Maserati 1-2-3 in Magny Cours

The Andrea Bertolini/Karl Wendlinger pairing headed home their stable mates, leading home Bartels and Scheider by just 4.7 seconds after three hours of racing, with Babini/Biagi a further half a minute behind.

Bertolini took the lead at the start, passing poleman Bouchut literally metres after the line at the rolling start. Babini found a way through Scheider five laps later into third, and so it remained for the opening stint of the race.

On lap 15 Bouchut was able to put his Ferrari back in front of Bertolini courtesy of traffic, with Babini following the Frenchman through and up into second, but the good work was undone just two laps later when Bouchut ran off and through the gravel trying to pass Ian Khan's Porsche, picking up a puncture and putting his car back a lap.

A safety car period on the hour to clear debris was the next time the lead changed - Bertolini and Schneider were in to switch drivers under yellow, but as the safety car came in so did Peters in the fourth Maserati, followed a lap later by Babini, with both men losing out in the process.

Bartels led from Wendlinger after the stops shook out, with the pair running nose to tail and neither man giving an inch but equally neither willing to risk a move that could put them both out.

Rusinov was back in the pits forty minutes later with a fuel problem, well out of schedule and losing him a lap from the lead while his stable mates sailed on unhindered.

Other than by each other - Wendlinger tried to overtake at last, with contact between the pair unsettling both, but Bartels managed to hold on until the pitstops on lap 70, when both cars came in together.

After driver changes, along with tyres and fuel, Bertolini came out ahead after Scheider was slightly delayed, and he managed to build up a lead through not having to spend the laps looking in his mirrors.

And so it was to remain: Bertolini had a worrying moment on lap 97 when he tripped through the gravel at Chateau d'Eau but kept the lead for a solid win, while four laps back the race long squabble between the Gruppe M Porsches was resolved with Collard and Sugden coming out on top.

FIA GT Championship, Magny Cours - Race Result:


Pos Cl Drivers                   Make              Time
 1. 1  Bertolini/Wendlinger      Maserati MC12     3:01:20.442
 2. 1  Bartels/Scheider          Maserati MC12     3:01:25.143 +   4.701
 3. 1  Babini/Biagi              Maserati MC12     3:01:56.481 +  36.039
 4. 1  Longin/Kumpen/Hezemans    Corvette C5R      3:02:47.900 +  87.458
 5. 1  Lamy/Gardel               Ferrari 550       3:01:27.980 +  2 Laps
 6. 1  Bryner/Calderari/Zacchia  Ferrari 550       3:02:22.024 +  2 Laps
 7. 1  Peter/Buncombe/Rusinov    Maserati MC12     3:01:53.525 +  3 Laps
 8. 1  Bouchut/Fomenko/Vasiliev  Ferrari 550       3:02:06.607 +  4 Laps
 9. 2  Collard/Sugden            Porsche 996       3:02:19.112 +  4 Laps
10. 2  Lieb/Rockenfeller         Porsche 996       3:01:33.455 +  5 Laps
11. 1  Deletraz/Piccini          Ferrari 575       3:01:36.585 +  5 Laps
12. 2  Kinch/Kirkaldy            Ferrari 360       3:01:27.032 +  6 Laps
13. 2  Mullen/Niarcos            Ferrari 360       3:02:05.497 +  6 Laps
14. 2  Jordan/Caine              Porsche 996       3:02:43.441 +  7 Laps
15. 2  Tomlinson/Kane            TVR T400R         3:02:43.950 +  7 Laps
16. 1  Almeras/Berville/Casoni   Saleen S7 R       2:58:40.791 +  8 Laps
17. 1  Becker/Konrad             Saleen S7 R       3:02:04.653 +  8 Laps
18. 2  Hughes/Pearce             TVR T400R         3:02:34.693 +  8 Laps
19. 2  Jones/Jones               Porsche 996       3:02:42.774 +  8 Laps
20. 2  Ried/Ried                 Porsche 996       3:02:39.470 +  9 Laps
21. 2  Vonka/Casadei             Porsche 996       3:03:11.126 + 12 Laps
22. 1  Ruberti/Camathias         Saleen S7 R       3:02:23.221 + 15 Laps
23. 2  Griffin/Hooker            Vauxhall Monaro   3:03:14.499 + 18 Laps
24. 1  Kox/Simon                 Lamborghini       2:29:53.006 + 21 Laps

Not Classified

    2  Balfe/Derbyshire          Mosler MT900R     2:25:47.934   D.N.F.
    2  Bentwood/McKever/Wilson   Nissan 350Z       1:17:51.115   D.N.F.
    1  Lechner/Alzen             Saleen S7 R         51:47.067   D.N.F.
    2  Khan/Smith                Porsche 996         28:16.230   D.N.F.
    1  Stanco/Janus              Saleen S7 R          7:09.966   D.N.F.
    1  Keen/Halliday             Lister Storm        13:34.012   D.N.F.

Fastest Laps

    1  Bertolini/Wendlinger      Maserati MC12     1:38.826
    2  Collard/Sugden            Porsche 996       1:44.126
    2  Balfe/Derbyshire          Mosler MT900R     1:44.920