Monza, which was hosting the FIA GT3 European Championship for the first time last weekend, marked the half-way point of the season. After Silverstone and Bucharest, the teams and drivers were facing a fast circuit, meaning that the two one-hour races would be more action-packed than ever, with just one aim for most of the competitors: to catch up with leaders Henri Moser and Gilles Vannelet.

Vannelet and Moser, in the nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430, arrived at Monza last weekend in control of the 2007 FIA European GT3 Championship. With two wins and a third-place finish, the two men had made a near-perfect start to the season. Only their retirement from the second Bucharest race slightly delayed their relentless progress. Second in the Championship classification, Stéphane Daoudi and Ian Khan, winners of the first Bucharest race, were their closest rivals, but there was a long list of potential winners. Currently third, Maxime Dubrulle and Nicolas Navarro, driving the nr 10 First Racing Lamborghini Gallardo have been very consistent this season, but the young French duo arrived in Monza still looking for their first win. This rapid circuit could also suit the Lamborghini cars well, both those of First Racing and S-Berg Racing. The two teams were looking to this round in order to make up their deficit, as are the Corvette teams. Riverside and Martini Callaway Racing had put everything in place in order to claim a first win of the season as soon as possible.

The fastest track of the season seemed to suit the Corvette very well, as in both qualifying sessions, a Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3 got the pole position. And while the first session, where Italian Driver Luca Pirri was the fastest, eight different makes were in the eight first positions, in the second qualifying session, the Corvettes set the three fastest times. So, it is clear that over one lap the Corvettes were fast at, but in a one hour race, everything could be different.

With their powerful engines, the Corvettes were logically the favourites on this fast track as Race 1 got underway. But to win for the first time of the season, Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen had to fight really hard at the beginning of the first race. In the nr 18 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3, Pirri and von Gartzen finally won, and came back to second position in the FIA GT3 European Championship, half-way through the season. Bradley Ellis and Ed Morris, in the nr 8 RPM Dodge Viper Competition Coupe finished second, the best result for a Dodge so far, and Italian drivers Diego Alessi and Alex Frassinetti (nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Aston Martin DBRS9) were third on the podium.

The Corvettes were very fast at the beginning of the second race of the day, and maybe too fast. At this track, the fuel consumption is very high, and although Pirri and von Gartzen, in nr 18 Martini Callaway Racing Corvette Z06R GT3, crossed the line in first position to make it two wins out of two, they were lacking sufficient fuel at the end, and were excluded according to article 60 of the championship Regulations.
 

So Vannelet and Moser inherited the race win in nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430, increasing their Championship lead. James Ruffier and Arnaud Peyroles were second, and the nr 8 RPM Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Ed Morris and Bradley Ellis third. With Alessandro Frassinetti and Diego Alessi first of the Aston Martin cars in fourth position, Michael Greenhalgh and Daniel Gibson first of the Ascari in firth position and the first Porsche in ninth position (Phill Keen and Jonathan Lang in nr 2 Tech9 Motorsport), once again six different makes finished in the top 10.

Henri Moser – nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430, 1st: "It was certainly hard to follow the Corvette. They have huge engines, which is good on this track, maybe the fastest in Europe. Even if they are not the fastest in the corners, they were really really fast in the straight line. I tried to keep up with the Dodges, not to let the Corvettes go. Luckily I had a really great stop in the pits. The Corvettes braked too early, so I could gain almost what I had lost on track! It was important to score points. We were a bit deceived this morning, because we deserve a good result. I do not know Brno, so I look forward to being there, as I heard that it is a really nice track."

Gilles Vannelet – nr 38 Kessel Racing Ferrari F430, 1st: "I've done three races today, one in the FIA GT Championship and two in the FIA GT3 European Championship… and I have one more long race to go back to France, but this one is going to be more peaceful. I was really disappointed after the first race, and I don't really understand what happened! I lost the car in my last lap, it was a shame. We really want to win this Championship, and my goal is to drive carefully, and not doing any mistake. So OK, it is always special to win like that, but we were unlucky this morning, and now we are more lucky! This afternoon, we absolutely wanted to score points, so we did not take any risks. In my stint I never reached the RPM limiter, and during the last lap I was really slow, as I know that we will be very close with the fuel.”

With three win from the the six races held so far this season Vannelet and Moser keep their advantage at the top of the table at 15 points, the comfortable cushion they came to Monza holding on to. Von Gartzen and Pirri move into second place in the rankings (21), three ahead of Alessi and Frassinetti (18) who came away from the Italian track with the highest points tally, 11. JMB Racing Ferrari F430 crew Ian Khan and Stephane Daoudi slip to fourth place (16), just ahead of Richard Williams and Edward Morris (14). In the GT3 teams' championship Kessel Racing have 41 points, compared to their closest challenger, BMS Scuderia Italia, who have 33 points.