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The world famous
Trident of Maserati returned to endurance racing this weekend at Imola, the two
MC12 cars in glorious blue around the Imola circuit near Bologna to contest the
FIA GT Championship.
The two cars, driven by Johnny Herbert, Fabrizio de Simone, Andrea Bertolini and
Mika Salo, qualified eighth and 12th for their first race, a three-hour 500km
endurance event, which takes place tomorrow (Sunday).
Fabrizio Gollin and Luca Cappellari will start the race from pole position in
their Ferrari 550 Maranello having set a time just eight hundredths of a second
faster than the two Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7Rs of Walter Lechner Junior and
Uwe Alzen.
Gollin and Cappellari lead the championship by 13.5 points with just three races
to go having won three times.
Ferrari lie first, second and third in the constructors table with their teams
BMS Scuderia Italia, GPC GIesse Squadra Corse and JMB Racing and its drivers
fill the first nine positions in the drivers’ table after a dominant performance
so far this year.
Just over one tenth of a second separated the top three cars in qualifying at
Imola, setting up a fantastic race, the eighth round of the championship.
The two Maseratis are running with restrictions placed on them by the FIA,
including 60kg ballast carried by every new car to the championship, and extra
weight for Salo, who finished second at the Spa 24-hours last month while
driving for the GPC team.
Claudio Berro: ‘We
had a good qualifying session for the race. Maybe we could have done even better
but overall we are very satisfied with the work we have done and believe that we
have a well balanced and competitive car for tomorrow’s race.’
Andrea Bertolini: ‘This morning we had a little understeer, which we later
managed to get rid off. In the afternoon the temperature was too high to set
lower times. Tomorrow it will be a long race and so one position higher or lower
on the grid doesn’t really count for too much.’
Mika Salo: ‘We made a few changes to the set up of our MC12. It was a little
less stable today than it was yesterday when we took to the track with a full
tank of fuel. We have a good, well balanced car, and we hope to do well
tomorrow.’
Johnny Herbert: ‘Fabrizio and I are continuing to get to know the car and,
little by little, we are improving the performance.
"Obviously today, with less fuel, the MC12 was lighter in the rear, but this is
normal. Also, the heat did not allow us to improve our lap times.’
Fabrizio De Simone: ‘Today I ran more laps than normal and, notwithstanding
the car being slower on the track during my session, I am satisfied. I have
gained more confidence in the car and have a good understanding with Johnny.’
Giorgio Ascanelli: ‘We completed the planned programme with the emphasis on
reliability.’
No. 33 Andrea
Bertolini/Mika Salo 8th 26 laps 1.46.975 chassis no. 06/15442; No. 34 Johnny
Herbert/Fabrizio De Simone 12th 34 laps 1.47.381 chassis no. 03/15440; Weather:
air temperature 35°C, track 44°C; sunny; Circuit length: 4,933 km
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