Morellato teams Nurburgring Friday summary

Good practice session for the Morellato Stars Team and the Racing Team Morellato in the Porsche Supercup, Friday at the Nurburgring. Colin Mc Rae and Kristian Ghedina proved they are good drivers. And Richard Westbrook was, once again, the quickest of the pack. Germany, Nurburgring circuit:

There are times, in car racing like in any sports, when everything just goes perfect. When you're just a step ahead of your opponents--. Richard Westbrook refuses to admit it, but he's living one of those periods. Friday, he was again the fastest here at the Nurburgring, for the practice session of the third Porsche Supercup race of the season, during the F1 Grand Prix of Europe. Of course, it's only the practice session, nothing definitive.

But things sure seem promising for the Racing Team Morellato British driver : a best lap in 2.03.814, the fastest of the pack, 0.374 seconds less than second fastest Richard Lietz (tolimit Motorsport). A satisfaction for Richard Westbrook: "After our good results in the first two races, I'm pretty confident now. And I've always liked this circuit-- Once again, everything went well today. I'm still surprised about the gap between us and the other cars. That's good, and we have to keep that lead for the qualifying session and for the race. The car was pretty good, I enjoyed every lap. The team does an amazing job!"

Halas (and again), his team mate Olivier Maximin wasn't as happy with his time : 2.05.800 (13th). "I'm really desapointed. 13th is not good enough. The car was oversteering, and I couldn't fix it. Things have to go better tomorrow !"

But the main attractions here in Nurburgring are our two Morellato Stars Team drivers,famous skier Kristian Ghedina and former World Rally Champion Colin Mc Rae. Kristian Ghedina, the most successful Italian downhill skier of all time, just retired from ski competition, after 20 years on the national team, 12 World Cup victories and 29 podiums in downhill ski racing, one victory and 4 podium in SuperG and 3 World Championship medals. Kristian Ghedina now wants to be a race car driver.

And he did a pretty good job on Friday : 2.12.209, a encouraging time for a rookie, even though the champ' wasn't satisfied " It was pretty difficult. I had to discover the car, the tracks, everything. And I was thinking about too many things : where and how to brake, how to use the gear box, where to take the curbs-- I was also a little tensed, but I tried to concentrate. Tomorrow (Saturday), for the qualifying session, I hope I'll feel better in the car. I think I've understood some things, but I still have some work to do."

Same conclusion for Colin Mc Rae. The former World Rally Champion, who is the other Morellato Stars Team driver in Germany, drove in 2.08.659. "It was very difficult at the beginning. I, too, had to discover the car, the circuit-- The car is pretty easy to drive, very neutral and very forgiving, but I've had some trouble with the brakes. I still don't really now how to use these ceramic brakes, so my times aren't very good. But if you try to push too much in the beginning, then you start to make mistakes-- "

More to come Saturday, with the qualifying session. And the race commences on Sunday, at 11H50, prior to the F1 race.

Morellato Stars Team: VIP from television, cinema, sports, pop music etc. drive its two cars. The goal: entertain the public while supporting charity organisations. At the Nurburgring, the two drivers are the famous pilot Colin Mc Rae and ski champion Kristian Ghedina. Racing Team Morellato: two professional pilots, Richard Westbrook et Olivier Maximin, and a sporting challenge: to reach the podium at each Grand Prix.

-www.procom.mc