14.06.2004 The Maserati Trofeo Light continued its gradual emergence as a strong GT racer, yesterday taking a 1-2 victory in the CSAI Trofeo on the fast AND demanding Misano race track

Even on a fast and testing circuit like Misano, the Maserati Light again proved to be more than up to the task. In the Csai Gran Turismo Trofeo Nazionale yesterday the Light demonstrated its gradual improvement.

In race 1, only a small pit stop snag during the driver change prevented the Giudici-Raimondi pairing from cruising to victory. However, the Team Jolly Club came back with a vengeance in the afternoon and duly secured the win.

The triumph was made complete with another Maserati Light taking second place, that driven by Bruno Corradi and Giorgio Cipolli. The V8 of the Italian Racing Team was fast during qualifying but gearbox problems forced its retirement from the race. On board was the ex-Formula 1 driver Andrea Montermini, partnered by Massimo Piacentini.

A few lost seconds were enough to change the outcome of race 1 of the Italian GT championship. It was a highly charged battle at Misano, the sixth round of the series. In the Trofeo Csai, the Maserati Light lost out to the Porsche 911 of the Autorlando Sport.

A slight delay in switching between Giudici and Raimondi was enough to cost the Light victory. In third was another Trident Coupè, that of the ever-consistent Corradi and Cipolli. They ran a risk-free race and regularly set quick lap times.


The disappointment of second place in the first race was soon forgotten as the second event saw the Maserati Light scored a splendid one-two finish. The Giudici-Raimondi and Corradi-Cipolli teams put on a great show in claiming the top placings.

The early part of the race saw the Porsche 911 of Mario Sala and Giovanni Sada take command. This lead lasted up to the midway point when they were caught by both Maserati. The Italian Racing Team duo of Andrea Montermini and Massimo Piacentini had to pull out owing to gearbox problems from the morning race.

The championship is now wide open: Giudici-Raimondi, on 160, and Cipolli-Corradi, on 155, are closing on the leaders Sada and Sala, stuck on 198. This was an exceptional result for the Light, an all-new car making its debut in the category. It went into the first race of the season without having been developed in testing.

Raffaele Raimondi was pleased with his weekend’s work, "In race 2 it all went smoothly: the car was perfect and I only had to make up ground to the Porsche of Sada-Sala who were leading up until halfway. Once I caught them, Sala spun and lost time.

"From that point on I was able to set my own pace towards the finish. On a fast circuit like Misano we still lack some straight-line speed. Saying this, we are still competitive and I am convinced we can improve even more’.