AF CORSE FERRARI F430 GT WINS SEASON OPENER AT SILVERSTONE
A victory on its seasonal debut for the AF Corse Team, in
the FIA GT championship at Silverstone (England,) in the GT2
class. Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni crossed the line
first, ahead of the other Ferrari F430 GTs of the CR and BMS
team.
In the other AF Corse Team car, Thomas Biagi and Christian
Montanari finished fourth. The weather made for a difficult
and tricky race, but Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni, thanks
to testing this morning in the warm-up, chose the best tyres,
courtesy of Michelin and the best set-up on their Ferrari
F430 GT. But for a Safety Car period towards the end of the
race, Biagi-Montanari had an almost certain podium finish
in their sights. For the record, the race in the GT1 class
was won by Wendlinger-Sharp in an Aston Martin, ahead of the
Bartolini-Bartels Maserati and the other Aston Martin of Peter-Simonsen.
Amato Ferrari: “I am very happy with
this result. The team, the drivers and the Michelin tyres
were all exceptional. It’s going to be a tough championship,
but we are ready to fight for a third consecutive title.”
Toni Vilander: “Winning for the second
consecutive time in two years at Silverstone is very nice.
Despite today’s difficult conditions, the car was perfect
and I was able to make up a lot of ground in the early stages.
Then, when Gimmi got in the car, I said over the radio it
was time to fit the intermediates and so we were able to go
the rest of the way without having to make any more tyre changes.
Gianmaria Bruni: “It’s great
to start the season with a win. Toni was very strong. On the
opening lap, he even passed some GT1 cars, thus building up
a good advantage over our rivals. When I got in the car on
intermediates, I was able to manage our lead over Bell-Kirkaldy
and the only slight anxiety came when the safety car appeared,
as I thought I would lose the lead I had build up, bit in
the end, I pushed and finished up with a lead of around 27
seconds.”
Christian Montanari: “A good debut
and a positive fourth place. This weekend I was able to experience
driving in the dry in practice and in difficult wet conditions
in the race and I am pleased with how that worked out./ The
team worked very well with a great race strategy, but unfortunately,
the safety car ruined our plans.”
Thomas Biagi:“I am satisfied because
I am still learning about the car and the characteristics
of the GT2 class. The intermediate Michelins worked really
well, as did the team and we had a really good feeling. The
safety car robbed us of a well deserved podium. I am looking
forward with confidence to the next round in Monza.”
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