Scuderia Playteam SaraFree took a sensational first and third finish in the fourth round of the International GT Open Championship as Montermini-Maceratesi and Giao-Couceiro brought their two Ferrari 430s home in first and third places respectively.

Both drivers made strong starts. Montermini fought to keep the lead in the first corner and Couceiro moved up to third. At the end of lap 2, Andrea Montermini went a bit wide on the gravel and lost the lead to Pompidou. On Lap 10, the leader had taken a full lap over the field, and the two Scuderia Playteam Sarafree cars were respectively second and third.

The distance between the leader and the second car progressively decreased to 4.2s and 3.0s on lap 14 and 2.2s on lap 15. Pedro Couceiro stopped first for the driver change at the same time serving out his 5 second handicap. Then it was Montermini-Maceratesi's turn to give the car to Maceratesi on lap 16 who restarted after applying the 20 second handicap.

In the second half of the race, Manuel Giao was cruising in tenth position while Maceratesi rejoined in eighth. After the pit stop window was closed and all competitors had completed their stops, Maceratesi was again in second place and Giao in third. In a sensational effort two laps before the end, Maceratesi passed Moser's Ferrari and won the race. Both Scuderia Playteam SaraFree cars and drivers fought a hard race to take a perfect one and three podium result for the Scuderia and add their two Ferraris to Moser's on the podium.                                                      

Andrea Montermini (car no. 3) commented, "The team worked hard this morning. It turned out to be a perfect race starting from a perfect pole. We won the race. I am very pleased with this win for the whole team. I had a good start and kept the advantage in the first corner. Then I felt the car snapping as I was driving and went wide to keep the car running. It was driving like on egg shells, but everything quickly sorted itself out. The car was really fast and consistent thanks to our great team work. It is probably one of the best cars I have driven this year. I handed over the wheel to Michele Maceratesi who did a fantastic job. He never stopped pushing and was focused the whole time. Later he confirmed my impression about our car being so fantastic until the chequered flag. It's great to continue the season like this. I am really pleased to be back on the podium with a win here in Estoril."

Michele Maceratesi continued: "What a good result with the 20 second handicap. I really had a strong race and never gave up. In the lap next to the last lap when I spotted the opportunity I passed Moser. It was easy. The car was just perfect. I have never driven such a good car to the end of a race. I want to thank the mechanics and the engineers for their great help."

Pedro Couceiro commented, "It was a must to return on the podium. We increased the team's leading position. Thanks to the team we did a great job. I had a good start and my first 4 or 5 laps were trouble free. I had good control of the car. In the pit stop we lost a few seconds. But it did not show in the final analysis. We must be faster and better tomorrow in race 2."

Manuel Giao added: "I had a good race and am happy with the result. The car was more difficult to drive than I thought it would be. It was possibly due to the tyres or the set up. I do not know yet, but the team will investigate later on. I am very happy to be on the podium again. I hope to do a similar race tomorrow."

Giambattista Giannoccaro team owner concluded: "What an excellent result. I want to thank the drivers for a fantastic and intelligent race and Maceratesi never gave up holding firm all the through to the last lap. A fantastic job that confirms the team results in the championship. I am very pleased for the third win of the season."

The team will start from front line and tenth place for tomorrow’s race 2 because the second free practice session was troubled with a number of yellow flag sessions, Michele Maceratesi finished second fastest behind while Manuel Giao ended up in tenth.

The qualifying rounds were favorable to the team. For car no. 3 pole and front line were the outcomes at Estoril this week end with the pole position resulting from a sensational effort by Andrea Montermini with a fast 1:40.097, while Giao positioned car number 4 on the second line in fourth position on the grid for the first race. Both drivers are in agreement in describing the session as "a demanding qualifying session".

Montermini commented: "I had no problems in qualifying for the pole for race 1 this morning. Even with a temperature that still cool, the tyres were working well. The car is at the top. We need a good start for race 1 to be first in the first corner. "

"It is very tight with seven drivers to be able to do 1.40. I am a bit disappointed not to be behind Montermini" explained Manuel Giao. "I am not too sure about the tyre pressure. I had the impression I could not feel the grip. It took me two laps to reach the correct temperature. Let's see how the race goes from a second line start. "

Michele Maceratesi qualified the car for race 2 on front row in car number 3 after qualifying in second position with a time of 1.40.957, just 0.459s from pole man Richard Lietz in the Porsche 997.

"We did a good job. But I am a bit disappointed and wanted to perform even better. We waited too long for the yellow flags to start, but did not want to take any risks of our times been taken away," Maceratesi commented.

Pedro Couceiro will start race 2 from 10th position with the Ferrari 430 no 4. "We have been a bit unlucky. We wasted a lot of time with traffic. We had five laps out for nothing. It was a shame because our car is very competitive and the time on the grid does not reflect the potential. In a few minutes, let's see what race 1 is like for the team. "

On a very positive note for the Scuderia following today’s race results Montermini-Maceratesi have amassed 103 points in the championship while Giao-Couceiro move into second in the placement with 74 points.