The official media day to launch the 2006 season of the FIA GT Championship got off to a very good start at the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France yesterday. With a well-attended press conference, a photo shoot and media laps around 3.802 km circuit, the teams and drivers took the opportunity to run extensively on the track which will host the 6th round of 2006. 

The overall best lap of the day was set by the GT1 class Zakspeed-run Saleen S7R, with a time of 1:14.484, ahead of the no 2 Vitaphone Maserati MC12 and the GLPK Carsport Corvette C6-R. The top seven cars set times within one second. The two Vitaphone Maserati MC12s had kicked T1 proceedings off in the morning session (the first of the two scheduled) by topping the timesheets, with the no 2 black and blue liveried example piloted by the teams new signing Jamie Davies, and Thomas Biagi (1:15.324) ahead of the sister no 4 machine (1:15.450) while the Zakspeed Saleen was third quickest, and the GLPK Carsports Corvette fourth ahead of a quartet of Aston Martin DBR9s split between BMS and Race Alliance. In the afternoon session, as the times came down and the order was shuffled, it ended with the Zakspeed Saleen going fastest, just ahead of the no 2 Vitaphone Maserati, the GLPK Carsports Corvette, the second Vitaphone-entered Maserati and then the four Aston Martin runners.

Joining the GT1 cars on track were the GT2 and GT3 runners, with a new breed of Italian racing cars featuring prominently in the chase. In GT2 the new Ferrari F430GT continues to set the pace and leave the Porsches - who have dominated for so long - struggling in their wake. The F430GT celebrated its first major race win last weekend, scooping honours in GT2 during the opening round of the Le Mans Series in Istanbul, and at Dijon yesterday it set the pace.
 

The new Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430GT, was ninth overall in the timesheets (1:18.885) and fastest in GT2 by the end of the day, just ahead of the Michelotto 'laboratory' example, which went fastest during the morning session (1:19.054) and AF Corse's F430GT (1:19.450). The leading Porsche 911GT3 RSR was the Ebimotors entry in fourth.

This was the first time the Scuderia Ecosse had run publicly since receiving their new F430GTs, and was therefore the first opportunity for the assembled media to see that the team run on the Michelin rubber it will use in 2006. While Tim Mullen's fastest lap topped the GT2 timesheets at the end of the day, the team was pleased to see that Chris Niarchos' time was the fourth fastest overall in GT2, showing that the Niarchos/Mullen lineup is becoming stronger by the day. Aside from many interview and filming commitments, the team continued working through its pre- season test programme, carrying on the good work from a three-day test in Jerez last week.

In the GT3 class Reiter Engineering and AF Corse both turned up with a pair of Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 and Maserati GranSport GT3 racers apiece, while JMB Racing were on hand with a single Ferrari F430 GT3. Other GT3 cars to take part included the Dodge Viper Coupe, Aston Martin DBRS9, Ascari KZ1R and Venturi Heritage, the latter which left Dijon with the fastest time of the day (1:21.845), the JMB Racing run car having gone fastest in both sessions.