The famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany hosts round four of the 2009 Le Mans Series, and once again Team Modena will be out to prove that their Ferrari 430 GT is one of the ace setters in the LM GT2 category of the hugely competitive series. Second at Spain May and third at the beginning of August in Portugal, driver line Antonio Garcia, Leo Mansell and Jaime Melo will be keen to show their pace at a circuit where the team has tasted success in previous seasons.
“The car came back in good condition from the Algarve,” said Team Principal Graham Schultz, “and as ever the boys have done a great job in turning it round, it looks like a new car.
“The championship is really close now and we could do with lady luck smiling on us this weekend – but we are targeting a podium finish if not a win.”
The team currently lie third of the fourteen GT2 squads to contest the LMS so far this season, with Antonio and Leo also joint third in the driver’s point stable. In the Michelin Green X Challenge, which rewards teams for their efficiency in races, Team Modena currently lie eighth out of the 39 teams
The team claimed their second win of the 2008 LMS season at the Nurburgring last year, dominating the LM GT1 category with their Aston Martin DBR9 and winning by the huge margin of 32-laps as the rest of the field faltered. This year the team is up against more numerous – and highly competitive opposition in the LM GT2 category, but having scored podium finishes in the previous two LMS rounds this year, hope are high that the team can once more taste German success.
The weekend sees a return to the conventional ‘afternoon’ LMS races after the experimental night race in Portugal. Currently 38 cars are entered, 13 of them in the LM GT2 class. Friday features the first two one-hour Free Practice sessions, with a third early on Saturday morning. A 20-minute qualifying session for the GT cars is scheduled for 13.40 Saturday afternoon. The 1000km race is due to start at 12.30 local time on Sunday, with a maximum duration of six-hours.
