For the first time this year the Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT has led a timed session in the FIA GT Championship, after the All-Inkl.com Racing GT1 class example topped the opening practice session in Adria this morning.  The car, which has been improving steadily over the season, has moved over to Michelin tyres for this race - and it immediately leapt to the top of the time sheets.  Christophe Bouchut, sharing the car with Peter Kox once again, set a time of 1:12.410 to lead an extremely close session. In effect, the top eight cars were separated by just 1 second, with the two Maserati MC12 cars following the Lamborghini. Circuit specialist Babini was fourth in the BMS Aston Martin, ahead of the Zakspeed Saleen and the GLPK Carsport Corvette.

The GT2 sports cars are very close to the GT1 cars at this short, fast race track. The leading Ferrari 430 GT, the nr 62 Scuderia Ecosse shared by Nathan Kinch and Andrew Kirkaldy, was only 3.2 seconds off provisional pole time. The second Scuderia Ecosse entry was second fastest, driven this weekend by Tim Mullen and Marino Franchitti, with the newcomer team, Edil Cris Racing third, the car in the hands of Paolo Ruberti and Raffaele Giammaria. The leading Porsche was fourth, the nr 75 Ebimotors car of Riccitelli and Collard.

For the final European race of 2006, the teams and drivers are in action on the second new circuit of the season: the Adria Raceway, near Venice, in Italy. The new and modern track, with aits revolutionary indoor paddock, is relatively short for a GT race, but the tight and twisty circuit should provide an excellent backdrop for the penultimate race of the season which takes place tomorrow. With plenty of overtaking, and qualifying vital for a good start, it  should be a very interesting race. Of course, a lot is still at stake in the 2006 season.
 

Although the Teams' titles were decided in Hungary last time out, where Italian team AF Corse secured the first GT2 title for Ferrari since JMB was victorious in 2001, and the Vitaphone Racing Team, from Germany, crowned an exceptional season by retaining the title they won last season. But the Drivers' titles are as yet undecided, and could still go on until the final race in Dubai. In GT1, the Hungaroring closed up the points even further. The drivers of the nr 1 Maserati MC 12, Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini, have a nine-point lead over their three nearest rivals: Zakspeed Racing’s Sascha Bert and the Phoenix Racing duo of Andrea Piccini and Jean-Denis Deletraz. But one thing is certain, the 2006 Champion will be racing for a German team.  In GT2, the situation is slightly clearer. Two of the AF Corse drivers' will claim the title. At the moment, the favourites are 2003 Champion Matteo Bobbi, of Italy, and his Brazilian team-mate Jaime Melo - who set an unusual record in 2004 when he won races in both GT1 and GT2. But although their rivals, Mika Salo of Finland and Rui Aguas of Portugal, are currently 12 points behind, there are still 20 points on the table. For Adria, the usual GT2 field is being joined by Italo-Luxembourg team Edil Cris Racing, with a Ferrari 430 GT.

Like the other new circuit this year, Paul Ricard HTTT, Adria is a two-day meeting, with free practice and qualifying taking place today, while the warm-up and race will take place tomorrow. Support events include the Mitsubishi Race - Formula Adria, the Kia Rio Challenge and the Renault Clio Cup Germany.