Is the reign of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR finally ended? The first big win of the Le Mans Series 2006 in GT2 was claimed by the GPC Sport Ferrari 430 GT driven by Fabrizio de Simone, Gabrio Rosa and Luca Drudi in the 1000km of Istanbul held 7-9 April.

The scarlet Ferrari finished just 7.6 seconds ahead of the Autorlando Sport Porsche GT3 RSR of Joel Camathias and Marc Lieb, who were poised for a victory until the car needed a late ‘splash and dash’, which suggests that the Porkies ain't quite finished yet!

The GPC 430 GT was 13th overall with the Virgo Motorsport car of Dan Eagling, Tim Sugden and Ian Khan 8th in class (21st O/A). The Convers Menx 550M of Peter Kox, Robert Pergl and Alexei Vasilev was 2nd in GT1 (9th OA). The Class was won by former Ferraristi Labre Compétition with a Aston Martin DBR9, with two other Astons run by another ex-Ferrari team Cirtek Motorsport.

We are delighted that the new 430 GT won so soon, but it highlights the need, yet again, for a new Ferrari GT1 car; can we look forward to an F599 GTC one day?

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