Frédéric Makowiecki yesterday placed the Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello on pole position for today's FIA GT Championship's closing race in Dubai. It was a truly stunning result for the car on its return to the championship, with a driver line-up that includes the outgoing FIA GT Champion Fabrizio Gollin, who is also making his series return. The Ferrari 550 Maranello is running with the 'experimental' new Care Racing 'low-cost' development engine which offers the potential of it being able to be adjusted by the series organisers' remotely. It has been entered in the G2 category, the first time pole position has come from this class.

After of the closest-ever qualifying sessions in the FI GT Championship the top three cars all qualified within one tenth of a second of each other, while the top seven were all within nine tenths. Makowiecki placed the Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello on pole after setting a best lap time of 1:55.987.  The Care Racing owned, Prodrive built Ferrari 550 Maranello has a great record in Dubai, new circuit which hosted the penultimate round of the FIA GT Championship for the last two years; but this is the first time it is hosting the finale. In 2004, Matteo Bobbi took pole in the BMS Scuderia Italia-run  Ferrari 550 Maranello. He and his team-mate Gabriele Gardel won the race, ahead of Johnny Herbert and Fabrizio De Simone in the AF Corse Maserati MC 12, and the Care Racing-entered Ferrari of Biagi, Calderari and Bryner. Last year meanwhile the Russian Age Racing Aston Martin DBR9, running in the colours of Aston Martin Middle East, took pole position, with Christophe Bouchut at the wheel. But race victory went to future Champion Gardel and his team-mate Pedro Lamy, in the Ferrari 550 Maranello, which was now being run by the French Larbre Competition outfit.

PRACTICE 1

Times generally came down over the weekend in Dubai, as the grip increased and the track got steadily cleaner. The best time in the first free practice session was a lap of 1:58.104 from Andrea Piccini in the nr 5 Phoenix Racing Aston Martin DBR9, set right at the end of the session. He was sixth tenths ahead of the nr 33 Race Alliance car, shared by Philipp Peter, Karl Wendlinger and Jarek Janis.
 

Neither car has any penalty weight this weekend, which makes a difference. The nr 9 Zakspeed Saleen was third-fastest, ahead of the nr 2 Vitaphone Maserati. In GT2, Tim Mullen set the best time, of 2:03.091, in the nr 63 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari, ahead ofthe nr 59 AF Corse Ferrari and the nr 80 Spyker Squadron Spyder of Kox and Dumbreck. The nr 3 Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello, running in G2 with the new Care Racing Development customer engine, was sixth overall. The nr 115 BMS Aston Martin DBRS9 was the leading G3 car, in 19th position overall, for Zlobin, Zani and Benucci. The session was briefly red-flagged after a spin for the nr 4 Corvette; the car will be able to take part in the second free-practice session.

PRACTICE 2

The nr 5 Phoenix Aston Martin DBR9 continued to dominate free practice in the tenth round of the FIA GT Championship in Dubai, Jean-Denis Deletraz setting the best time in the second free practice session. In a close session, with the top six within eight tenths of a second, Deletraz set the best time of the event so far, with a lap of 1:56.949, 37 thousandths ahead of the nr 4 GLPK Carsport Corvette of Longin, Hezemans and Kumpen. The nr 33 Race Alliance Aston Martin was third, only two thousandths behind the Corvette.  These three cars dominated the times throughout the session, as the track gradually became faster. Punctuated by a number of spins – from which all the cars continued – the penalty for going off the racing line onto the slippery, sandy surface,  the nr 1 Vitaphone Maserati managed fourth, three tenths off pole, despite a total of 95 kg onboard. The nr 9 Zakspeed Saleen was fifth, ahead of the second Maserati. The nr 3 Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello was seventh. In GT2, the nr 63 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 GT2 set the best time, with a lap of 2:01.796, ahead of the nr 80 Spyker Squadron Spyder GT2 of Kox and Dumbreck, while Toni Vilander and Jaime Melo were third in the nr 58 AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT2. The fastest G3 car was the nr 115 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9 of Zani, Zlobin and Benucci, 20th overall.

QUALIFYING

One of the closest-ever qualifying sessions in the FI GT Championship saw the top three cars qualify within one tenth of a second, while the top seven were within nine tenths. Pole position went, exceptionally, to a car running in the G2 class, Frédéric Makowiecki in the Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello, setting a time of 1:55.987. He was very closely followed by the two Aston Martin Racing BMS cars, in their best qualifying session this season. In GT2, Tim Mullen made it a full sweep for Scuderia Ecosse by taking his second pole position of the season, ahead of Mika Salo in the AF Corse car and Jeroen Bleekemolen in the Spyker.