Voorbeschouwing FIA Sportscars race 1

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Dit weekend start het FIA Sportscar kampioenschap 2002 op het circuit van Barcelona.
Hierbij een voorbeschouwing

FIA SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP 2002
BARCELONA 6/7 APRIL 2002

INTRODUCTION

The 2002 FIA Sportscar Championship kicks off it's second season at Barcelona, Spain on 6/7 April with all the ingredients pointing to an even more dramatic year than 2001, when there were 6 different winners from the 8 rounds contested. The excitement peaked in the dying moments at the Nurburgring event when Marco Zadra's Ferrari 333SP took the title on the last lap of the last race.

The iconoclastic Ferrari 333SP has now gone in to a richly merited retirement, which has paved the way for the very latest breed of sportscars. There is set to be a distinct Gallic flavour to this season with France's best and most recognised organisations joining the Championship. Team ORECA, Courage Competition and Pescarolo Sport are among the biggest names in global sportscar competition and they are all set to wage a fascinating battle that will also include the crack Racing For Holland squad of 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours winner - Jan Lammers.

All the top privateer teams in sportscar racing will be on the grid in 2002 but there are also set to be a group of challengers to their supremacy at the front. There will be a brace of Lola B98/10's for ex Thoroughbred F1 racers Ralph Moog and Bob Berridge, the latter of which will feature the highly rated Le Mans MG ace - Warren Hughes. The all new chassis from R&M and Promec and the might of F3000 winners - Durango Corse will also be vying to break on to the podium this year.

The new season will also see other potential winners joining the fun in selected races, mixing it with those teams already committed for a full championship challenge. The majority of the FIA Sportscar Championship front runners will once again be taking the battle to the manufacturers at Le Mans in June, where last year Jan Lammers sensationally led, ahead of the might of Audi, Bentley and Panoz.

The 2002 season will also be a precursor to next years sportscar extravaganza which will start with a trip to Kyalami in South Africa and include the return of those true sportscar classics - the Monza and Spa 1000kms.



SR1 PREVIEW



TEAM ORECA (F)

After finishing a tremendous 4th in last years Le Mans 24 Hours, ORECA have committed to the FIA Sportscar Championship in the run up to this seasons French classic in June. A true French institution, Hugues De Chaunac's team will continue to race the ORECA Dallara, but this year it will be powered by Judd V10 power.

The Playstation backed team have tested throughout the build up to the season and with their star driver - Olivier Beretta, they start among the favourites in Catalunya. Beretta is a modern sportscar master having won two FIA GT Championships, the Daytona 24 Hours in 2000 and two Le Mans GTS class victories. He now aims to add more wins in Sportscars to his glittering CV and is looking forward to his first foray in to the Championship. "I have heard a lot of good things about the series and how tough the competition is," said the Monagasque racer. "I am sure it will be very hard at the front this year and the big question for us will be the tyres, as we will use Goodyears instead of the usual Michelins that we have previously raced on."

Rapid young Frenchman Franck Montagny will join Olivier in Spain. The 23-year-old knows the Circuit De Catalunya intimately after winning the Iberian based Formula Nissan Championship last year. ORECA's Sporting Director, Pierre Dieudonne believes the team is in excellent shape for the first event of the year. "We have tested at both Barcelona and Estoril to get used to the Goodyear tyres and prepare for the opening races. This will be a new challenge for us and I think it will be useful to develop the car even further."



RACING FOR HOLLAND (NL)

After a splendid first season with the Dome S101 Judd in 2001, Racing For Holland have kept continuity for the coming year by re-signing promising youngster Val Hillebrand to partner team owner and all-round sportscar legend Jan Lammers.

Both Jan and Val won the final race of 2001 at the Nurburgring and they will be hoping that will give them added momentum for the early stages of the coming campaign. The team's joint founder Mark Koense is confident that the squad's preparations will see them celebrating on the top step of the podium once again in 2002. "We have nice stability in the team, the car and the drivers so we are very much looking forward to a good second year," he said. "It is a pleasure to work with the Dome people and they have been working hard in their wind tunnel in Japan all winter. The car has gone through a continuous development since it was built and that will be carried on throughout this year."

The Racing For Holland team will once again be the fastest chess board in the world this year as they continue to run in their distinctive black and white chequered livery.



PESCAROLO SPORT (F)

Le Mans based Pescarolo Sport have committed to a full season of the FIA Sportscar Championship with one of their Courage C60 chassis powered by the 3.2 litre turbo charged Peugeot engine. Managed by four time Le Mans winner Henri Pescarolo, the team have retained a strong driver line up with experienced ex Sauber F1 driver Jean Christophe Boullion and rising French F3000 ace Sebastien Bourdais, who took pole position in last weekends opener in Brazil.

The teams technical staff too has been bolstered over the winter with former Toyota F1 designer Andre De Cortanze and longtime DAMS F3000 engineer Claude Galopin joining the team. The lime green C60 will start the year with some modifications before a new chassis will be introduced after Le Mans.

Jean Christophe Boullion believes that either old car or new, the team will be fighting for outright honours once again this year." We have the paddle shift gearbox now and also a new engine cover that we will be evaluating for the new car," said the 1994 F3000 Champion. "It is also nice to have Claude (Galopin) engineering the car, because both Sebastien and I know him from F3000. We have all the ingredients to add to our win at Magny Cours last July."



COURAGE COMPETITION (F)

Yves Courage's team returns to the Championship after being one of the pioneers and main players in the inaugural ISRS series in 1997. That year, Didier Cottaz was one of the drivers to score victories at Zolder and Jarama and he is reunited with Courage in the C60JX chassis alongside fellow French racer Boris Dereichebourg.

After a couple of years away from the limelight, Yves Courage is back with renewed vigour and believes that the tough competition in the championship will mirror his other sporting passion - Boxing! "There are good entries, good cars and the championship has become more and more interesting. I think this year will be a good battle and I am a big boxing fan which gives me and the team a good fighting instinct."

Courage Competition will also undertake a full season in the championship and in line with famous French marques in the past like Matra and Bugatti, the team will race in traditional French racing bleue colours. "We are one of the last French race car makers and we are proud of this so we hope it will conjour up some good images of the car."

Courage, like ORECA and Pescarolo attended a test at Barcelona at the beginning of March and were pleased with work generated on the chassis with Goodyear tyres and aerodynamic modifications to the rear of the car. They most recently tested at Le Mans Bugatti where more miles were put on without any significant problems."



BOB BERRIDGE RACING (GB)

A new team to the championship for 2002 is Bob Berridge Racing who will run the ex DAMS Lola B98/10 Judd in selected rounds. Bob himself will race the car in Barcelona, alongside fellow North East based driver - Warren Hughes. The MG racer has been drafted in to the team at the 11th hour but was still relishing the prospect of sampling SR1 power for the first time. "I will not actually get to sit in the car until the Friday before, during testing, but I think we can certainly give a good account of ourselves out there."

The team will be overseen by former Lotus F1 engineer and F3000 entrant Colin Bennett and the initial shakedown of the car took place at Rockingham two weeks ago, delighting Berridge who is used to serious horsepower after being crowned FIA Thoroughbred Grand Priz champion in 1997 and 1998. This outfit could be serious darkhorses for a strong result this weekend.



R&M (I)

R&M will debut their brand new carbon chassis at Barcelona that the team has been constructing since the tail end of last year. The Paolo Radici and Fabio Montani led team has retained Mauro Baldi for a third straight year and has also kept faith with Judd power. Alex Caffi is also expected to continue with the Spirano based team.

The car is loosely based on the ultra successful Riley & Scott that the team raced in 2000 and 2001 and the initial shakedowns at the Varano circuit have produced some encouraging results. The team is, however, realistic and plans to use the opening races to gain more knowledge of the new project. The car features the new viscous differential and an all carbon composite tub, as well as optimised and refined aerodynamics which were created by the teams experienced technical director - Renato Moscati.

The team will be looking to recreate the glory days of 2000 when Mauro Baldi and Gary Formato took a famous victory at Monza. The team also scored three other podium positions that year and finished second in the championship chase.

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Deel 2

AUTOMOTIVE DURANGO (I)

Durango are back this year with their pretty Durango GMS chassis and will compete in the whole championship with promising Italian youngster Mirco Venturi and ex rally driver Alessandro Battaglin. Venturi, was a race winner in last years Italian Formula Renault Championship and is highly rated in his homeland. Battaglin, has a wealth of experience on the European Rally scene and now turns his attentions to circuit racing with Durango.

Ivone Pintone's crack team have also changed their engine for the new season with a Judd V10 replacing the V8 Mader prepared BMW that has previously powered the chassis.

The team will continue to run their FIA Sportscar campaign in conjunction with a full assault on the International F3000 Championship which got off to a fantastic start at Interlagos last weekend when Rodrigo Sperafico took a first win for the team since 1998.



SIMPSON ENGINEERING

A real racing enthusiast, Robin Smith makes a welcome return to the championship with the ex R&M Riley & Scott Chevrolet combination that was last raced in 1999. The Scot has been a sportscar stalwart since the 1970's and has assembled an equally experienced driver line up with ex Harrier driver Richard Jones and former Euro GT racer Peter Cook joining Robin himself on the driver strength.

The 5.1 litre Chevy unit is sure to complement the wail of the Judd powered cars, with it's thunderous rumble this year and Robin is as enthusiastic as ever on the eve of the first race. "It’s good to have another project up and running," said Robin. "The car should still be quick and we have the experience to make a good go of it. Our aim is to pick up some good points early in the season and we'll build from there."



EVENTUS MOTORSPORT (D)

This new team to sportscar racing, established by the former Thoroughbred F1 racer Ralph Moog, have acquired the ex Franz Konrad Lola B98/10 that led the Monza 1000kms in 2000 in the hands of Tom Coronel. Eventus Motorsport, based in Luxembourg, was set up by Dr Moog last year and they plan to contest five races in their debut season. The day to day running of the team is handled by ex Bertram Schafer engineer, Uwe Reuter

Moog will race the car at Barcelona along with veteran sportscar driver John Burton and enjoys the assistance of some Konrad Motorsport engineers. Moog has tested the car over the winter at both Barcelona and at Dijon and believes that both he and the team still need some time before full potential is realised."Both myself and the team are still learning a lot about the car, so we will use the first races as development time."



SR2 PREVIEW



SPORTSRACING TEAM SWEDEN (S)

The reigning champions return to defend their crown this year with an all Swedish line up and renewed ambition to take another SR2 title. The Stanley Dickens led team has the superb Lola B2K/40 chassis once again and with the combined engineering talents of Dick Jonsson and Markus Hotz, they start the year as favourites.

The driving strength too is impressive with ex Indy Lights front runner Mattias Andersson teaming up with Niklas Loven. Mattias has raced in the Championship before with Gebhardt in 1999, but now has the chance to shine in a full season for SRTS. "It's all very nice to be racing for what is really the Swedish national team and apart from Barcelona I know most of the tracks. I hope we can do just as well as the team did last year."

Niklas Loven was last seen in the series with Tampolli Engineering in 2000 and after a year racing for the works Opel team in Scandinavia has returned to his first love of sportscar racing. Ironically the 27-year-old was Mattias Andersson's team mate in Swedish Touring Cars last year and he will be hoping to add to his haul of two SR2 victories in 2000.



LUCCHINI ENGINEERING (I)

Lucchini Engineering once again approach the season as committed as ever with a brace of the stunning 2001 spec Lucchini SR2 chassis. Giorgio Lucchini has consistently produced race-winning cars, even taking an outright victory at that famous race in Spa two years ago.

Now though, the team firmly believes they can take their first SR2 title with Fabio Mancini and Gianni Collini moving from the FIA GT Championship to sportscars for the 2002 season. The experienced pair have been testing intensively over the winter and Fabio gave hope for a championship push by breaking the lap record at Vallelunga last month.

A second chassis will be run for team regular Piergiuseppe Peroni and his team mate - Mirko Savoldi. Mirko was a contender in the British Formula 3000 Championship back in the early nineties. The team once again opts for Alfa power.



TEAM JOTA (GB)



Another new team joining the FIA Sportscar Championship grid is the British Team Jota outfit, run and driven by John Stack and Sam Hignett. One of the ultra successful Pilbeam MP84's will be their charge in 2002 as the pair take up the challenge of international sportscar racing for the first time.

Having run in the Renault Clio European trophy last year the pair already have some experience of the circuits they will race on in 2002. After good tests at Silverstone and Donington over the winter they are well prepared to mix it with the other more experienced teams in the three-litre category. Team principal and driver Sam Hignett is looking forward to the task in hand."We're a new team but we have our ambitions and the key for the year is to run at the front. We are realistic as well and are very much looking at this move in to the championship as a long term plan."



PIR COMPETITION (F)

Longtime championship supporter Pierre Bruneau has increased his programme in 2002 to run two cars in SR2, complementing his familiar Debora with a Pilbeam that has been mated to the new Sodemo Peugeot engine.

The well organised PiR Competition team have expanded for 2002 but team boss Pierre Bruneau will still be racing, sharing the Debora, which is now powered by an IES prepared Nissan engine, with talented French F3 Promotion Class champion Philippe Hottinguer.

Longtime PIR driver Marc Rostan and the veritable Arturo Merzario will race the Pilbeam Sodemo Peugeot car. Bruneau believes the new engine could propel the team back in to the winners circle. "We are ready for this exciting challenge," said PiR boss and driver Pierre Bruneau. "We will be working in conjunction with Sodemo very closely and I think this will also show the versatility of the Pilbeam chassis in housing the engine. We expect great things from this project."



AUDISIO & BENVENUTO (I)

Audisio return for a third straight year of FIA Sportscar Championship competition and the little team from Genoa have a trio of Italian racers intent on scoring podium positions once again this year.

Giuseppe Chiminelli, Antonio Vallebona and Erminio Bonetti all graduate from the Italian Prototype Championship where they also raced for Franco Audisio's team. Roberto Tonetti, who has raced in the past two seasons, has been reduced to acting as the teams Sporting Director because of a shoulder injury. The team remain loyal to the Lucchini-Alfa combination.



TEAM SOVEREIGN (GB)

This small but efficient team ended the 2001 season on a real high after the indomitable Ian Flux claimed their first ever pole position at the wet Nurburgring qualifying session. Over the winter months the team has worked hard to hone the chassis so it can consistently compete for podium placings to add to last years 3rd place at Donington Park.

Team owner Mike Millard has decided to introduce new bodywork to the car after work in the MIRA windtunnel but as Mike himself explains it will not be ready until the Brno race in May. "We have basically had to narrow the bodywork down as the wheels we use are now smaller. We think this will give us more mechanical and aerodynamic grip after looking at the results from the wind tunnel."

Ian Flux is retained as Millard's partner and the versatile British racing legend will certainly be one to watch for his commitment and bravado throughout the season.



SCI (I)

Perennial racer Raniere Randaccio starts his fourth full season in the Championship with his loyal SCI team. Once again running the eye catching yellow Lucchini, Ranieri will once more be joined by Leonardo Maddalena who holds the record number of starts (a total of 32) in the Championship since it’s original inception in 1997.

This year the Roman team plan to introduce a 675 spec Tampolli to the Championship in mid season, hopefully for the Rockingham round in August.



SILIPRANDI (I)

Siliprandi have long been supporters of the Championship in their Lucchini Alfa and the team start the new season with Italian Prototype regular Ezio Mazza and Swiss George Paulin. They tested successfully at Barcelona last month and will be hoping that they can match their 3rd place at Monza last year when veteran Pasquale Barberio partnered Mazza.



VILLORBA CORSE (I)

A brand new team set up by Amadio Raimondo to run former Lucchini Engineering drivers Denny Zardo and Mauro Prospero. The pair will continue to run a Lucchini chassis this year and have been testing at Magione in Italy on the run up to the first race.

Zardo is a former Maserati Ghibli champion while Prospero took the Italian prototype championship in 1999 before graduating to International competition with the now defunct GPM team. Last year the pair scored a best ever result with 2nd place at the Monza 1000kms.
Bron: Pers release Sam Smith

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Class SR1 race entry list for Barcelona

6 R & M (Italy) Alex Caffi (Italy) Mauro Baldi (Italy) R & M Judd 4000cc N/A
7 BOB BERRIDGE RACING (United Kingdom) Ian McKellar Jnr (United Kingdom) Bob Berridge (United Kingdom) Lola B98/10 Judd 4000 N/A
8 RACING FOR HOLLAND (Netherlands) Val Hillebrand (Netherlands) Jan Lammers (Netherlands) Dome S101 Judd 4000cc N/A
13 COURAGE COMPETITION (France) Didier Cottaz (France) Boris Dereichebourg (France) Thed Bjork (Sweden) Courage C60 JX Judd 4000 N/A
14 TEAM ORECA (France) Franck Montagny (France) Olivier Beretta (France) ORECA Dallara Judd 4000 N/A
16 PESCAROLO SPORT (France) Sebastian Bourdais (France) Jean Christophe Boullion (France) Courage C60 Peugeot 3200cc Turbo
18 SIMPSON ENGINEERING (United Kingdom) Richard Jones (United Kingdom) Peter Cook (United Kingdom) Robin Smith (United Kingdom) Riley & Scott Chevrolet 5100 N/A
21 DURANGO (Italy) Alessandro Battaglin (Italy) Mirko Venturi (Italy) GMS Durango Judd 4000 N/A

Class SR2 race entry list for Barcelona

50 LUCCHINI ENGINEERING (Italy) Gianni Collini (Italy) Fabio Mancini (Italy) Lucchini 2001 Alfa Romeo 3000cc N/A
52 LUCCHINI ENGINEERING (Italy) Mirko Savoldi (Italy) Piergiuseppe Peroni (Italy) Lucchini Alfa Romeo 3000cc N/A
53 SILIPRANDI (Italy) George Paulin (Switzerland) Ezio Mazza (Italy) Lucchini Alfa Romeo 3000cc N/A
61 TEAM JOTA (United Kingdom) John Stack (United Kingdom) Sam Hignett (United Kingdom) Pilbeam MP84 Nissan 3000 N/A
65 AUDISIO & BENVENUTO RACING (Italy) Giuseppe Chiminelli (Italy) Erminio Bonetti (Italy) Antonio Vallebona (Italy) Lucchini Alfa Romeo 3000cc N/A
72 SCI (Italy) Leonardo Maddalena (Italy) Ranieri Randaccio (Italy) Lucchini Alfa Romeo 3000cc N/A
75 TEAM SOVEREIGN (United Kingdom) Ian Flux (United Kingdom)Mike Millard (United Kingdom) Rapier 6 Nissan 3000cc N/A
76 SRTS (Sweden) Mattias Andersson (Sweden) Niklas Loven (Sweden) Lola B2K/40 Nissan 3000cc N/A
98 PIR COMPETITION (France) Arturo Merzario (Italy) Marc Rostan (France) Pilbeam MP84 Sodemo Peugeot 3000 N/A
99 PIR COMPETITION (France) Pierre Bruneau (France) Paul Daniels (United Kingdom) Phillipe Hottinguer (France) Debora Nissan 3000cc N/A

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1. Franck Montagny ORECA Dallara Judd 1m33.23s
2. Jan Lammers Racing For Holland Dome Judd 1m34.22s
3. Jean Christophe Boullion Pescarolo Sport Courage C60 Peugeot 1m35.76s
4. Didier Cottaz Courage C60 Judd JX 1m37.56s
5. Bob Berridge BBR Lola B98/10 1m40.58s