International GT Open - Round Five
Ferrari F430 no.3 Andrea MonterminiMichele Maceratesi handicap 30’
Ferrari F430 no.4 Manuel GiaoPedro Couceiro handicap 10’
Only two weeks after the Portuguese event, the 2008 International GT Open season, which kicked off on 20 April 2008 at Vallelunga near Rome is now entering its critical phase with the fifth round now scheduled ahead of the first ever motoring event in the new Formula 1 track in Valencia harbour in Spain.
The stage is set for the GT cars to have the privilege of hitting the track for the first time, ahead of the venue’s debut on the F1 calendar as the European Grand Prix in four weeks time.
Ahead of the Valencia round, Scuderia Playteam SaraFree is leading the championship with Montermini-Maceratesi in Ferrari F430 no. 3 with 107 points, and Giao-Couceiro in Ferrari F430 no. 4 are back to second position with 74 points in the championship. With 76 points, Scuderia Playteam SaraFree also leads "Advanced Engineering" by sixteen points in the team championship.
The team’s two driver pairings of Montermini-Maceratesi in Ferrari F430 no. 3 and Giao-Couceiro in Ferrari F430 no. 4 are determined to continue to shine in the championship on the new track and to make history at the Valencia circuit where no car has driven yet.
Pedro Couceiro commented, "I like street circuits and really enjoy Monaco, Pau and Macao. This one, however, is a bit special. It is more like a normal track inside the city. It is very fast with very difficult turns. I am looking forward to trying it out as soon as possible.
With my team mate Manuel Giao, we are second in the championship. We lost some points in an accident caused by competitors our last time out, but we are convinced that we have a good car for this race and hope for a podium. This is our principal objective and we work to achieve it every weekend. We will try to improve our position in the classification."
Andrea Montermini commented, "We are very happy to be part of the open event on such a prestigious track as Valencia. It is always a great adventure to open the doors and be the first at a new venue. It’s a historical moment being able to bring our Ferrari F430 GT to a new track where everything has to be discovered. My team mate Michele and I will do the maximum to avoid any incidents this race as we really want to win here."
Scuderia Playteam SaraFree supports the UINICEF "Schools for Africa" project
Scuderia Playteam again assumes its role as a partner to UNICEF (United Nations Fund for Children). This season Scuderia Playteam will renew it social commitment through Corporate and Social Responsibility projects with its support of the UNICEF "Schools for Africa" (SFA) campaign.
For most of Africa's children, education represents the only way out of a life of entrenched poverty. The UNICEF SFA International Fund Raising Campaign was initiated in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Hamburg Society for the promotion of Democracy and International Law.
SFA aims to provide aid to 4 million of Africa's most vulnerable children to attend school, to build basic new schools, and repair existing ones, to hand out exercise books, pencils and other learning materials to children, and training thousands of additional teachers.
Scuderia Playteam will contribute to the project devoting a percentage of sponsorship sales and 2 Euros for every Team polo shirt sold in stores and online on the team’s web site www.scuderiaplayteam.com . The project will also be promoted through Scuderia Playteam's drivers. They will assume the role of UNICEF spokesman for raising public awareness of the Schools for Africa campaign.
- Agnes Carlier- photos Scuderia Playteam
More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
