by winning both races at Silverstone in the No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT. Even a minor delay during the mandatory pit-stop of the second race couldn’t prevent the pair from taking maximum points. James Ruffier and Arnaud Peyroles, in the No.1 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z.06 GT3 took second, while a remarkable charge through the field carried the No.36 Prospeed Competition Porsche 97 GT3 Cup S of David Loix and Mikael Forsten from nineteenth on the grid to third.

Long Beach, Calif. (April 20, 2008) – In front of ecstatic friends and family, Huntington Beach driver Brandon Davis took his first SCCA SPEED GT win at his home race, the SCCA Pro Racing Long Beach SPEED GT Presented by Applied Computer Solutions. Point leader Randy Pobst, of Gainesville , Ga. , and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton , Fla. , finished second and third, respectively.

The weather played its part in setting the starting grid for the first round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship, the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy, which will take place at Silverstone on Sunday April 20th, at 12:15 British Summer Time.

The two 20-minute qualifying sessions at Silverstone produced very mixed grids – six different makes in the top six positions in both sessions. Making the most of the cold, windy but dry conditions Mikael Forsten claimed the pole for Race 1 in the No.36 Prospeed Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S, while Thomas Mutsch took pole in the second session in the No.20 Matech GT Racing Ford GT.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 19, 2008) – Tomy Drissi, of Hollywood, Calif., will be out the remainder of the SCCA Pro Racing Long Beach SPEED GT Presented by Applied Computer Solutions weekend, and possibly longer, after sustaining a fractured lower vertebrae in a practice crash on Friday.

It seems things are not so rosy at the Australian GT HQ at the current time.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2008) - Woodhouse Performance is proud to announce the line-up of Trans-Am and SPEED World Challenge veterans Tommy Archer and Claudio Burtin to drive together for the balance of the 2008 SPEED World Challenge season. Driving the No. 13 Foametix/Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, the duo will join forces with teammate Jeff Courtney in the No. 99 KENDA/MPI-Coin Viper to create a two-car team assault for the SCCA SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 18, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing was saddened to hear of the passing this morning of former company president Dan Greenwood.

Round 2, Australian GT Championship. Defending Champion, Allan Simonsen proves the tightness of this street track and why he is the defending Champ.

This is great racing action courtesy of the British GT.

With the announcement that British channel ITV4 will be showing the 2008 season of the FIA GT Championship, the FIA GT Championship is delighted to announce its best-ever TV line-up. Starting with the British round of the FIA GT Championship, the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy, which takes place at leading British circuit Silverstone on April 19th – 20th, all the rounds of the 2008 season will be shown on ITV4 in either live or same-day delayed coverage,

TOPEKA, Kan. (April 14, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing is pleased to announce that Applied Computer Solutions of Huntington Beach, Calif., as the presenting event sponsor for Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Now in its 19th consecutive year, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge has built its legacy around providing fans the most competitive road racing in the world, and the series has earned well-deserved praise the past few years from publications such as Car & Driver and RACER Magazine for doing just that. But what really sets SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car apart from all other series is the “everyday” element it brings each event. World-class drivers piloting production-based cars that come from more than 15 auto manufacturers – it’s a formula that has and will continue to serve the interests of manufacturers, drivers and, most importantly, automotive enthusiasts and race fans.

Austrian team RBImmo, which made its FIA GT debut in Brno last year, has announced that it has signed Italian driver Andrea Piccini for 2008, with an option on 2009. The multiple race-winner in the FIA GT Championship, who had a five-year partnership with Jean-Denis Deletraz, will make his debut for the team in Monza.

And finally, the long winter months are over, and the 2008 season can finally get underway ! Over the weekend of the 19th and 20th April, the first round of the twelfth season of the FIA GT Championship will unfold, and the names of the tenth Silverstone winner will eventually be known.

The CR Scuderia team leaves Knockhill tonight with a healthy lead in the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, and with Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin riding high in the driver’s championship. The team had a tough race today so yesterday’s win remains the highlight of CR Scuderia’s GT weekend.

Team Modena Team Modena's first visit to the tight and twisty Knockhill circuit in Scotland was an ultimately frustrating one, the team scoring points in a confused race one before being knocked out of race two. Newcomers Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler gained valuable track time to settle in with the team and the Lamborghini Gallardo, but the long trip north proved a disappointment with the car ending the weekend damaged and in a gravel bed.

Although the Australian GT Championship has had a break from the on track action over the past couple of weeks, that doesn't mean things have stopped for the series.

Godfrey and David Jones won their first British GT race for three years, taking the chequered flag in the Team Eurotech Preci Spark Ascari KZ1R in a dramatic second Avon Tyres British GT race at Knockhill, the first GT3 win for an Ascari in British GT. The brothers from Leicestershire finished ahead of the Christians in Motorsport Ferrari of Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen and the 22gtracing Aston Martin DBRS9 of Adrian Willmot and Michael Bentwood. Matt Nicoll-Jones and Stewart Linn won the GT4 class, extending their championship lead ahead of the next races at Rockingham.

Jeremy Metcalfe and Luke Hines (#16 CR Scuderia) won the first British GT race held at Knockhill since 2005, finishing Round 3 of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship ahead of the Dodge Vipers of James Gornall and Jon Barnes (#40 Team Trimite Brookspeed) and Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins (#20 ABG Motorsport), a race that had four safety car periods.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 11, 2008) - Cindi Lux and Mopar announced today the addition of the veteran female road racer to Team Mopar for the 2008 race season.

Jeremy Metcalfe and Luke Hines took a fantastic victory at Knockhill today in round three of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Metcalfe set up the race win with pole position in the first of today’s qualifying sessions; he then kept the lead at the start, drove a mature race and handed over to Luke Hines who finished the job off beautifully, taking the pair’s first win of the year.

Swiss GT driver Joel Camathias (27), the 2006 Le Mans Series GT2 Class and the 2007 International GT Open GT2 Class Co-Champion, will share the wheels of the new BMS Scuderia Italia # 78 Ferrari F 430 GT with the young Italian 2007 Euroseries 3000 Champion, Davide Rigon (21), in the prestigious FIA GT Championship.

Dutch driver Xavier Maassen successfully launched his FIA GT career in Maastricht on April 4th, with a well-attended press conference followed by a party for sponsors and friends. The young driver will be making his debut in GT racing this season in the SRT Corvette C6R, alongside triple FIA GT Champion Christophe Bouchut.

Richard Williams and David Ashburn are facing a busy weekend at Silverstone, when they start their double season in both the FIA GT3 European Championship and the FIA GT Championship – both with Trackspeed and both with Porsches.

“We have a lot of titles to defend this year, and we are coming to the Championship once again to give our maximum to reach our goals,” Michael Bartels commented. “It is never easy to continue winning after so much success. Vitaphone is the team that will be chased by everybody.

Gigawave Motorsport will be the only British GT1 team taking part in the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy, with a British-built car, the Aston Martin DBR9.

The FIA GT Championship season gets underway next week at Silverstone with the RAC Tourist Trophy race meeting. CR Scuderia’s no.56 Ferrari is being raced by two of the fastest GT2 drivers in the world: Andrew Kirkaldy, who took pole position at this event last year, and Rob Bell, the pole man from the Le Mans Series race at Silverstone in 2007.

With the FIA GT Championship due to make its first-ever trip to South America this year, when the season finale will be held at the Potrero de los Funes circuit in San Luis, Argentina, it has been announced that an all-Argentine team will compete in the GT1 category.

MURRIETA, Calif. (April 7, 2008) - Horton Motorsports has announced that they will support driver Stu Frederick, in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

With just two weeks before the first round of the FIA GT3 European Championship taking place at Silverstone on 19th and 20th April, all cars relating to that category headed on down to the French Nogaro circuit at the beginning of this week to take part in two full days of collective testing. Christophe Bouchut, SRO’s reference driver for this category was charged with taking each car out on to the track, to establish what has now become the beginning of season traditional balance of performance evaluation. And when the verdict fell, the Ford GT built and developed by Matech Racing set the best overall time in its class, not without slotting itself handsomely amongst the overall hierarchy....

After a storming start to the season with a victory at Oulton Park, the CR Scuderia team heads to Knockhill this week for rounds three and four of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

Team Modena have been joined for the remainder of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship season by front-running drivers Ben de Zille Butler and Guy Harrington. The rapid pairing have British GT experience and will see the team expand to a two-car operation running a pair of GT3-specification Lamborghini Gallardos in the competitive series. The duo will make their race debut at next weekend's Knockhill, Scotland, rounds of the series.

With news of the tragic loss of David Leslie and his Apex Motorsport team members still sinking in, it was a more subdued Scuderia Ecosse team spent who spent a busy day tyre testing at Knockhill racing circuit in Fife. With Monza still fresh in the team’s mind the Scuderia Ecosse GT squad was able to build on the success of their recent Italian test and further improved the balance and lap times over long runs in the spring sunshine.

The British GT Championship moves to Knockhill next week so, straight after the Oulton Park season-opener, CR Scuderia headed off to the Scottish track to test in preparation for this race meeting.

The loss of Richard Lloyd, David Leslie and Chris Allarton in an air crash on Sunday, 30th March has reverberated throughout British motorsport, and those shock waves have obviously been felt most deeply by not only their families, but also by all of us within Apex Motorsport.

The motorsport world was rocked today as two of its sons were taken in a plane crash over Kent.

The Cessna Citation 1 jet experienced engine troubles shortly after takeoff and despite the best efforts of the pilots, the plane came down in a residential suburb. Fortunately, no one was injured on the ground.

Today Thursday 26th March Erik De Donker has kicked off his 2008 sport season on the track of Zolder. Akin to last year, the Insulco Motorsport 2008 driver opted for the wheel of his Ford Mustang FR500 GT4, with which he will be defending his European Cup title. This international competition, organised and promoted by the SRO group, is without a doubt flourishing.

Fresh from his American Le Mans Series debut, where he finished a creditable fourth in the busy GT2 class, Danish/Aussie sportscar ace Allan Simonsen, has his hands full again on the otherside of the world.

The opening round of the FIA GT Championship heads to Silverstone on 19-20 April, when the world’s premier sports car series will make its only UK appearance of 2008. This year marks the FIA GT series’ tenth ever visit to the circuit, while the Silverstone Supercar Showdown will also mark the first major event of Silverstone’s Diamond Anniversary year.

Paddy Shovlin and Michael Cullen stormed to victory at Oulton Park today, taking the first win of the 2008 British GT season and the first victory for the CR Scuderia team. The Irish pair drove a faultless race and took a thoroughly deserved victory in a race that was shortened due to some on-track dramas.

TOPEKA, Kan. (March 20, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing has announced the addition of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and Road America to the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge schedule.

It will be a Good Friday indeed when the opening rounds of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships air on SPEED, Friday, March 21.

BimmerWorld BMW E90 team mates James Clay, Seth Thomas, and Nick Esayian will look back at the 2008 Sebring opener with mixed feelings. “The good news is we have definitely had worse Sebring races! The bad news is this one certainly didn’t live up to the expectations we had or the pace we set early in the week,” said team owner/driver Clay.

So how can you follow up on a season like 2007 ? Last year, four different makes, five teams and six cars took overall wins, and nine drivers were still in contention for the title coming in to the final round inZolder. And, for the first time since the very first season in 1997, both categories remained open until the end, with six drivers, and both Ferrari and Porsche cars, fighting for the GT2 title.

Eric Curran started the 2007 Sebring World Challenge opener from the front row and went on to build a commanding lead in wet/dry conditions on his way to the first of four wins during the season. 2008 would see none of the dry conditions, with a massive downpour falling at the start of the race and deep puddles forcing even the best drivers to aquaplane and crash.

The sun shone on Monza for the official test days of the 2008 season of the FIA GT and GT3 European Championships, when a grand total of 58 cars, including some representatives of the GT4 European Cup, assembled at the powerful Italian track.

Spring is here so it’s time to go racing and what better place for the CR Scuderia story to begin than at one of the UK’s most popular race tracks. Oulton Park is a good old-fashioned racing circuit, with some fast curves and tight twists and turns; it is a real favourite of many of today’s racing drivers.

The Autodromo di Monza burst into life, as the 2008 FIA GT Championship officially launched, with a thrilling two-day test session.

Kuno Wittmer started his World Challenge season on a high note with second place in the 2008 maiden race in Sebring while the Realtime Acuras wrapped all three podium spots. The 24-year old driver who hails out of Montreal, Quebec set the pace in both practice session when he topped the charts. But Brazilian teammate Pierre Kleinubing was fastest in qualifying with Wittmer second and team leader Peter Cunningham in third.

John Bowe in the Coopers sponsored Ferrari 430 GT3 took a commanding victory in the fourth and final race of Round three of the 2008 Australian GT Championship at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix this morning (Sunday March 16).

Mark Eddy steered his Quarterback Shirts Lamborghini Gallardo to his first Australian GT Championship victory in race 3 of Round three at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix this afternoon (Saturday March 15).

The hugely successful two-day test in Monza, which saw a grand total of 58 cars take to the track in the spring sunshine, concluded today.

Although the first race will not take place until April 20th, at Silverstone, the 2008 season of the FIA GT Championship got underway today, with the first of two days of testing at Monza, where the official launch was held today.

The first two-day official test of the season for the cars taking part in the 2008 FIA GT3 European Championship concluded in Monza today, with the nr 1 Martini Callaway Corvette Z06 setting the best time of the day, with a lap of 1:53.067 from Sascha Bert. This was just one thousandth of a second slower than the overall best time, set by Richard Westbrook in the Prospeed Competition Porsche GT3 on Thursday.

The 2008 season got underway today, with the first official test session in sunny Monza. Bright spring weather greeted the teams and drivers, who set off for three sessions.

CR Scuderia has just completed a two-day test at the high-speed Monza circuit in Italy. The first day of the test was the traditional FIA GT Media Day but once the photoshoots and interviews were done the team got down to business, preparing for the new season.

Intensive week for Racing Team Edil Cris. The Team took part on Monday and Tuesday to collective test of the International GT Open with two F430 GTC Ferraris, one in 2007 configuration and the other in 2008, but both equipped with the air restrictors used in the Italian Championship, which are more limited than those employed in the Spanish series.

Continuing their pre 2008 season plans, the team recently enjoyed a second highly successful two day Pirelli tyre test session, this time at Monteblanco racing circuit which offered them the opportunity to run their GT2 Ferrari 430 on various Pirelli compounds.

Hector Lestor (Ferrari 430 GT3) has won his first Australian GT Championship event in race 2 of Round three of the 2008 title chase at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix this afternoon.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 14, 2008) – Former Floridian Randy Pobst’s local weather pattern knowledge helped make the pivotal decision to pit early for rain tires, as he came back through the field to win the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship season opener, part of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida at Sebring International Raceway. Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton , Fla. , and Michael Galati, of Olmsted , Ohio , completed the top three.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 14, 2008) – Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., led the entire way to capture his 27th-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win, his third at Sebring International Raceway, to start the 2008 season at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida weekend. Teammates Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal , Quebec , and Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee , Wis. , completed the podium.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 13, 2008) – After an incident during qualifying for Round One of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship caused the session to end under a red flag without any cars entering a fast lap, Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., was awarded the pole for Friday’s race based on Wednesday’s practice times. Defending SCCA SPEED GT Champion Randy Pobst, of Gainesville , Ga. , will start second.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 13, 2008) – Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek , Fla. , captured his record 32nd-career pole and will lead the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car field at the standing start Friday during the 56th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida weekend at Sebring International Raceway. Teammate Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal , Quebec , will start second.

John Bowe in the Coopers sponsored Ferrari 430 GT took the honours in the 8 lap race 1 of Round 3 of the Australian GT Championship at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix this afternoon.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 12, 2008) – After his father Mike led the morning practice session, Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., topped the evening SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship practice and was quickest on the day in preparation for this weekend’s season opening Round, part of the 56th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida. Defending Series Champion Randy Pobst, of Gainesville , Ga. , and Michael McCann, of Canton , Ohio , completed the top three on the day.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 12, 2008) – Canadian Kuno Wittmer’s morning practice time at Sebring held throughout the afternoon session as the fastest practice time of the day for Round One of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship, part of the 56th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. Seth Thomas, of Cumming , Ga. , and Peter Cunningham, of Grafton, Wis. , completed the top three.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 12, 2008) – Mike Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., surprised the paddock by topping morning practice for the opening round of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship, part of the 56th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida. Defending Champion Randy Pobst, of Gainesville , Ga. , was second-fastest, followed by Mike Davis’ son, Brandon Davis, of Denver , Colo.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 12, 2008) – Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal, Quebec, topped the time sheets in morning practice for Round One of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship, part of the 56th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida. Seth Thomas, of Cumming , Ga. , was second quick, followed by RealTime Racing owner Peter Cunningham, of Grafton , Wis.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (March 12, 2007) - James Sofronas, President of Global Motorsports Group, has announced that he will once again be piloting the familiar blue, No. 14 GMG Porsche 997 GT3 in the 2008 SPEED GT Championship with the addition of two teammates to help Porsche capture the Manufacturers’ crown.

It's back and it looks better than ever. The Lotus Exige GT3 of Angelo Lazaris has been updated in readiness for an attack on the 2008 GT Championship this weekend at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Irish international driver Hector Lestor showed he is clearly enjoying his Australian ‘sojourn’ that began at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide by putting his Ferrari 430 GT3 on pole after the qualifying session at Round 3 of the Australian GT Championship at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix this afternoon.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (March 11, 2008) - For generations, racing has been a family endeavor for many, following the bloodlines to the finish lines. Rarely, though, have fathers and sons raced side-by-side, battling in the same series or operating as teammates. That rare combination, however, has come to the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship as Mike and Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., are entered in this week’s season opener, part of the 56th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

SAUKVILLE, Wis. (March 11, 2008) - The RealTime Acura team is putting the finishing touches on its SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Cars this week in preparation for the SPEED Touring Car season opener at Sebring and the entire 2008 Championship. As they did last year, the 10-time series Champions will campaign five production-based Acuras: four TSX sedan models and one RSX sports coupe.

John Bowe has been named to drive the all conquering Coopers sponsored Mark Coffey Ferrari 430 GT3 at Round 3 of the Australian GT Championship at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix to be conducted at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit (March 13-16).

A few days before the FIA GT championship collective tests,in Monza on March 13th and 14th, AF Corse has announced its crews for the 2008 season.
The nr 50 Ferrari F430 GT2 will be driven by reigning GT2 Champion Toni Vilander and 2007 vice-champion Gianmaria Bruni. Its sister car, the nr 51 Ferrari, will be driven by a pair of drivers from GT1.

Gigawave Motorsport was one of the team's taking part in Aston Martin's now traditional pre-season test session.

The Australian GT Championship grid at the ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix to be conducted at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit (March 13-16) is both quality and quantity personified.

Notwithstanding the fact that the European FIA GT3 championship only kicks off in Silverstone at the end of April, people and cars are already being readied for this first round. It is in Matech’s new infrastructures, close to the Nürburgring, that the Ford GT’s are being prepared, and the Swiss team has just officially announced its first driver-pairing. The Italian Luca Pirri and the German Jürgen von Gartzen will share one of the cars and bear the Matech GT Racing banner throughout the entire season.

Successful Belgian team Mühlner Motorsport - a class-winner in the Total 24 Hours of Spa - has announced that it intends to enter two Porsche cars in the 2008 season of the FIA GT3 European Championship.

Talented young French driver Pierre-Brice Mena will be heading for the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2008, where he will drive a Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBR9. His team-mate will be another young Frenchman, Thomas Accary, who will also be making his GT debut. This team of 'rookies' are likely to be among the youngest on the grid, as their combined ages just reach 40 ! It will be a steep learning curve for Pierre-Brice, with five out of the six tracks new to him, but he is looking forward to the challenge !

Team Modena head into their first full season of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship with confidence high after the pace and performance their Lamborghini Gallardo displayed in its initial outings last year. Setting three lap records in what was very much a learning half-season, the rapid Italian supercar was right on the race pace in the final rounds, and should be one of the cars to beat when the series kicks off at Oulton Park on Easter weekend.

MAIDEN, N.C. (March 7, 2008) - Defending SCCA GT-1 National Champion Tony Ave Racing, of Maiden, N.C., has teamed up with its former Trans-Am driver Joey Scarallo, of Hauppauge, N.Y., to compete in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

COVINA, Calif. (March 7, 2008) - With Sebring less than a week away, Tiger Racing’s Paul Brown has been brought in to pilot the No. 96 K&N Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 for the season opener.

Aston Martin Racing has hosted a pre-season test for both the factory team and private outfits at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France, following in the footsteps of the first such event that took place last year.

6 March 2008: CR Scuderia today announced the addition of two young single-seater racers to the squad. Michael Meadows will join James Sutton in Ferrari no.14 and Jeremy Metcalfe will partner Luke Hines in Ferrari no.16.

With full-season entries now having closed for the 2008 season of its international series, SRO Motorsports Group, promoter of the FIA GT Championship, the FIA GT3 European Championship and the GT4 European Cup, is delighted with this year’s entry.

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (March 3, 2008) - After winning 40 percent of the SPEED GT races in 2007, Eric Curran and Sonny Whelen are preparing for even greater success in 2008. Whelen Engineering has announced their return to the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship with the Drivers’ Championship as their sole focus.

Andrea Bertolini, the 2006 FIA GT1 Champion, is returning to Vitaphone after spending the past year with Scuderia Playteam Sarafree. “Yes, I am coming back to Vitaphone with my second brother, Michael Bartels !” the Italian driver said. “I know the team well, it’s very strong, and everyone is really motivated for the new season. We’ve just had three days of testing in Estoril, and everything is perfect. We worked very hard on the car, but in the end, we have not really changed anything, because the Maserati MC 12 is strong enough.”

ProSpeed Competition today announced it will expand its involvement in the 2008 FIA GT Championship from one car to two. The entry for Finnish drivers, Markus Palttala and Mikaël Forsten, will be joined by a second Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for works drivers, Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook. Parallel to the two GT2-class cars, ProSpeed Competition will also field two Porsches 911 GT3 Cup S in the European FIA GT3 Championship. The lead car in this championship will be driven by ProSpeed Competition team boss, Rudi Penders, and long time co-driver, Franz Lamot, while the drivers for the second car are still to be decided.

That became clearly evident to everyone at the opening round of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship, on the streets of Adelaide last weekend, with the Dane mirroring his perfect A1GP performance in the second round of the Australian GT Championship – fastest in all practice session, pole, three wins from three starts and a new lap record. It was straight out Groundhog Day, Aussie/Danish style.

As announced last week, the Selleslagh Racing Team will be entering a Corvette C6R in the 2008 season of the FIA GT Championship. The drivers have now been announced : triple FIA GT Champion Christophe Bouchut will share the car with Dutch driver Xavier Maassen, fresh out of single-seaters.

Rally driver Stephan Vojtech, son of Zdenek Vojtech, a successful touring car driver in the 1980's, will be sharing a Mosler MT900R in the FIA GT Championship with German driver Kenneth Heye. Heyer is another son of a famous father, as Hans Heyer was a big rival of Zdenek Vojtech and Bretislav Enge (father of Tomas) in the European Touring Car Championship.

27 February 2008: The last few days have been very busy for CR Scuderia, with the GT team testing the British GT and FIA GT cars in Spain and the Formula Renault team running at Rockingham. The GT test ran especially smoothly and ended on a high note when Rob Bell took the lap record at Monteblanco.

27 February 2008: CR Scuderia announced today that the team is to be sponsored by Madhouse, a major fashion clothing retailer, with stores throughout the UK . Madhouse will provide new uniforms for the GT and Formula Renault race teams and its logo will be displayed on the team kit, the race cars and the transporters.

BLAIR, Neb. (Feb. 26, 2008) – Woodhouse Performance is happy to announce its return to the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship with driver Jeff Courtney. Following a strong seventh-place finish in the 2007 points, Courtney is back to pilot the No. 99 Dodge Viper.

Advanced Engineering, Amato Ferrari's team which entered the last three races of 2007, will be back for the 2008 season with a Ferrari 430 GT2, to be known as Advanced Engineering PeCom Racing Team.

2007 FIA GT3 European Champion Henri Moser will be sharing his Kessel Racing Ferrari 430 GT2 with Italian driver Fabrizio Del Monte.

The Czech team MM-Racing has confirmed its interest in entering two Corvette Z06 R cars in the FIA GT3 European Championship.

Under the entry PHOENIX CARSPORT RACING Phoenix will run two GMAC Corvette C6R in the FIA GT Championship 2008. The Nürburgring based team won in 2007 the FIA GT round at Nogaro (F) and the legendary 24 Hours of Spa (B) with the Corvette and Jean Denis Deletraz (CH) and Mike Hezemans (NL) finished third in the FIA GT drivers championship

Belgian team SRT, which took part in the 2007 Citation Cup, winning three rounds, has confirmed that it will be entering a new Corvette C6R in the full FIA GT Championship this season.

Race Results from the three races that made up round two of the Australian GT Championship from Adelaide.

DENVER, Colo. (Feb. 21, 2008) - Jim Haughey, of K-PAX Racing, and Bob Raub, of 3R Racing, jointly announced that they will return to the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship in 2008. The 2008 K-PAX/3R Racing team will again field 911 GT3s and are looking to return the Manufacturers’ Championship to Porsche.

Luke Hines and James Sutton will race together in a CR Scuderia Ferrari 430 in the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The British pair are both exceptionally talented racers and the CRS team is delighted to have them on board.

Adelaide: Australian GT Qualifying Times

Rumours are abound that Lamborghini are set to enter the GT2 classes of the major series.

Portugal’s Estoril circuit was the setting for three days of intense testing for the Vitaphone Racing Team. The test session took place between 16-18 February and the German team, winners of the past three FIA GT1 Team titles, focused especially on developing the Michelin tyres.

New season, new car ... but some familiar faces as PK Carsport's Anthony Kumpen and Bert Longin pose with their Saleen S7-R, which had its roll-out yesterday at the French circuit of Croix en Ternois.

20 February 2008: CR Scuderia’s FIA GT programme got off to a flying start yesterday with a productive test session at Snetterton. The day’s running was delayed by freezing fog over Norfolk but, once that lifted, the engines were fired up and the cars took to the track.

Apex Motorsport, the Buckingham-based company which has brought the sleek Jaguar XKR GT3 racer to market, yesterday completed its first major test of 2008 and the day was adjudged to be a huge success.

Phoenix Carsport have announced their plans for the 2008 season on their web site.

Swiss driver Henri Moser, aged just 20, took the 2007 FIA GT3 European Championship with his team-mate Gilles Vannelet and a Kessel Racing Ferrari 430 GT3. As the faster of the two Champions in qualifying and the race, he was awarded a prize-fund from Citation, SRO and Michelin awarding him 150,000 € and up to 40 sets of tyres.

As the 2008 FIA GT Championship fast approaches, everyone at Scuderia Ecosse is looking forward with eager anticipation, to the season ahead. Stewart Roden, the team principal, explains :

The French squad have spent the past two seasons in the Le Mans Series, winning both the drivers’ and teams’ championships in 2006, but also boasts an impressive history in the FIA GT championship having won four titles in four years. Larbre also won consecutive Spa 24 Hours’ in 2001 and 2002.

French team Hexis Racing has announced that it intends to enter three Aston Martin DBRS9 cars in the 2008 season of the FIA GT3 European Championship. The team already took part in 2007, finishing in 5th position in the Teams classification.

The mighty V-10 Dupont sponsored Dodge Viper of Darcy Russell will join the already exotic grid of the Australian GT Championship for Round 2 of the 2008 title chase at the Clipsal 500 to be held on the famous Adelaide street circuit from February 21-24.

FeedMeSportsCars travelled to the A1GP race at Eastern Creek which coincided as the first round of the 2008 Australian GT Championship. We hope you enjoy our offering of pictures!

FeedMeSportsCars traveled to the A1GP race at Eastern Creek which coincided as the first round of the 2008 Australian GT Championship. We hope you enjoy our offering of pictures!

It is a tradition in the world of motor sport during the inter season period to not only draw up a balance sheet of the past season but to also prepare intensely for the following one This is also the case at Matech, where they were highly at work in order to have the Ford GT GT3, Ford Mustang FR500GT3 and FR500GT4 on peak performance to take on the 2008 competitions with full force.

A new team which should participate in the 2008 season is Brixia Racing, an Italian team recently formed by Marcello Zani, a recent GT3 and GT driver, along with Matteo Malucelli, well-known for his participation in the FIA GT Championship, when he finished in third position in last year’s GT2 category with BMS Scuderia Italia.

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, adds another member of the 911 family to its range of products. The new GT3 Cup S, based on the road-going GT3 RS sportscar, is created exclusively for racing purposes. The Weissach-developed and built vehicle will race in international champion-ships which run in accordance with FIA GT3 regulations.

Belgian team ProSpeed Competition has announced a full international season for 2008, with one car entered in the FIA GT championship and two cars planned for the FIA GT3 European Championship. ProSpeed entered a number of rounds in 2007, finishing the season in Zolder with a Porsche entered for Marc Lieb and Marc Basseng.

Allan Simonsen in the Coopers/Kay & Burton sponsored Ferrari 430 GT3 commenced his defence of the Australian GT Championship title in the best possible way with the fastest qualifying lap and three race wins at Round 1 held at Sydney’s Eastern Creek circuit at the week end (February 1-3).

It might have been a new year for the reigning Australian GT Champion – Allan Simonsen – but the result was the same as 2007 and 2006. Domination. Pole. Fastest lap and three wins from three starts.

Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin will race with CR Scuderia in the GT3 class of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, it was announced today. The Irish pair have raced in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli for a number of years with great success and now move to British GTs where they will face stiff competition from a packed field of drivers who all want to win

After the national Court of Appeal and the RFDA confirmed Domingo Romero and Peter Sundberg as the champions of the Spanish GT, last Friday 31st of January the FIA said again that the drivers of RVS Motorsport are right, and reaffirmed they are the true champions. The court of the FIA didn't pay attention to the accusation made by the GPC team and their drivers M. Giao and P. Couceiro either. They lost on the track and then in the national courts so they have fallen again into failure.

South Australian driver Bryce Washington is a shock withdrawal from the 2008 Australian GT Championship only days before Round 1 at Sydney’s Eastern Creek circuit this weekend (February 1-3).

The Australian GT Championship came of age in 2007 and the title race was close. A few moments stood out to us at FeedMeSportsCars and here they are in our 2007 review of the Australian GT Championship.

The Australian GT Championship came of age in 2007 and the title race was close. A few moments stood out to us at FeedMeSportsCars and here they are in our 2007 review of the Australian GT Championship.

The Aston Martin DBRS9 of John Kaias could well be the surprise packet at Round 1 of the 2008 Australian GT Championship to be held at the A1 GP meeting at Sydney’s Eastern Creek circuit this weekend (February 1-3).

25 January 2008: CR Scuderia’s FIA GT Championship prospects received a boost today when it was announced the team’s pair of GT2 Ferrari 430s will run on Michelin tyres in 2008.

Nigel Stepney, the sacked Ferrari engineer who was at the centre of the McLaren espionage scandal, has landed a new job, it has been confirmed.

Swiss team Kessel Racing has announced its 2008 programme, which will include the GT2 category of the FIA GT Championship, with a 2008 version of the Ferrari F430 GT2. One of the drivers will be the young Swiss FIA GT3 European Champion, Henri Moser, who won the 2007 title with Kessel Racing and his team-mate Gilles Vannelet.

Talented sportscar racer Michael Mallock has been confirmed for a full season in the up-and-coming GT4 European Cup. He will contest the new FIA series at the wheel of an Aston Martin N24 entered and run by RS Williams Limited of Cobham, the celebrated Aston Martin specialists.

Do you love the Sahlen’s Six Hour of The Glen and want to see more sports car racing action following that checkered flag? Looking for a racing series that combines the speed and agility of the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series and the aggressive, fender-banging of NASCAR?

Gigawave Motorsport has announced that they will be running in both the GT1 and GT2 catagories int the FIA GT Championship in 2008.

Autosport International, Birmingham NEC, UK – 10 January 2008: The wraps came off the CR Scuderia racing cars at Autosport International today, revealing a striking red, white and blue livery that carries across the team’s entries in the FIA GT, British GT and Formula Renault UK Championships.

It has revealed that Australian based Dane, Allan Simonsen will be racing in four different race series in 2008.

John Kaias has joined Melbourne based Astuti Motorsport in his ‘all out’ bid for success in the 2008 Australian GT Championship.

The 2007 FIA GT season was one of the closest on record and was a rebuilding season for the category after the relationship ended with the WTCC. A few moments stood out to us at FeedMeSportsCars and here they are in our 2007 review of the FIA GT.

Even though the 2007 season is only just behind us, the PK Carsport team is already focussing on 2008. "But little will remain the same", explains Anthony Kumpen. "In both FIA GT and the Mediagroep Van Dyck Belcar GT3 championship, we say farewell to the Corvette and in the national championship it will not be PK Carsport entering the new car. But our goal remains the same and that's winning. One thing will return and that's the United4Belgium project. People liked it very much and we'll continue to race as a real Belgian team!"

It has been announced that Walter Lecher Jr is soon to resume his racing career!

The Sandown GT Classic saw the finale of the 2007 Australian GT Championship in what was a watershed year for the Series.

2007 saw the FIA GT3 rules making their mark on the Series along with relaunching of the Australian Tourist Trophy and seeing sportscar endurance racing return to Australia.

Christmas came early for CR Scuderia yesterday when the team took delivery of the world’s first 2008-specification GT2 Ferrari 430. The team travelled to Fiorano in Italy for a private test with Andrew Kirkaldy on driving duty for the shakedown.

There is a saying “the harder you work the luckier you become” and that pretty much sums up the weekend for Matthew Hunt and Anthony Kosseris at Sandown International Raceway in Victoria for the running of the Sandown GT Classic recently where the pair recorded a fifth place finish outright.

The brand-new CR Scuderia racing team took to the track for the first time today at Donington Park, testing an array of drivers for its 2008 British GT Championship campaign.

FeedMeSportsCars is at the Sandown GT Classic this weekend and here are some of the best photos from Saturday!

FeedMeSportsCars is at the Sandown GT Classic this weekend and here are some of the best photos from Sunday!

Allan Simonsen together with co-driver Tim Leahey in the Sirena Racing Ferrari 430 took outright victory today in the Sandown GT Classic thus ensuring that Simonsen also took out the 2007 Australian GT Championship title.

Mysterious engine troubles thwarted V8 Supercar star Will Davison and John Kaias’ campaign in last weekend’s Sandown GT Classic.

Davison remained in Melbourne after the V8 Supercar season finale at Phillip Island to team up with Kaias aboard the Abcor Aston Martin DBRS9 in the 3.5 hour sportscar endurance race.

Sven Burchartz became the third man to deliver Sonic Motor Racing Services a Championship this season when he sensationally took out the Porsche Driver’s Challenge category in the Australian GT Championship enduro at Sandown Motor Racing over the weekend.

FeedMeSportsCars is at the Sandown GT Classic this weekend and here are some of the best photos from Saturday!

FeedMeSportsCars is on the scene of the final round of the Australian GT Championship - The Sandown GT Classic and was able to catch up with Championship contender, Allan Simonsen about the race, the year and his plans for the future.

Allan Simonsen won the 2007 Australian GT Championship, yesterday, in spectacular fashion, at the Sandown GT Classic, aboard the Black Coopers/Sirena Ferrari 430. He was partnered with open wheeler star Tim Leahey for the three and a half hour enduro.

The top three contenders for the 2007 Australian GT Championship were on top of the time sheets for the first practice session at Melbourne’s Sandown Park circuit today (Friday December 7).

London, UK – 5 December 2007: The 2008 racing season heralds the arrival of a new name in motorsport: CR Scuderia. The new team will race Ferrari 430s in the FIA GT and British GT Championships, alongside a single-seater campaign in the Formula Renault UK Championship.

Last weekend at Phillip Island GP Circuit a young man named Tim Blanchard won the 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship and in the process delivered Sonic Motor Racing Services its second title victory for the season.

After the announcement that John Bowe’s Lamborghini has been sold, the Australian GT Championship have confirmed to FeedMeSportsCars that the new owners will not be entering the car into the Sandown event.

They are the cars of choice for Princes, Sheiks, rock stars and multi-millionaires.

For mere mortals they are pure dream machines.

While the 2007 Australian GT Championship to be decided this weekend (December 7-9) will most likely be a shootout between Allan Simonsen (Ferrari 430), Bryce Washington (Lamborghini Gallardo) and David Wall (Porsche GT3 RSR) who fill the top three positions on the points table, co-drivers for the Sandown GT Classic endurance event will be the telling factor.

After a relatively short cooperation, Martin Bartek, owner and manager of Matech Concepts based in Geneva, and Christian Schumacher, designer and responsible for development and homologation for Matech Concepts of the Ford GT, worthy descendant of that legendary GT40, have decided to part company and each go their own way.

The management of the Australian GT Championship has expressed its extreme disappointment with the last minute withdrawal of the Team Lamborghini Australia entry that was to have been driven by John Bowe at the Sandown Classic scheduled for December 7-9.

EX BTCC and British GT Championship racing driver Luke Hines took up an offer from Scuderia Ecosse team principle Stewart Roden to test the teams stunning Ferrari 430 GT at a dry, sunny and bright Knockhill.

The Australian GT Championship was today announced as a support category at the 2008 FORMULA 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix.

For the final round of the FIA GT3 European championship, the SRO team had chosen the circuit of Dubai as its venue ,in fact in the middle of the desert and as such with temperatures incomparable with the European seasonal averages. A final round which started off badly for the Matech Racing team, seeing their three Ford GT cars did not get on to the track for Thursday’s free practice sessions.

What a finish ! The last race of the season was just amazing. After about 30 minutes, Gilles Vannelet and Henri Moser had a Stop & Go for not respecting the driver change time.

We are used to incredible races, and plenty of suspense in the FIA GT3 European Championship, and the penultimate race of the season was no exception. Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen claimed an important win and maintained a good position in the Championship battle.

Michelin have been awarded the tyre supply contract for the Australian GT Championship for a five year period, the category management announced today.

Six drivers can still hope to win the coveted title of FIA GT3 European Champion. Therefore, suspense is guaranteed for the grand finale at the Dubai Autodrome, which will host rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship for the first time. Suspense, close fighting and high emotions will surely be present for these last two races of 2007.

During this last meeting of the season, the Jaguar cars will finally make their debut. Two Jaguar XKR GT3 cars will be entered by Apex Motorsport.

Adelaide’s Bryce Washington has gone to the top of the Australian GT points tally following a perfect week end at the CompliSpace Round 7 of the Championship held at Sydney’s Oran Park circuit at the week end (November 3-4).

Car 99 the Lotus Elise Sport of Peter Lucas, broke its season long race finishing record today when a mysterious electrical gremlin crept into the little Lotus on Lap 5 of race 1 at Oran Park.

Oran Park: Race Results - Washington Takes the Triple

Oran Park: Qualifying Times - Title Challengers At the Front

Sven Trende is on a mission.
Erm, I mean Sven Burchartz.

The penultimate round of the 2007 Australian GT Championship is to be held at the ultra exciting Oran Park circuit in Sydney this week end (November 3-4).

The FIA GT Championship has released their 10 round calendar for 2008.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council of 24th October 2007 has approved the following proposal from the GT Commission :

In 2010, the FIA GT Championship will evolve into two new separate championships:

Zolder: Driver Recaps After the Final Race
Thomas Biagi
Christian Montanari
Jos Menten
Tom Cloet

Zolder: Team Recaps After the Finale
Scuderia Playteam
PK Carsport
Scuderia Ecosse
Prospeed
SRT

For the final race of the 2007 season 16,000 race fans turned up to watch the FIA GT Championship in Zolder for a title showdown that saw nine drivers in contention for the overall GT1 title and six drivers battling for GT2 honours. Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp knew they had an outside chance of the title and maximised the performance of their Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 to put themselves in the best position by the end of the final weekend. However it wasn’t enough as Thomas Biagi and Michael Bartels finished on the podium to secure Biagi’s second FIA GT Championship title in four years.

For the final round of the 2007 season the FIA GT Championship is in Zolder, Belgium. The 4.006km circuit provided a perfect setting for the final qualifying of an exciting season, with nine drivers in contention for the 2007 GT1 driver’s title and six drivers battling for the GT2 crown.

It has been a long time since the FIA GT Championship saw the battle for both Drivers Championships go down to the final race. A very long time – in fact, the last time this situation occurred was in the first year, back in 1997.

The 2007 season might be nearly over … but with just one race to go, there are more questions than ever in the FIA GT Championship. The last race in Nogaro set up a fascinating season finale.

The 2008 version of the Ferrari 430 GT2 had its first test session yesterday, at the Mugello circuit, in the hands of Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni.

(Dearborn, Mich., Oct. 11, 2007) – Mustang, an American icon and race winner in North America, will take on the world’s best on a broader scale at some of the most historic race tracks in the world. Ford Racing has appointed Matech Concepts as the exclusive distributor of FIA homologated competition Mustangs, specifically the FR500GT3 and FR500GT4, in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Carsport Holland, whose drivers Mike Hezemans and Jean-Denis Deletraz are fighting for the GT1 Drivers Championship, has announced that the team, in partnership with Phoenix Racing, will enter a second car in Zolder, for Marcel Fässler and Fabrizio Gollin.

Next weekend, ProSpeed Competition will end their 2007 international campaign on a high: for the finale race of the FIA GT Championship, the Belgian Porsche 997 GT3 RSR will be driven by none other than factory drivers Marc Lieb and Marc Basseng. For ProSpeed Competition, the presence of the two factory drivers in the last race of the world’s main GT championship is the culmination of a year-long effort to establish the team on the international scene in view of a full international programme in 2008.

"While I was in Nogaro last weekend I was asked many times about my plans for 2008 and if it was true that Chris Niarchos was leaving the team. I can confirm that after five successful years Chris and I are going our separate ways in 2008.

Nogaro: Post Race Team Recaps
Scuderia Playteam
Scuderia Ecosse
Edil Cris
SRT
Christian Montanari

For the penultimate round of the season, the FIA GT Championship was in Nogaro, in the south of France, at the 3.636 km Paul Armagnac circuit. The magnificent new buildings hosted an incredibly close round of the Championship, which has further closed up the points in both the GT1 and GT2 Drivers classifications, and set the scene for a fascinating finale in Zolder in three weeks time.

Following on from the double rendezvous at Francorchamps, the GT4 Cup, the latest creation emanating from the SRO team, travelled on down to the French circuit at Nogaro for two 30’ heats which were going to have a major influence regarding the attribution of the European title.

For the penultimate round of the 2007 season, the FIA GT Championship is in Nogaro, in the south of France. The 3.636 km circuit provided an exciting and incredibly close qualifying session, with the top three drivers in GT1 qualifying within 29 thousandths of a second – and the top nine within eight tenths of a second !

Brno: More Post Race Recaps
Scuderia Playteam
SRT
Racing for Belgium
Jos Menton
Christian Montanari

Brno: Post Race Team Recaps
AF Corse
Scuderia Ecosse
Edil Cris
Matech

A close and exciting race at the Brno circuit set up an exciting finish to the season, with the main contenders now closer than ever. Three drivers share the lead, while the top nine are separated by just seven points.

In order to fight for the FIA GT3 European Driver’s title until the very end, Jürgen von Gartzen and Luca Pirri had no choice before the round at Brno: they needed to score huge points. With second position in the first race, and victory in the second, they had a perfect weekend. And the scenario was really good for them, when in the last lap, young Czech driver Erik Janis overtook the Championship leader, the nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Vannelet and Moser, for third position. The last round in Dubaï is going to be exceptional!

Once again, to know the winners of this 7th FIA GT3 European Championship race of the season, we had to wait until the last second. James Ruffier and Arnaud Peyroles won their first race of the season, giving Riverside its first victory in this Championship. Behind today’s winner, the Championship race carried on, with Jürgen von Gartzen and Luca Pirri second, just behind the Championship leaders, Henri Moser and Gilles Vannelet. Three more races to go, and von Gartzen and Pirri are still dreaming of the title.

A beautiful day in the Czech Republic was crowned by a fast, exciting and extremely close qualifying session, which saw Michael Bartels lead a Vitaphone one-two in GT1, while Dirk Müller, currently leading the GT2 Driver classification, set the fastest time in GT2 to take his second pole of the season. The race will start at 13:15 tomorrow afternoon, when the Brno circuit, which has hosted so many great FIA GT races over the past seven years, should see yet another epic race around this 5.403 km track.

So far this season, Lamborghini had not set pole position. That has now changed since, in Brno, in both qualifying sessions, a Lamborghini set the fastest time. In the first session, the Czech driver Erik Janis got his first pole position in the FIA GT3 European Championship. In the second session, British driver Andrew Thompson also set his first pole position in this series.

The demons have been exorcised, and Porsche Drivers Challenge Series leader Sven “Lazarus” Burchartz is making somewhat of a spectacular comeback for the next round of the Championship at Oran Park.

Brno: Selected Team Previews Going into the Czech Round
Scuderia Playteam
Scuderia Ecosse
SRT
Matech Racing
Jos Menton

Starting at sunset, headlights blazing, brakes glowing, the FIA GT Championship put on a fine display at the Adria International Raceway.

After the long summer break, the FIA GT3 European Championship will be back in action on the Brno circuit, which will host this Championship for the first time. The current leaders, Henri Moser and Gilles Vannelet could mathematically claim the title next weekend, if they leave the Czech Republic with a lead of more than 20 points over their nearest rivals. Rivals who are determined not to give in, and who will all be ready for the battle, as they are very much aware of the importance of the Brno round, as Jürgen von Gartzen commented : « Brno is going to be the last possibility for us to change the situation ».

Teams competing in the Sandown GT Classic, to be held from December 7-9, will be able to opt for a two or three driver combination, organisers announced today.

Allan Simonsen may have been suffering the 'flu but that did not stop him putting in one of his most convincing career drives to win the penultimate round of the British GT Championship, last weekend, at Croft.

Adria: Postrace Team Reports
Scuderia Playteam
Scuderia Ecosse
AF Corse
SRT
Tom Cloet

Starting at sunset, headlights blazing, brakes glowing, the FIA GT Championship put on a fine race at the Adria International Raceway. The seventh round of the 2007 season proved to be close and exciting, with a lights-to-flag win for Jetalliance, closely followed by Scuderia Playteam and Aston Martin Racing BMS, while GT2 saw AF Corse’s Ferrari 430 GT2 win despite starting from the back of the grid. After 2006’s high attrition race, this year saw 23 out of the 26 cars reach the finish line.

Karl Wendlinger, in the nr 33 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9, will start from pole position for the seventh round of the FIA GT Championship, at the Adria International Raceway in Italy. His lap of 1:12.051 was unfortunately followed by a trip into the gravel, with his car suffering a broken steering arm.

Edinburgh, Scotland – 5 September 2007: After a long summer break, the FIA GT teams are refreshed and ready to head out to Adria in Italy for round seven of the 2007 FIA GT Championship. The Scuderia Ecosse team has been busy playing ‘Musical Chairs’ and travels to Adria with an all-British driver line-up.

British sportscar racer, Rob Bell, has been called up to race in the second Italian round of the FIA GT championship, standing in for Chris Niarchos and partnering with Tim Sugden in the No.63 Scuderia Ecosse entry. Driving a Ferrari 430 GT, Bell and Sugden will contest the seventh round of the international FIA GT series, being held in Adria, Italy this weekend. With the Scuderia Ecosse team lying fourth in the team championship, the duo will be aiming for a strong finish to add to the team’s points tally.

Scuderia Playteam Sarafree heads for the seventh round of the season this weekend at Adria, on home ground, boosted by the long and positive weekend of racing for Scuderia Playteam SaraFree's two Maserati MC12s at Spa in Belgium where Scuderia Playteam SaraFree finished with both cars. (In 5th -Bertolini/ Piccini/Pier Guidi/De Simone- and 18th (Giannoccaro/Busnelli/Mueller/ Lambert).

The Total 24 Hours of Spa, with double points on offer for the challenging endurance race, frequently defines the FIA GT Champions. This year, however, the close and thrilling race had an unusual effect on the points : with neither of the Championship leaders winning at Spa, the classification is closer after Spa than it was before it.

Racing Team Edil Cris made its FIA GT debut at Adria last year, where the team’s Ferrari 430 GT2 claimed second place. The team has had an impressive season in 2007, and is currently third in the Teams classification, just half a point behind BMS Scuderia Italia.

John Bowe, has succeeded in making it two rounds wins out of two by taking victory at the CompliSpace