Stunning Larbre in Dubai win sees title go to the wire

**Zytek_Fan** · 11-18-2005, 06:06 PM

1. Lamy/Gardel Labre Ferrari 550 Maranello 3h 01m 07.031s GT1 89 laps
2. Bartels/Scheider Vitaphone Maserati MC12 GT1 +0.775s GT1
3. Longin/Kumpen/Hezemans GLPK Carsport Corvette C5R +8.028s GT1
4. Bertolini/Wendlinger JMB Maserati MC12 GT1 +10.219s GT1
5. Babini/Biagi Vitaphone Maserati MC12 GT1 +20.854s GT1
6. Deletraz/Piccini/Lemeret GPC Sport Ferrari 575 Maranello GTC +2m 08.708s GT1
7. Keen/Halliday Lister Lister Storm GT +3 laps GT1
8. Collard/Sugden Gruppe M Porsche 996 GT3 RSR +3 laps GT2
9. Vasiliev/Fomenko Russian Age Ferrari 550 Maranello +4 laps GT1
10. Blanchemain/Zacchia/Vosse Labre Ferrari 550 Maranello +5 laps GT1
11. Bleekemolen/Crevels Spyker Spyker C8 Spyder GT2 R +5 laps GT2
12. Kutemann/Peter/Waaijenberg JMB Maserati MC12 GT1 +5 laps GT1
13. Buncombe/von Thurn und Taxi/Case JMB Ferrari 360 Modena +8 laps GT2
14. Ried/Ried Proton Porsche 996 GT3 RS +9 laps GT2
15. Bouchut/Ortelli Russian Age Aston Martin DBR9 +11 laps GT1
16. Moccia/Busnelli Ebimotors Porsche 996 GT3 RSR +11 laps GT2
17. Leinders/Ickx/Kuppens Belgian Racing Vertigo Streiff +20 laps G2
18. Sicart/Sicart/Barde Jonathan Sicart Ferrari 360 Modena +26 laps G3

Did not finish:

Konopka/Rosina ARC Porsche 996 GT3 RSR 48 laps completed GT2
Vonka/Jurasz/Fumal Czech National Porsche 996 GT3 RS 47 laps completed GT2
Konrad/Lacko Konrad Saleen S7R 45 laps completed GT1
Lieb/Rockenfeller Gruppe M Porsche 996 GT3 RSR 38 laps completed GT2
Moro/Kaufmann Lammertink Porsche 996 GT3 RSR 32 laps completed GT2
Montermini/Cioci GPC Sport Ferrari 575 Maranello GTC 17 laps completed GT1
Lechner/Ruberti Konrad Saleen S7R 17 laps completed GT1
Drudi/Rosini/Lambertini GPC Sport Ferrari 360 Modena 10 laps completed GT2

Fastest laps:

Lamy/Gardel Labre Ferrari 550 Maranello 1m 56.015s GT1
Collard/Sugden Gruppe M Porsche 996 GT3 RSR 2m 01.789s GT2
Leinders/Ickx/Kuppens Belgian Racing Vertigo Streiff 2m 06.868s G2
Sicart/Sicart/Barde Jonathan Sicart Ferrari 360 Modena 2m 17.660s G3

**Zytek_Fan** · 11-18-2005, 06:09 PM

The battle to secure the 2005 FIA GT Championship will go down to the wire in the season finale in Bahrain next weekend after Pedro Lamy and Gabriele Gardel secured a dramatic victory in the penultimate race of the year at the Dubai Autodrome.

Despite being forced to start from the rear of the field after an engine change, the #11 Larbre Ferrari 550 came through the field to secure a stunning win which leaves the championship wide open with just one race left to run.

The pole sitting Aston Martin DBR9 of Russian Age Racing had set the early pace in the race having started from pole position, with Christophe Bouchut managing to establish a lead from the GLPK Corvette as Lamy started to work his way through the order in the Ferrari.

By lap 25 of the 89 lap race, Lamy was up to third place and overhauled the Corvette for the lead shortly after the RAR car pitted for its first stop. However, nearly out of fuel, Lamy slowed and pitted, with the Corvette pitting a few laps later and retaining the lead ahead of the Aston Martin and the #15 JMB Maserati.

The Ferrari rejoined in seventh, while up front Stephane Ortelli in the Aston Martin had retaken the lead from Bert Longin in the Corvette and was comfortably leading when the safety car was deployed on lap 55 to recover the ARC Bratislava and Vonka Racing GT3 class Porsches which had stopped on track.

Once the safety car returned to the pits, and pit stops had been completed, 0.5 seconds separated Bouchut and Kumpen at the front, with the top seven on the lead lap. Lamy soon came into his own in the Ferrari and put in a series of fastest race laps, overtaking Bertolini in the #15 Maserati on lap 75, while Scheider overtook Kumpen for second on the next lap. On lap 79, the Aston Martin stopped on the circuit at turn nine, which allowed Scheider to move into the race lead. Within two laps, Lamy had overhauled Kumpen to go second in the Ferrari and then reeled in the Maserati to take the race lead on the penultimate lap and secure a stunning victory.

The victory was the third of the season for the Larbre Competition team and means Gardel is now just one point behind the leaders Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger going into the finale next weekend.

"I have to thank Pedro for his wonderful race at the end, as well as the team which did not make any mistakes," Gardel said. "You have to be proud of being in this team. It is the second year in a row that I have won on this circuit. We came here competing for the title and I am just one point behind the leading drivers in the classification. Everything is still open until the last race of the Championship. I would like to share this moment with Pedro."

With Scheider and Bartels finishing second, third place on the podium went to the Zhuhai winners, the GLPK Carsport Corvette C5R of Hezemans, Kumpen and Longin – which took a fourth podium finish of the season - with Wendlinger and Bertolini producing a consistent to take fourth. The second Vitaphone Maserati, of Biagi and Babini, was fifth, after losing out during the safety car period with the #2 GPC Ferrari of Deletraz and Piccini sixth, ahead of the Lister Storm and the Russian Age Racing Ferrari 550, scoring the last point on its first solo excursion without Bouchut.

In GT2, Emmanuel Collard and Tim Sudgen inheriting the lead of the tenth round of the Championship after the sister GruppeM car developed a water leak to take a fifth win of the season.

"We were so far in the lead that it was just the case of being careful with the car and not making any mistakes," Sugden explained. "It was easy really. We will take any win anywhere we can get it. With Mike and Marc having won the Championship, and with five races won each, the only thing we can hold onto is that we want to win one more race than them."

Beforehand, the two Porsche 996 GT3-RSR cars had given the Dubai crowds a thrilling example of close racing, as they fought nose-to-tail for over thirty laps, rarely separated by more than half a second. The retirement of the Lieb/Rockenfeller car meant second place went to the Spyker Squadron C8 Spyder, on just its second race in the FIA GT Championship.

"We had an excellent race today," driver Donny Crevels said. "The team is working very hard for next year, trying to have another engine in order to be more competitive. We did a good race, we controlled it. We were lucky that the #66 Porsche retired. The second place was the best we could reach for this race."

Chris Buncombe, Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Mauro Casadei made it three different manufacturers on the GT3 podium by taking third in the #89 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena.

Although the Vertigo Streiff entered by Belgian Racing failed to finish the race, Renaud Kuppens, Bas Leinders and Vanina Ickx were classified 17th thanks to the 69 laps it completed, having run strongly until that point to claim G2 honours.

"The differential broke, which was quite sad, as we were running quite well and our speed in the race compared to qualifying was quite good, but unfortunately we didn't finish," Leinders said. "But we'll be in Bahrain. The car did really well in the GT Festival but the competition is rather different this year. If we can finish around the twelfth position, that would be outstanding, and I think it is also realistic. But you never know, it's the last race of the season, and strange things can happen, which we might be able to take advantage of."

The sole G3 car, the Ferrari 360 Modena running in Ferrari Challenge configuration, achieved its goal of finishing the race, crossing the line 18th and last of the 26 cars which started the 500km race.