MODENA, 1 October 2008

The FIA GT International Championship enters a crucial phase with the eighth of the ten scheduled rounds, which will be contended Saturday and Sunday at the Paul Armagnac Circuit in Nogaro, central France. The track was redone in 2006 after being the scene of great F.1 races. It is the second time GT cars run the 3,636 meters of the French circuit. Last year the two Vitaphone Racing team MC12s both ended up on the podium with a second place earned by Bartels/Biagi and a third place claimed by Ramos/Montanari. After their success at Brno two weeks ago, which enabled the Tridente cars to get rid of part of the heavy ballast imposed on them after their Spa and Bucharest wins, the goal is to keep their top places. The Andrea Bertolini/Michael Bartels duo is firmly in charge with an advantage of 11 points over Hezemans/Gollin, while Miguel Ramos/Alexandre Negraõ’s car no. 2 is in third place, 13.5 points behind their teammates.


Andrea BERTOLINI (Vitaphone Racing Team - Maserati MC12 no. 1) –Championship leader
“The Nogaro race is a delicate moment in the Championship. I n Brno we were able to get a bit of load off while also allowing our direct adversaries precious few points. This time we will be racing with extra 85 kg on board, which are still quite a few but which will nevertheless enable us to face a race that will be wholly different from the one in the Czech Republic. We will attack to reconfirm our top position.

Timetable NOGARO- 8° round FIA GT Championship
Saturday October 4 : 9.00-10.20 Free Practices; 12.40-14.00 Pre qualifying Practices; 17.15-17.50 Qualifying Practices
Sunday October 5 : 8.30-9.00 Warm Up; 13.15-15.15 Race