The No. 35 Maserati MC12 finished fourth in the GT1 class in the American Le Mans Series race at Portland International Raceway on Saturday evening.

Fabrizio de Simone started the race from fourth on the GT1grid, but quickly took third place from one of the dominant Corvettes just two minutes into the two-hour 45-minute race. A hit from a GT2-class car put him off line, allowing the Corvette to retake the position. The team pitted at 43m for fuel and rear tires, but lost valuable time due to a starter malfunction. When a full-course caution started 16 minutes later, the Corvettes were able to pit under caution, gaining a lap advantage on the Maserati. Mika Salo took over at 1h15 and drove to the finish, with one final stop for fuel and tires during a caution period at 1h50. The pair finished fourth in GT1, ninth overall behind the winning No. 2 Audi driven by Frank Biela and Emmanuel Pirro.

FACTORY CORVETTES WIN GT1 CLASS 1-2

The ACEMCO Saleen's misfortune opened the door for another 1-2 finish in GT1 for Corvette Racing. Beretta and Gavin won for the second time this year, posting a 0.714-second victory over the No. 3 entry of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell.
 

The critical moment came during a pit stop at just about the two-hour mark when both cars pitted under caution. Gavin beat O'Connell out of the pits, and that's the way it stayed. "At Sebring, we lost the race like this, and today we nearly lost it again," Beretta said. "The car was very difficult to drive. I'm very happy for the No. 4 crew, and we have the No. 3 car on the podium. So this is fantastic."

Gavin said the Corvette's steering wheel was bent, and the car wasn't nearly as smooth in the corners as it was before the incident. But thanks to quick and timely pit work, he said, the car never relinquished its lead from that point. "The team did an amazing job today," Gavin said. "The car was quite badly damaged with the accident with the No. 1 car. It looked like we were going to have to make an unscheduled pit stop, but Olivier kept going and the pit crew worked their magic."

Third was the No. 5 Pacific Coast Motorsports Corvette C5-R of Alex Figge and Ryan Dalziel, the first podium for the first-year team. It also marked the first time three Corvettes climbed the podium in the ALMS.

Fabrizio de Simone: "I had quite a good start. I didn't want to take too much risk on the first corner, but I was able to overtake a Corvette on the second lap. We were a little bit faster on the straight lines and it wasn't easy for him to get past. The car was balanced, we were quite fast. Unfortunately, in overtaking a Porsche, he made a mistake and touched me on the back, so it put me in a wider line and the Corvette got past. Otherwise, it would have been a fight for the position. The tires were consistent and the setup of the car was good – it was quite easy to drive, though we had to pay attention to not put too much pressure on the rear tires because of the heat. Unfortunately, we lost a lap with the yellow [caution period], but I think our performance improved this time. And we had a bit of fun with the Corvette driving behind me!"

Mika Salo: "It's a little bit frustrating. The heat was a problem, but when it cooled down, the tires worked a lot better. We put on a scrubbed set at the end and the car was really balanced and quick. The car worked fine all the time, no big issues with the car. But the penalties ended up costing us so much on speed. We are good on the straight line, but the corners are a big problem, so we hope to get some more downforce. I hope I will get a chance to come back and drive at some of the other tracks in the ALMS."