After 48 Years Maserati has come back to the podium in the United States with the MC 12, taking third place and seventh overall at yesterday's Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta at the Road Atlanta circuit.

The last time Maserati tasted victory in the US was with the overall victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957, with Juan Manuel Fangio and Jean Behra in the 450 S. Maserati racing now joins Maserati road cars in re-establishing the power of the Trident in the USA.

Claudio Berro: ”To achieve this position is a fantastic result for Maserati. We know the competition ahead of us is very strong, but are working hard to close the gap. We thank our partners Pirelli and Risi Competizioni for all of their support.”

Andrea Bertolini: "We have started from the first practice preparing the car for the race. Early on we lost one lap when the safety car came out, but the exceptional work of Pirelli and the Risi Team, enabled us to maintain consistency and achieve this podium result. We are really working in the right direction and the endeavour we began at Sebring has now shown its first fruits.

ALMS is very different from the FIA GT, but we hope if there is a further reduction in the weight penalty we can get an even better result. I wan to thank Pirelli and all of the guys on the team for the superb job they did.”
 

Fabrizio De Simone: “I really think this is a very good result. Everything went very smoothly. The Pirelli Tires performed very well, enabling perfect handling. The car felt very solid, allowing me to easily maintain a good pace. We are pleased because at Road Atlanta it is very difficult to overtake given the characteristics of the track and there were many safety cars.

"We believe the team has taken advantage of the present potential of the car and I am very proud of this. I too want to thank all the guys from the Maserati and Risi teams for their efforts.”

The participation of Maserati in the ALMS has been made possible thanks to the fundamental co-operation of important partners, including Pirelli and team Risi Competizione, which will support Maserati logistically. The MC12 is using Pirelli Racing P Zero tires, developed in 2004 and currently used on an exclusive basis in the FIA GT Championship. The successful cooperation between Maserati and Pirelli continues in the American Le Mans Series.