Dome seeks second win in France

At the last round at Brno, in the Czech Republic, Dome scored its first ever international sportscar success when John Nielsen and Hiroki Katoh notched up a memorable win for the Den Bla Avis Team Goh outfit. This put them within 20 points of series leading BMS Scuderia Italia driver Marco Zadra, who has scored two wins so far in 2001 with two different team mates.

Team regular and Le Mans Audi hero Christian Pescatori has been forced to miss three races due to clashing GT commitments, and this has allowed ex-works Mercedes and BMW racer Jean Marc Gounon fill the breach in his absence, but 'Pesca' is back this weekend.

This weekend will also be the last race before the team will have its air restrictors increased. As ever, the Calderari/Zadra/Bryner trio will be in a second BMS 333SP.

Team Den Bla Avis Goh is riding the crest of a wave after that win at Brno and, complete with it's new high-downforce package, the S101 appears to be the car to have at the moment.

"I believe now that we have a car that can finish races and therefore also has a chance of winning this championship," said Nielsen. "It will be Hiroki's first race at Magny-Cours, but that was the case at Brno and that didn't bother him too much."

Fellow Dome runner Racing For Holland has also taken good heart from Team Goh's success in the last round, although Jan Lammers' team came away from Brno disappointed with fifth place.

"At Brno we instantly knew that the new aerodynamics made the car more suitable for the shorter and slower tracks that we race on in this championship", said Lammers.

Pescarolo Sport return to the championship for the first time since Monza and both Jean Christophe Boullion and Laurent Redon will be out to banish the memories from that race, where they led comfortably until mechanical problems set in. They won the most recent round of the European Le Mans Series at Estoril, before being disqualified over the collision with the Gulf Audi of Tom Coronel.

Also searching for an illusive first win are Team Ascari, and the Klaas Zwart-led team has threatened to do just that in the opening four rounds so far this year. The A410 tested at Snetterton last week and team drivers Werner Lupberger and Ben Collins successfully tested a new differential and other development parts for the Judd-powered car.

"I think we have made some improvements on the car," said Lupberger. "We will see when we get to Magny-Cours whether it pays off."

After scoring its second podium position of the year at Brno, R&M have renewed confidence in its Judd-powered Riley & Scott. Driver Mauro Baldi will be hoping to rekindle the pace that he showed in France last year when he led eventual champion David Terrien in the opening exchanges. Alex Caffi will once again complete the all-Italian driver line up.

GLV Brums have had a disappointing couple of races since its dramatic win in the Monza 1000kms, but the Achim Stroth-managed team can never be discounted from battling at the front of the field. Giovanni Lavaggi finished second at Magny-Cours last year and, along with Christian Vann, they form a very strong partnership with its Judd engine mated to the Ferrari 333SP chassis.

Kremer Racing enjoyed a much-needed upturn in fortune at Brno earlier this month with its Lola-Roush machine. Its young British driver Sam Hancock has been the revelation of the championship so far this year and he is relishing the prospect of racing on a track that he will not have to learn.

"I raced there in Formula Palmer in 1999," said the 21-year-old. "I have been working flat out in the gym while the guys are doing the same back in the workshop, and we have spent a lot of time analysing every area of our performance looking for ways to improve so we are confident of another strong showing."

The Redman Bright squad is back in action, with Mark Smithson and Peter Owen ready to get more experience of SR1 machinery in the Reynard 01Q-Judd. Conrero will wheel out its Riley & Scott for 1999 SR2 champion Angelo Lancelotti and an as-yet-unnamed team mate. Durango is all set to return to the fray with ex-Prost F1 tester Soheil Ayari back in harness in the GMS-Mader.

The SR2 class will once again provide just as much drama and excitement as its bigger brothers with Pilbeam, Lola, Tampolli and Lucchini going head to head once more.