Care Racing supported teams finished 1-2-3 in the GT1 category at Monza today, maintaining the 100 pct success record for the Prodrive developed Ferrari 550 Maranellos in the Le Mans Endurance Series. 

BMS Scuderia Italia, running with Pirelli tyres, took their second successive LMES victory after a very close fought battle with the other Michelin shod Ferrari 550 runners and, for much of the race, a Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT. 

Christian Pescatori, Michele Bartyan and Toni Seiler finished in 1st place, with Pescatori having taken the lead in the closing stages of the race, and were followed by the Team MenX trio of Tomas Enge, Robert Pergl and Jarek Janis, with Convers/Cirtek entry of Christophe Bouchut, Nikolay Fomenko and Alexey Vasiliev in 3rd.

Thanks to a strong driver line up and a solid performance from the whole team, MenX had always been in contention throughout the race and were running in the lead for a number of laps, despite having been held back earlier for a 3-minute stop-go penalty. This was given for pit stop infringements. Tomas Enge went on to record fastest lap of the GT1 category in his fight back into contention. Twenty-two-year-old Jarek Janis was unexpectedly drafted in as a third driver during the race, despite having had very few laps practice, and drove well for the final stint of the race to the chequered flag. Christophe Bouchut used all his considerable experience at the beginning of the race to take the GT1 lead which he extended through his first stint. He handed the car to Alexey Vasiliev who continued the good work, but then Nikolay Fomenko was caught out by a slower Porsche during his stint, and he lost two laps in the gravel trap.

The second BMS entry of Fabrizio Gollin, Antonio Coimbra and Matteo Cressoni was unlucky not to have claimed the class win after Gollin was forced off the track into the gravel by a prototype. The time lost meant that car nr.52 finished in 4th place in the category.

Christian Pescatori: "It was a very good race which went right to the last lap. There were lots of very competitive and fast cars in this race but the Ferrari 550 is the best for this category. I'm very happy for all my mechanics and the team, and for Pirelli who have worked so hard for this."

Michele Bartyan: "I'm very happy for the team. The race was really hard. We are all learning a lot of new things this year and this was a good result towards our future."

Toni Seiler: "In the middle of my stint the car started to feel very unstable at the rear, with a vibration. I got off line and went off the track in the first Lesmo, over the gravel. I brushed the tyre wall but didn't do any damage to the car so was able to continue."   

Robert Pergl: "As a Czech team, we are very proud to finish in 2nd place, the first time for a Czech team. We are sorry not to have finished 1st which was due to the 3 minute penalty which we think was a little hard but that's racing. Anyway, it's a great result and we are going to enjoy it."
 

Tomas Enge: "It's a nice feeling to be on the podium for the first time this season. I hope that I finally broke the run of back luck and now I will enjoy a bit better fortune. I was pushing hard in all my stints; I have fast team mates so I think we deserved to be on the podium." 

Jarek Janis: "I didn't think I was going to be doing the race but, when Robert came out of the car, he was really struggling. So I changed into my overalls and got myself ready to jump into the car. I had just to make sure I didn't make any mistakes and everything was alright to the end. The last few laps were quite difficult as it had started to rain a little bit but I'm just happy I had the chance to drive for a few more laps than I did in practice."
 
Christophe Bouchut: "It was a good start and we were leading easily. Our car was the quicker than the others. It's a shame about losing the few laps because we thought we could have won this race."  

Nikolay Fomenko: "I was following the Porsche and he left the door open for me. I went to pass him, but then he suddenly shut the door and as I was on the accelerator, I did not have time to lift off and then brake. I went into the gravel and lost two laps there. I am sorry for my mistake and for the team."

Matteo Cressoni: "The car was very fast all weekend. Monza is the fastest track of the Championship. The car was perfect. Until the second pit stop everything was okay, when I had used tyres. I think I drove well at the beginning, but after the incident of Fabrizio the race was unfortunately lost for our car."

Fabrizio Gollin: "I had a collision with the nr.15 prototype, the Zytek.  I was in front but didn't see him in the mirrors and we collided in the Parabolica corner as he came up on me so fast." 

Antonio Coimbra: "I had a good stint but I took no risks at all. After my spin in warm up this morning I didn't want to push too hard and make any more mistakes. The rear tyres were a bit slippery towards the end of my stint but otherwise the car is okay. Very steady."

2005 Le Mans Endurance Series, Rd 2 - Monza 1000kms: GT1 Result: 1st 51 Pescatori / Bartyan / Seiler Ferrari 550 Maranello 158 laps; 2nd 67 Pergl / Enge / Janis Ferrari 550 Maranello 158 laps; 3rd 61 Bouchut / Fomenko / Vasiliev Ferrari 550 Maranello -2 laps; 4th 52 Gollin / Coimbra / Cressoni Ferrari 550 -4 laps; 5th 68 Kutemann / Gosse / Hugenholtz Ferrari 575 GTC -20 laps; 6th 53 Kaufmann / Tiemann Porsche 996 -31 laps