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Estoril

21/10/2001

Catching Up

With Last Round News

After an editorial week away from sports / GT racing, we find the Estoril meeting underway - so a quick look over what we've missed.

37 cars present for this one, with some significant changes. Oliver Gavin and Peter Kox in the Reiter Lamborghini is a novel pairing; Gavin has had some real highs this season, but showing your talent and getting the recognition are perhaps rather different concepts. Kox has shown his form often enough, but a Lamborghini that is three seconds off the pace - although it used to be much more - is far removed from a Prodrive Ferrari 550. The Diablo has a lighter chassis for this event.

Riccitelli and Maassen in the #77 RWS Porsche is the significant change in (N-GT) Championship terms - these two are perfectly matched, and the perfect rivals for Terrien and Pescatori. The Porsche crew were fastest in N-GT in both Friday sessions, the 360 pair over a second slower. The race and the title will come down to another tactical battle - outright speed against fuel economy. #77 carries only 20kg of ballast, while the Ferrari carries the full fifty.

Riccitelli was fasest in the opening wet period of the first Friday session, Massen quickest once the track dried. Terrien and Pescatori were working on their race set-up.

GT will be livened up by a second Larbre Viper, for Duez and Bourdais; this is the car that finished second at Spa, and it won't carry any ballast. Bourdais was second fastest overall on Friday, despite being held up on his best lap - "at the intermediate time, I was faster than the Lister." Prodrive have the full 100 kg in their Ferrari, Larbre 90 in their #7 (Tiago Monteiro joining this driving team). "We can't compete with the Lister on pure pace," reckons Rickard Rydell.

That car was still fastest in one Friday session, Campbell-Walter fastest in the other.

No sign of Robin Liddell partnering Stephane Ortelli this time; Romain Dumas gets that role, while a fourth Freisinger Porsche in N-GT sees Pedro Neova sharing with Briton Tim Lawrence, a man with 2002 Le Mans ambitions.