MOTORSPORT NEWS ARCHIVE

Maserati ready to defend world titles

Maserati will start the defense of its FIA GT titles this weekend (6-7 May 2006) when the 2006 GT Championship kicks off with the RAC Tourist Trophy, a three hour race at Silverstone in the UK, against one of the toughest fields ever assembled in GT racing. The GT Championship, the tenth in its present form, is looking stronger and more varied than ever before, and it is truly impossible to say who is likely to step up to the top of the podium to accept the magnificent Trophy, which will be awarded to the overall winners after Sunday's race.

In GT1, the level of cars and drivers has risen yet again, and everyone is expecting the competition to be tougher than ever. Vitaphone Maserati Racing Team, the defending Champions, are back, with Bertolini and Davies joining Bartels and Biagi behind the wheel of the Maserati MC 12 cars, bearing numbers 1 and 2. In pre-season testing at Dijon, they have already shown themselves the team to beat, setting consistently the fastest times.

They will face GLPK Carsport, the Belgian team which won two races last year, and which has upgraded to the latest Corvette C6 model. Two powerful Saleen S7 cars will be aiming to get back to the top of the podium: Zakspeed, from Germany, and Balfe Motorsport from the UK have both entered the American car, and times in Dijon and Paul Ricard showed their speed. B-Racing RS Line is a new team with big ambitions for the Lamborghini Murciélago.

They will all face the biggest group in GT1, the six Aston Martin DBR9 cars. Two of them will be on Michelin tyres: Cirtek Motorsport and Phoenix Racing, driven respectively by Bouchut/Brabham and Piccini /Deletraz. On Dunlop, the two Race Alliance cars from Austria, for Wendlinger/Peter and Lechner/Diefenbacher. And on Pirelli, the Aston Martin Racing BMS cars, for Gollin/Babini and Pescatori/Ramos.

In GT2, after two relatively quiet seasons, the fight is back on in earnest! No less than 17 cars are due to line up for this first round. The biggest group remains the Porsches, entered by ARC Bratislava, Ebimotors, Race Alliance, Renauer Motorsport, Team Felbermayr Proton and Vonka. But they will be up against six new Ferrari 430 GT2 cars ; two for Italian team AF Corse, two for JMB Racing of Monaco and two for Scuderia Ecosse.

RJN Motorsport will enter its Nissan 350Z, with British single-seater star Darren Manning making his European sportscar debut, while Team LNT, a close runner-up to the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430 GT2 in the first British GT races, will enter its Panoz Esperante. A sole car will run in G2, the original and competitive Gillet Vertigo, for Bas Leinders and Renaud Kuppens.

For the 2006 season, the Vitaphone Maserati Racing Team will be entering two Maserati MC 12s for Michael Bartels, Andrea Bertolini, Thomas Biagi and Jamie Davies. This year, Ferrari's Formula One test driver Andrea Bertolini and England's Jamie Davies have been signed to team-up with the team's regulars, Michael Bartels and Thomas Biagi. Neither new drivers are unfamiliar with the MC 12, as Bertolini was involved in the development of the sports car's racing version - while Davies made his debut as Vitaphone Racing team driver in the 2005 Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour Race, as team-mate of the 2003 FIA GT Champion, Thomas Biagi. One of his biggest successes so far was winning the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES) title as an Audi driver.

Stability is a must for the Vitaphone Racing Team, which has opted for evolution instead of revolution. During extensive testing in the off-season, the optimization of the Maserati MC 12 was successfully continued, with a special focus being set on the Pirelli tyres the Butzbach based team once again is going to rely on, in the 2006 season.

"The Vitaphone Racing Team delivered in fine style, in its first full season with the Maserati MC 12," says Maserati Motorsport Director Claudio Berro. "While doing so, the team consistently enhanced and refined the car. For 2006 we have set ourselves the goal to match our previous successes. Yet, the competition will be clearly stronger than in the past two years." Rafael Calafell, Director of the Vitaphone Racing Team, is confident: "We have succeeded in creating an extraordinary package for the forthcoming season and will give our very best to defend our title in the team ranking. Furthermore, we have signed a top class driver line-up that has got what it needs to also secure the Drivers' Championship." Vitaphone's Managing Director, Matthias Quinger, adds: "Vitaphone has been involved in motor racing for five years - with the success increasing consistently. We succeeded in improving our company's publicity and are truly happy with what we've achieved so far. Still, I hope that we will be able to crown our 2006 involvement with the drivers' title."

© italiancar.com.au 01/05/06