The Ferrari F430 GT of the AF Corse Motorola Team driven by Gianmaria Bruni and Stephane Ortelli won the fifth round of the FIA GT Championship GT2 Class at Oschersleben in Germany. It was an unlucky race for their team-mates, Dirk Muller-Toni Vilander who had to pit early because of a loss of power steering fluid, costing them around a minute. They finished fourth, just 37 seconds behind the second placed Porsche of Malucelli-Collard.
For the record, the GT1 class saw victory go to the Corvette of Kumpen-Longin ahead of the Maserati of Biagi-Bartels and the Lamborghini of Mucke-Bouchut. The next round, the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours, is on 28 and 29 July in Belgium.
Gianmaria Bruni “I got a scare at the start because an Aston Martin spun in the middle of the pack and, in order to avoid him, I went on the grass losing three places, but then once back in the lead I pushed hard and the car went very well. Everything was perfect today. Thank you to Stephane who, as usual, did a great job. Now we go to Spa for my first ever 24 hour race and I know I can rely on Ortelli for sound advice. “
Stephane Ortelli. “A special moment for me as this is my third consecutive win in three weeks, counting the one with the Saleen. It is equally special for the AF Corse Motorola team that has won all five races held so far in this championship. Today, I had the best team mate, the best car and the best tyres, there it was actually quite easy to get the win. “
Toni Vilander. “I am a bit disappointed with fourth place because we could have won today. We were quickest all weekend but unfortunately the power steering problem lost us so much time in the pits. “
Dirk Muller. “A shame about the problem as the car was very quick today, but just finishing the race was an achievement. It’s good for the championship at least, as we have another five points. ”
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