Aston Martin leads after first day

For the first time, the FIA GT3 European Championship is racing outside Europe, in the United Arab Emirates.  The Dubai Autodrome is a fantastic track, fast and technical. In Dubai, the name of the 2007 FIA GT3 European Champion will finally be known, so both free practice sessions were important in order to be ready for the two races, on a track that most of the drivers did not know. In both sessions, the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 set the fastest time, but the three cars in contention for the title are pretty close, so we are ready for two very exciting races.

WEATHER
The weather was hot and sunny

PADDOCK RUNDOWN

37 cars are in Dubai, for this last round of the season.
Since Brno, some changes have occurred in the driver line-ups:
- Tom Haines is back with Peter Snowdon in the nr 1 Tech9 Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. The drivers raced together in Bucarest.
- There have also been some changes in Trackspeed Racing. In the nr 4, David Ashburn will race with a newcomer to the Championship, Tarek Elgammal. James Pickford is back in the nr 5 Trackspeed Racing Porsche 997 GT3 Cup with Richard Williams. And in the nr 6, George MacKintosh and Jonathan Simmonds are going to race together for the first time.
- Three S-Berg Racing Lamborghini cars are present, with new driver line-ups. Hans Knauss is now racing with Jan Danis in nr 13 Lamborghini. As Erik Janis is not present, Jaromir Jirik will race with Vadim Kuzminykh in the nr 14 Lamborghini. In nr 15, Jean-Denis Deletraz, who won the FIA GT race in Dubai last year, will race for the first time in the FIA GT3 European Championship with Lloyd la Marca. La Marca, recent Ferrari Challenge winner, will be discovering the Championship, track and the car.
- As the Morgan Aero cars have not travelled to Dubai, Jean-François Le Roch is trying another car. He will race with Marc Sourd in nr 20 Riverside Corvette.
- BMS Scuderia Italia has three new drivers: Mauro Casadei, usually racing in Citation Cup, will share the nr 22 Aston Martin with Gian Marino Zenere. In nr 24 Aston Martin Ettore Bonaldi and Mattia Pavoni are racing in this Championship for the first time.
- Not present in Brno, Ron Marchal is back in the nr 27 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9, with Jean-Yves Mallat.
- In the nr 29 Damax Ascari KZ1R GT3, American driver Robert Hissom will race with young Finnish driver Juho Annala. Annala was racing in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2005 and 2006, and in 2007 he was racing in the International Formula Master series.
- Rory Bertram from the Netherlands, is back in nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari. James Kaye, in the nr 32, is here for the first time.
- For the first time of the year Nicolas Comar change his team mate. He will drive with Michel Mhitarian instead of Philippe Rambeau
- The Jaguar XKR GT3 cars are competing in the FIA GT3 European Championship for the first time. Karim Al-Azhari and Neil Cunningham are sharing one car, with Stuart Scott and Chris Ryan in the second.

HANDICAP WEIGHTS
Ascari KZ1R GT3 : +80 kg of ballast; hard compound tyres; raised height of the chassis from the ground to 12mm at the front and to 12mm at the rear
Aston Martin DBRS9 : reduce the height of the chassis from the ground to 10 mm at the front and to 10 MM at the rear, related to the height defined in the homologation form
Corvette Z06R : +60kg; only hard compound tyres; addition of one restrictor of 75.00mm maximum diameter
Dodge Viper Competition Coupe : only hard compound tyres; raised chassis height of the chassis from the ground to 89mm at the front and to 114,5mm at the rear; addition of two restrictors of 48.56mm maximum diameter each
Ford GT : +20kg. The FIA GT Bureau reserves the right to adjust the minimum weight of the car by means of ballast at any time during the event.
Lamborghini : +20kg
Porsche : a new Evolution is authorised for this car. But the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup are authorised to participate with or without the Evolution n°02-01 Evo.

FIRST FREE PRACTICE: Good start for the Aston Martin
The first ever official FIA GT3 European Championship session at the Dubai circuit took place in wonderful weather conditions. Since the beginning, the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia –this team already raced here last year- took the lead, and regularly increased its time. With a lap of 2.08.909, then 2.07.794, the nr 23 BMS Scuderia was more than three seconds faster than anyone else at this time. The battle for the second position was quite strong. At the beginning of the session, three S-Berg Racing Lamborghini Gallardos were 2nd, 3rd and 4th, the nr 14 ahead of nr 15 and 13, but then nr 38 Kessel Racing took second position. Later in the session, the nr 34 JMB Racing Ferrari took the second position for a while, until the nr 19 Riverside Corvette improved its time and was second. Minute after minute, times were going down. The nr 23 was still leading, two seconds in front of the nr 15 S-Berg Racing Lamborghini and nr 26 Hexis Racing Aston Martin. The nr 16 Hexis Racing Aston Martin raised the rhythm and took the lead 15 minutes before the end of the session, with a lap of 2.07.454. So two Aston Martin cars were in the top two positions : the nr 26 ahead of the nr 23, followed by three different makes of car : nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari, nr 15 S-Berg Racing Lamborghini and nr 34 JMB Racing Ferrari. But just before the chequered flag, positions completely changed. The nr 23 Aston Martin re-took the lead, with a lap of 2.06.752, and the nr 18 Martini Callaway Corvette went up to second position, just in front the nr 26 and 25 Hexis Racing Aston Martins. The nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari was 5th, nr 34 JMB Racing Ferrari 6th, in front of the Championship Leader, the nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari. The first Dodge was in 8th position, and the first Lamborghini, the nr 15 S-Berg Racing, was 10th.
During this session, the main goal for most of the drivers was to learn the track, and to get used to the warm conditions, rather than trying to set the fastest laps. The three cars in competition for the title were close, with nr 18 Martini Callaway Corvette in 2nd position, nr  38 Kessel Racing Ferrari in 7th position and nr 19 Riverside Corvette in 9th position.

SECOND FREE PRACTICE: Frassinetti and Alessi on the right pace
By the end of the afternoon, the weather was much better for racing! At the beginning of the session, the nr 38 JMB Racing Ferrari set the fastest time, but as during the morning, after a few minutes, the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 improved and took the lead. Alex Frassinetti set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 2.05.791. Behind him, as during the first session, the fight was quite close for the second position. After the nr 38 JMB Racing Ferrari, the nr 8 RPM Dodge Viper set the second-fastest time. Then James Ruffier in the nr 19 Riverside Corvette went up to second, and stayed in this position during most of the session. But the times were improving as the sun was going down. The nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari, of Championship leaders Henri Moser and Gilles Vannelet, improved and went up to second position. Five minutes before the chequered flag, the nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari confirmed its good potential on this track by setting the third-fastest time.

So the nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia finished first, ahead of nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari, the nr 31 Team Berlanga Ascari, the nr 19 Riverside Corvette and the nr 18 Martini Callaway Racing Team Corvette.  This meant that the three cars in contention for the title were in the top 5, and within the same second. The first Lamborghini, the nr 14 S-Berg Racing, was 12th, the first Dodge, the nr 8 RPM, was eventually 15th with the nr 5 Trackspeed Porsche just behind. The first Jaguar, the nr 46, was a bit further back, in 24th position, but Apex Motorsport is mainly here to prepare next season.

The nr 26 Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBR9 had a gearbox problem, but the team will manage to change it before tomorrow.  However, the situation is much more difficult for nr 7 RPM Dodge of Gilles Duqueine and Alex Mortimer. Their gearbox is broken, and the team has no spare, meaning that the rest of the week-end has been quite compromised for them.

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