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12.05.2008
Scuderia Playteam Sarafree goes straight to the podium SARA GT - CAMPIONATO ITALIANO GRAN TURISMO Sunday, 11 May 2008 – 2° round – MUGELLO - Ferrari F430 no. 7 – Thomas Kemenater / Gianluca Tedoldi - Ferrari F430 no. 8 – Max Busnelli / Gabriele Lancieri
RACE 1
The second round of the Sara GT - Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo was run in very warm Italian weather. Record temperatures were the backdrop to an tremendous job on the part of the team after the unlucky weekend of Monza, with Scuderia Playteam Sarafree coming out as the winner. At the end of 25 laps the checkered effectively signalled the first position of Busnelli-Lancieri who were followed just behind by the Ferrari F430 no. 23 of Easy Race and then the no. 4 of Racing Team. The blue and silver Playteam Sarafree Ferrari F430 no. 7 finished the race in 10th place The start of the race saw Busnelli in the Ferrari F430 no. 8 starting from the front row while Kemenater in the no. 7 F430 was in 5th position. The rolling start was the scene of an initial melee even before crossing the starting line with Busnelli solidly maintaining second place behind Postiglione’s Ferrari F430 no. 23. Then during the first lap in which several cars left the track, Thomas Kemenater was able to maintain his position. These positions were maintained until the driver changes. In the 12 lap Kemenater who had remained in 8th place switched driver duties with Tedoldi. Busnelli instead elected to turn over the car to his co-driver Gabriele Lancieri two laps later during a pit stop while he was leading the race. From this moment on the race was a hard fought competition that saw Lancieri eat up a 10th of a second lead of the F430 Ferrari no. 23 taking over first place 10 minutes prior to the chequered flag. The end of the 48 minute race saw co-drivers Busnelli and Lancieri climb to the top step of the podium while Tedoldi-Kemenater finished up in 10th place. "Today was sweet music to our ears. To be among the first ten for a first time in Italy is a good result," stated Gianluca Tedoldi. "Thomas did an incredible job in the first part of the race handing me a car that was in 8th place with perfect tyres. I pushed more than I should have taking small risk for a few laps before the end which ended up with a moment in the sand. I could have perhaps been more careful and done better than yesterday. The first race went very well. I wanted to hand over the car to Gianluca in good condition and think I successfully did so," said Thomas Kemenater. "This was a straight forward race without many problems. I managed to maintain my position in spite of a slight contact with another car during the departure. After the driver change Gianluca finished the job. I am satisfied. "Following our unfortunate attempt in Monza this was what we needed. Gabriele and I, together, did a fantastic job," according to Max Busnelli. "We ran a good race even though the start was not entirely normal. Postiglione had effectively set a very slow pace and we practically started from a full stop.
Despite the risk of stalling I wanted to spare the rear tyres as much as possible because I had experienced a bit of under steering. I wanted to be able to hand the car off to Gabriele in as good a condition as possible. I knew that my co-driver was perfectly capable of attacking the lead vehicle. I must say that this tactic provided the best outcome for the team. When asked Lancieri said, "We are satisfied because we were able to put things back in order after the disappointing start off in Monza. After Max’s turn in the car, I was able to easily take first place and managed to maintain it with an easy pace that did not over use the tyres and without unnecessary risks. The race finished like we wanted. We are very pleased.
- Agnes Carlier - photos Scuderia Sarafree
Author: maggy (admin2)
Last modified: Monday, 12.05.2008 - 02:35 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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