It was an exciting fourth round of the FIA GT Championship held this weekend at Imola.

It was widely known that the Vitaphone Racing Team’s MC12 would have a difficult time with the 80kg of ballast in addition to the 10kg imposed at the start of the season. Bertolini/Wendlinger (JMB Racing) would similarly struggle with their 70kg of extra weight as well as the 10kg. The teams were obliged to adopt a three stop strategy, one more than their rivals, in order to race with a lighter fuel load and so maintain a high tempo.

Nonetheless, the effect of the ballast took its toll in the form of an extra second and a half per lap compared to the other leading cars. The heavier cars also meant that the brakes came under greater stress. Also, having to use a smaller rear wing resulted in less aerodynamic download in the curves, a crucial factor at a technically demanding circuit like Imola.Fabio Babini and Thomas Biagi claimed an extremely important third place at the end of a closely fought race.