The FIA GT Championship concluded its second round of the season on the Valencia track this weekend.
Valencia is aa winding track, completely different from the season opening track in Monza, but Matteo Bobbi and Gabriele Gardel took their consecutive second place podium
The battle with their team-mates Gollin and Cappellari was a very close one and the second pit stop was very determining. When Gabriele handed the car over to Matteo, the engine starter didn’t work and this made him lose decisive seconds that would later define the final classification.
Bobbi got back on track with a delay of a few seconds but was able to safeguard his position and finished the race in second
Matteo Bobbi
“Like it is mentioned above, the second pit stop was very determining. Gabriele was in first place when he handed the car over to me and we had about 4 seconds to our advantage over Cappellari. Unfortunately, when I pushed the button for the engine starter, the car wouldn’t restart. We therefore lost a lot of precious seconds that made us lose the 1° place. All in all, t he weekend was a positive one regardless of the fact that the track wasn’t suitable to our car’s characteristics.
I know the Valencia track very well. It is very winding and very physically demanding. There is only one straight that allows you to catch your breath. Moreover, at the next race, we will have power steering.
Taking into consideration the track’s characteristics, it was really difficult for me to make a clean run during the qualifying session.
I could have lowered my time by a few decimals during my best lap but the traffic on the track prevented me from doing so. In any case, I wasn’t tempted to take on the Saleens who were very fast during the qualifications.
However our car proved to be the most competitive during the race and this is thanks to all of BMS Scuderia Italia, Prodrive and Michelin’s hard work.
The championship is still very long and I have plenty of time to recuperate the points that will allow us to be on top of the classification.”
