Bahrain, Friday, 26 November 2004
Organized by Stéphane RATEL and SRO (promoter of the FIA GT Championship and the French and the
British GT Championship) and the Bahrain International Circuit, the Nov 25-Nov 26 exhibition race ends
the 2004 GT season magnificently, wich saw competing the leading representatives of the various
national GT championships.
The winners of the French Cup 2004 Grand Touring (GT3 Category), Frédéric Dedours and Frédéric
Mako, have brillantely defended their colors, finishing second of the final race with their Chrysler Viper
GTS-R Northside Racing, prepared by the Larbre Competition team and equipped with Michelin tires.
"We had an excellent week-end for a first international race with a new team and maintained second
and third position throughout all the classifications of the different heats of the week-end. The team and
the car both were very competitive and we are overall very pleased" said a delighted Frederic Dedours.
"We are prepared for the 2005 season, for the GT1 french championship, and we plan to take part of a
selection of international FIA races".
"It is my first time in an international race, added Frederic Makowiecki, 24. It was very interesting to test
our chances by competing against some of the best teams of the GT world, and we are confident for
2005. Everything has gone very well and I want to thank the organisers of the event and the team
members for their dedicated work. Also congratulations to the Teams' owner Jack Lecomte for winning
the GT3 class."
On Thursday, the combined qualifying for this series gave third place to Labre Competition 1 and their
Chrysler Viper GTS while the Cooper Racing's Maranello 550 came in first place followed by the Saleen
S7 of the DDO team.
On race day, during the third morning race Frederic Makowiecki' Chrysler Viper GTS (GT1) came second
behind David Brabham on the Ferrari 550 Maranello with Antoine Leclerc on the Chrysler Viper GTS from
Force One Racing team.
But The French Team in car nr 12 consolidated their status of challenger in the last and final eventful
afternoon race of 26 laps which lasted one hour long. They finished on the second step on the podium.
The safety car twice interrupted the final event enabling marshals to remove debris from two separate
accidents.
In the last laps of the fourth race, the Ferrari Maranello 550 from Coopers Racing from Allan Simonsen
was leading with the Saleen S7 from DDO driven by Francois FIAT in second position.
After ten laps, two cars pitted for a driver change. Larbre Competition was the faster to switch drivers
while the Ferrari 550 Maranello was still leading.
The Ferrari 550 Maranello which was in the lead, came in on lap 12 while the safety car was coming out
for the second time, after an incident with the Porsche 996 GT3 R, car 33 from GPR Racing Pino team
with Nicolas de Gastines which was towed away from the track.
After this, the young French driver Frederik Mako, who celebrated his 24th birthday at the start of the
week, continued leading a very regular pace on the car equipped with Michelin tires holding an excellent
second position although he was chased very closely by the Saleen S7 from DDO team. However on lap
19, he let it go and reverted to third position of the race but regained his second position just before the
final lap as the Saleen slowed down as the differential went.
Frederic Dedours and Frederic Makowiecki are not the team's Larbre Competition regular front-line
driver line-up. However, in Bahrain at the Bahrain International Circuit, on Friday, 26 November 2004,
they finished an excellent second position with their 8-litre V10-engined Viper right behind the Ferrari
550 Maranello from the Coopers Racing from Australia with David Brabham/Allan Simonsen who as
won its class at Le Mans in 2003.
|
