Magny Cours Vodacom Speed Festival 01/05/2001   Round 3 Preview   May 1 is a public holiday in France, so the FIA GT teams will be assembling to start the round 3 meeting with free practice on Sunday April 29, with the race itself on Tuesday. The whole of NW Europe seems to have been suffering with abysmal weather since the beginning of the winter, but whatever happens in France, it can't be as bad as it was in the Czech Republic. Rain may occur for round 3, but surely snow is impossible this far west, this far into so-called Spring? Christophe Bouchut lives nearby, and he reckons it hasn't stopped raining all year. Some teams will be busy contesting the FFSA GT races, but the FIA GT race is the main one. This circuit saw the climax of the 2000 series, and a race that Tom Coronel took by the scruff of the neck as he tore after the JC-W / Bailey Lister. This time he's in the JC-W Lister, and he loves this place. "It’s the combination of corners that I like, with the high-speed chicanes and lots of braking points. I’ve always gone well there – in the European Formula Opel series, and in German Formula Three. I have a good feeling there, something to do with the atmosphere. It’s very relaxing, with no stress – it makes a nice change." He always seems relaxed anyway, but put him in a race car and he becomes an absolute demon. Warmer temperatures should suit the Lister, which suffered in freezing Brno. It's the regular gang threatening to prevent consecutive Championships. The Vipers have already taken a win, care of the Larbre entry, and home ground ought to suit the French GTS-R teams. We know this track suited the 2000 Carsport Viper, and with all the changes to the current chassis, the orange cars are likely to get quicker and more reliable as the weeks and races pass. Ready for a win yet? Maybe not quite. Coronel and JC-W are going to be tough to beat, despite a 50 kg handicap. Bouchut and Belloc carry 70 kg. The Belgian Viper for Robert Dierick / Eric de Doncker missed round 1 but will complete the season, while a novelty is the Gammon Megaspeed Porsche for the Chinese pairing Tit Lung Siu / Yuk Lung Siu. Prodrive are rumoured to be running their 550 Ferrari for the first time this week, with a debut likely a Silverstone, but for now French fans will have to 'settle for' the Rafanelli cars in the GT class. They've made a major difference to the Championship already, and they're close enough to the outright pace that a victory may not be far away. Can Prodrive match or beat the Rafanelli cars? N-GT is looking wide open at this stage. Luca Riccitelli explains where he thinks the strength lies in the class: “We’re now in the right mental frame to pull ahead and do our best to win the Championship. But I am sure we will face a lot of competition in Magny Cours. The Larbre Competition cars will be very strong, as they test there a lot, and are sure to have the perfect set-up for their Porsche 996 GT3-Rs. And the JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena is very fast, with two very good drivers, Terrien and Pescatori." It may be two against lots, but the Ferraris - or at least the #62 car - already look as though a win is just around the corner. But faced with all the GT3Rs, that corner might not appear at all in 2001. Philipp Peter returns to drive the Orlando Porsche that won at Monza, this time with Joel Camathias. A drivers title won't be attainable if they keep switching about like this. That will give Riccitelli and Dieter Quester an even better chance of taking the awards for RWS / Red Bull. We haven't seen the best from Kaufmann and Ortelli yet, who ought to turn out to be the main challengers to the #77 Porsche. One of the charms of this series is to see the likes of Tim Sugden and Michel Neugarten going like the clappers in 'gentleman' entries. These two and others are always in with a chance of getting among the top three at least once during a race. Would they prefer rain? Based on 2001 so far, they're likely to get it. Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport