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News Archive » Two Wins in a Row for no. 63 November 18, 2006 Scuderia Ecosse brought the curtain down on a dramatic season of racing in Dubai today with another race win for Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen. This is the second win in a row for the no.63 Ferrari and the team’s fifth win this year in the FIA GT Championship, a tally unmatched by any other GT2 team. The no.62 Ferrari of Nathan Kinch and Marino Franchitti finished in ninth position after completing the full distance without a clutch! As well as the victory for no.63, Tim Mullen took pole position in yesterday’s qualifying session, meaning that Scuderia Ecosse took every single pole position in this year’s FIA GT Championship. Considering the strong competition this is a great achievement. Chris Niarchos: “A fantastic result. We were fastest in every session and Tim took pole by a very good margin. Today’s race was very clean, close racing; proper nose-to-tail stuff for the first half hour. We played with the strategy today and kept my stint to a minimum as Tim was flying. He needed to be too as we had extra competition. The entry list reads like a “Who’s Who” of sportscar racing so it is great to get my first FIA win in these conditions.” Tim Mullen: “Obviously I’m over the moon with this result. We dominated the whole weekend and to get pole position, fastest race lap and the win is a great feeling. This is actually my third FIA GT win now (Magny Cours 2003, Adria 2006, Dubai 2006) and, with the great year we had in British GT, getting the final FIA win of the year is a great way to finish the job off.” Nathan Kinch: “We lost out with a clutch problem today which is a real shame as the car was awesome in warm-up. It was awesome during the race too but when you have long pit-stops to bleed the clutch you lose way too much time.” Marino Franchitti: “Nathan and I should have been in contention for the win today had it not been for the clutch problem. We struggled with the car yesterday but the guys worked hard last night and presented us with a fantastic Ferrari today. Unfortunately we then got the clutch problem but, even with that, the car was good. I had a fun stint and Nathan was quick – he got third fastest lap of the race – so we’re both a little frustrated but had a great time all the same.” Stewart Roden, Scuderia Ecosse Team Principal: “I’m delighted for Chris and Tim; what a year they’ve had! It’s a shame we had the problems with no.62 as without that we could have had a 1-2. The competition was mega today with people like (Peter) Dumbreck and (Mike) Rockenfeller added to the tough rivals we already have, so it’s even more gratifying to take the win. A great way to finish off the season!” ENDS |
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