Green flag drops on FIA GT Championship Defense
Maserati squad lead Teams’ Championship, second and third in Drivers’ table

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- New CEO appointed to Maserati North America - Green flag drops on FIA GT Championship Defense - Maserati sails through the storm

The Vitaphone Racing team has made a promising start to its defense of the FIA GT Championship titles it won last year. After two races with the Maserati MC12 supercar Vitaphone is leading the Teams’ Championship; Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels lie second in the Drivers’ Championship, just three points off the leaders, while team-mates Miguel Ramos and Alexandre Negrão are only two points further back.

The races have showcased the strengths of the Maserati; at Silverstone, Bertolini and Bartels finished in second place despite qualifying down in fifteenth, while at Monza it was Ramos and Negrão who were second. Monza is the fastest track visited by the FIA GT Championship, and the MC12 excelled in both wet and dry conditions. Qualifying was held on a damp track – despite the conditions Ramos and Negrão claimed third on the grid, while the team made the wrong choice on tires for Bertolini and Bartels, leaving them down in sixteenth. The race was dry, and Bertolini and Bartels once more produced a remarkable charge through the field to finish fifth.

Both Vitaphone Maseratis have finished in the points at both races, giving the team a 7-point advantage in the Teams’ standings – the team is chasing a fourth consecutive title. In addition the JMB Racing Maserati of Ben Aucott and Stéphane Daoudi finished ninth at Monza, just outside the points – a fine result for the two ‘gentleman drivers’.

The next race in the series is on 21st June, on the Adria circuit in Italy. It is the slowest track the series visits this year; in 2007 the MC12 took second and fourth places. Vitaphone Racing will be keen to score its first victory of the season, while the drivers will be eager to keep up their challenge for the Drivers’ title.