Magny-Cours Ferraris: Barde's title

French guest driver Jean-Philippe Belloc, a former FIA GT champion, shared Barde's limelight with two dominant wins on his first outing in a 360 Challenge car. Championship hopeful Paddy Shovlin had his efforts dashed only two laps into Saturday's race when a coming together between Belloc and Michael Cullen eliminated him.

It was a disappointing anti-climax to what should have been a thrilling four-way dice between two local experts and two Irish hotshoes. As it was, Shovlin and Cullen's retirement handed the win to Belloc with Barde driving a steady race to conserve his tyres, crossing the line nearly half a minute behind his compatriot.

Barde kept Belloc in his sights for the duration of the feature race but with the championship hanging in the balance, the Frenchman had no urge to risk a do-or-die pass. Shovlin had looked set to stage a comeback from the rear end of the grid but although he made up several places in the opening laps, his race and title hopes were thwarted by a patchy race performance.

The conclusion of the Trofeo Pirelli title two races before the end of the season is a marked contrast to the wide-open class two championship race. A win apiece for Emilio Giusti - his fourth in a row - and Markus Lehner separates them by only six points with 50 still up for grabs. Andreas Koenig, with a second and a fifth place at Magny-Cours, lurks only two points behind Giusti.


1 Jean-Philippe Belloc (F) 30:06.339
2 Ange Barde (F) 30:35.663
3 Norbert Graf (D) 30:37.403
4 Tony Ring (SWE) 30:41.759
5 Nick Hommerson (NED) 30:47.183
6 Pasquale Gagliardi (I) 30:47.436


1 Jean-Philippe Belloc (F) 44:47.555
2 Ange Barde (F) 44:48.344
3 Tony Ring (SWE) 45:27.012
4 Norbert Graf (D) 45:27.382
5 Nick Hommerson (NED) 45:48.360
6 Paddy Shovlin (IRL) 45:48.638