NOGARO - FFSA GT Championship :Back to the beginning

In April, the 2007 season of the FFSA French GT Championship got underway in Nogaro, during the Easter Cup, in front of a crowd of 39,341 people ; the event also saw the launch of the FFSA GT3 Championship.

Six months later, ten races have taken place, and the competitors in both Championships will be back in the Gers region for the penultimate round of the season. The title fight is far from over in both Championships, so an action-packed event is on the cards !

The title of FFSA French GT Champion 2007 will be won by one of the two Saleen S7R cars entered by Oreca. However, which of them will carry off the trophy is yet to be decided. Soheil Ayari and Raymond Narac are leading with 235 points, 14 more than their team-mates Laurent Groppi and Bruno Hernandez.

With 60 points still on the table, nothing is over yet. The handicap weights they are carrying will of course play their part in the battle, giving a slight advantage to Hernandez and Groppi who have only 80 kg for the first race, while Narac and Ayari will have to contend with 120 kg. On a circuit which Oreca knows well, and which had highlighted the performance of the Saleen back in April, the fight for the title between the two crews is sure to be exciting.

But their rivals will be keen to play their part as well, and many of them will be keen to claim a win and finish the season on a positive note. So far this season’s statistics, Oreca has won nine out of ten races…

The Corvette clan will be the most keen to overturn the current tendency. The Corvette C6.R of Yvan Lebon and Jean-Philippe Dayraut came close to victory in Albi, while the Luc Alphand Aventure drivers, Jérôme Policand and Gabriel Balthazard, are particularly fond of this track.

Two other Saleen S7-R cars are potential race-winners. Olivier Thevenin and Eric Debard, driving the car prepared by Marcel Tarrès have been getting stronger race by race, while Dominique Dupuy and Thierry Soave are serious outsiders, with new suspension settings which could give their car a boost. The Aston Martin DBR9 of Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Bornhauser should not be forgotten, as the two men have just four races to claim their first win.

In the GT2 Trophy, the situation is clearer. Richard Balandras and Michel Lecourt have won every race since the start of the season, with their IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR. However, Estoril Racing, Nourry Competition and Red Racing have not lost hope of finally beating the Trophy GT2 leaders..

For its inaugural season, the FFSA GT3 French Championship could still be won by either of the Sport Garage Ferrari cars, or the First Racing Lamborghini. Currently, Christopher Campbell has a comfortable lead of 29 points over his Sport Garage team-mates, Michaël Petit and Gilles Vannelet.

Campbell, who is now sharing his Ferrari with Didier Moureu, could even manage to claim the title in Nogaro, should his rivals have a bad weekend. But Gilles Vannelet and Michaël Petit have no intentions of giving up.

The combination of youth, in the form of 20-year old Michaël Petit, and the experience of Gilles Vannelet, who is also fighting for the FIA GT3 European Championship title, make them a particularly efficient pairing.

Bruno Dubreuil, driving with Ulric Amado in one of two First Racing Lamborghini Gallardo cars, needs to score big points. But there are plenty of other cars looking for a good result, like the Hexis Racing Aston Martin DBRS9, the Dodge Viper or the numerous Porsche 997 GT3 RSR cars.

All the ingredients are in place for an excellent weekend at Nogaro – a track which always delivers exciting races !

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- Jacquie Groom, FIA -

photos will be on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - FIA GT