Washington Ferrari At Watkins Glen:
Second Race, Second Place
Watkins Glen, NY, June 22, 2003

By David Seibert

Photo copyright and courtesy of Juha.Com

The "Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen" was only the second race for the Girard-Perregaux/Scuderia Ferrari of Washington/Market Scan team's newest Ferrari 360 GT. Drivers Brent Martini and Cort Wagner had seemed like sure winners until 15 minutes from the end, but someone else's accident put the team in second at the checkered flag.

"The race started on a wet track and we were slower at first, because we had gambled that the track would dry and set up the Ferrari accordingly," explained Team Manager Glenn Marquis. "The race came to us as the track dried, and we led for 40 laps. We had a 30 second lead when we got a full course yellow with only a few laps to go, and that closed up the field and put the Rennworks Porsche right on our tail. It was on new tires, and got by us only six minutes from the end."

Martini commented after the race, "It was a very hard-fought race. Any time you finish in second it’s a little disappointing. It would have been great to have a victory."

The second place finish kept Martini and Wagner atop GrandAm’s GT Drivers Championship, and the Scuderia Ferrari of Washington leading the GrandAm GT Team Points. The team, defending GrandAm Champions, has scored three wins so far this season.