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Sears Point: Prodrive Ferrari race report
After an action-packed, yellow flag-filled, thrilling race, the Prodrive Ferrari 550 of David Brabham and Jan Magnussen battled through to a GTS class podium finish on their debut for the team in today's Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma. Their ...
Published: Jul 28, 2003, 4:17 AM
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After an action-packed, yellow flag-filled, thrilling race, the Prodrive Ferrari 550 of David Brabham and Jan Magnussen battled through to a GTS class podium finish on their debut for the team in today's Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma. Their team-mates Tomas Enge and Peter Kox finished 4th in class, with valuable Championship points being gained for the team.
Both cars suffered accident damage during the race, although not badly enough to need any long pit stops or time behind the wall. Magnussen - who had closed on the leading Corvette enough to challenge for position - was the first to strike trouble when, just over 30 minutes into the race, he clashed with a slower P675 car causing damage to the front bodywork. The accident did not prove to be overly detrimental to the handling and performance of the car, although the aerodynamics were slightly affected, so he continued for the remainder of his stint.
The slippery Sonoma circuit caused Peter Kox to uncharacteristically make a couple of mistakes which, although not harming the car, cost time and track positions. Kox's team-mate, Enge, was pushing hard in the final hour of the race to try and gain on the class leaders when he came into contact with a GT car - the result of which meant a last minute pit stop to repair the damaged front of the car.
David Brabham (AUS), car 80: "That was a great experience. We weren't too sure at the beginning what was going to happen so to get a podium finish is good. We showed we'd got the pace in the car, but things didn't go our way. However, we've got a lot in the bank ready for the next race."
Jan Magnussen (DK), car 80: "I had a really good start and went through the traffic fast, with good passing moves. Then I caught up with a slow P675 (#18) who I guess didn't see me. He let Ollie through and though I was right behind him, he kind of stopped in the middle of the corner and I went right into him. There's a bit of damage on the car, mainly bodywork, which is a shame and I'm sorry I didn't pass over a 100% car to David. It's hard to pass here, but we'll do all we can."
Tomas Enge (CZ), car 88: "We had hard luck today. Obviously everything started badly yesterday with qualifying and that was our biggest problem. To overtake the slower GT cars here is very difficult. We had to take risks and unfortunately they did not all go in our favour. But we got points and are now looking forward to the next race."
Peter Kox (NL), car 88: "Not the best day. Normally I don't spin and today I had two! I don't really know why, apart from the fact that the track is very slippery, but I do know I am happy not to have crashed the car."
Dyson Motorsport's Lola-MG P675 claimed a historic result by taking the chequered flag in today's race - the first time a car from the less- powerful class has taken an overall win in the Series.
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