FIA GT 2004 round 7: Spa 24 Hour

The 24 Hours of Spa is a classic race on the FIA GT Championship: the only 24 hour event in the series, taking place on one of the world's most famous race tracks. This legendary circuit is characterised by challenging corners - this year with a new and very abrasive asphalt surface - as well as by a notoriously unpredictable climate. Spa promises to be extremely demanding for both man and machine, testing capabilities to the limit. In this race only, championship points will be awarded after both six and twelve hours of racing, as well as when the chequered flag falls at the end of the race. Engine and tyre reliability is of paramount importance in this type of endurance race. Pirelli's P Zero tyres in Spa incorporate some important innovations: there are new compounds for GT class cars which provide better performance and durability. The Ferrari 360 in the N-GT category gets a new construction of tyre, which offers more consistent performance over a long stint. These new products have already demonstrated great results in pre-event testing at Spa, clearly overtaking the competition in terms of outright speed and consistency. There is some big news on the driver front as well, thanks to the arrival of Gianni Morbidelli in the GPC Squadra Corse team's Ferrari. In the GT category, former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo will be part of the Ferrari #11 crew together with Fabio Babini, Philipp Peter and Vincent Vosse. In the other Ferrari (#13) the driving squad is made up of Emanuele Naspetti, Gianni Morbidelli, Frederic Bouvy and Didier Defourny. In the Konrad Saleen S7 the crew will be Walter Lechner Jr., Franz Konrad, Seiler Tones and Paul Knapfield; while the sister Vitaphone Racing team will run Uwe Alzen, Michael Bartels and Eric Van de Poele. An old friend returns to the championship in the N-GT category alongside Pescatori and De Simone: Andrea Bertolini, a frontrunning driver in the 2003 FIA GT Championship and tireless test driver of the famous Maserati MC12.