The Maserati MC12 will start fourth on the GT1 grid in this afternoon's American Le Mans Series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

After the attention of Marco Andretti's seat fitting on Thursday, and a day of free practicing on Friday, yesterday factory driver Andrea Bertolini qualified the No. 35 Maserati in 2 minutes 1.741 seconds on the 4.048-mile road course, just a half-second behind the third-place Saleen S7R. The championship-leading Corvette team took the top two class positions. Bertolini will share driving duty with Fabrizio de Simone in the two-hour 45-minute race. This is the first race at Road America for Bertolini, de Simone and the MC12, but not for Maserati. The Italian manufacturer has two previous victories in the Road America 500 – with the Maserati Tipo 61 in 1960 and the Maserati Tipo 63 in 1962.

Andrea Bertolini: "There's not a very big gap between our car and the other car [Saleen]. During the qualifying, we tried another set of springs that was better, and the car is very consistent for every lap. It's hard for the tires with these temperatures – it's very warm – but I am confident for the race. I hope for a good result for Pirelli, for Risi Competizione and our team."

Fabrizio de Simone: "The track improved a little bit and we improved quite a lot. Our setup got to a better balance and we got a bit more grip, so I'm happier with the car. I think we still have to work to get a bit more grip and consistency, but we'll see what happens in the race."

ALMS GT1 FINAL QUALIFYING - THE CORVETTES IN CONTROL

Oliver Gavin posted the fastest GT1 time and a new class record in his No. 4 Corvette Racing C6-R. Gavin's lap of 2:00.382 was nearly a half-second better than teammate Olivier Beretta's mark set last year. The sister car, the No. 3 C6-R of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell, will start second in class. "Qualifying was really tricky, I knew Ron was right behind me, and we were expecting a big challenge from the Saleen," Gavin said. "They were quick early on today but not as quick during qualifying this afternoon. This track is all about momentum, you keep it up and the lap speeds will go up as well. We haven't been here since last year, and haven't tested here with the C6-R, so we are still figuring things out."
 

Speaking of the Saleen, ACEMCO Motorsports' No. 63 S7R of Terry Borcheller and Johnny Mowlem will start third. The car, along with the No. 5 Pacific Coast Motorsports Corvette C5-R and the No. 71 Carsport America Viper, are running with a larger air restrictor (which allows more air into the engine). In addition, Corvette Racing's two C6-Rs are running with 25 additional kilograms of additional weight. "Frankly, I'm surprised how quick we are and why the Saleen and the Maserati aren't as quick as they should be," Gavin said. "We'll see how the race goes, I know the 3 car will be right there and it will be nip and tuck the whole race. We aim to win all of the races; we want to just go out, put it on pole and keep winning."

ALMS ADJUST THE GT1 CLASS RULES TO BOOST COMPETITION

In order to bring competitive balance to the GT1 class in the American Le Mans Series, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) has issued a bulletin allowing class cars that were homologated prior to Dec. 31, 2003 to run larger restrictors at the next two ALMS events. It also calls for Corvette Racing's two Corvette C6-Rs to compete with an additional 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of ballast, in accordance with a bulletin issued by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the international sanctioning body for the ALMS, effective Aug. 10 through next year's running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It also applies to Aston Martin's DBR9 in any ACO-sanctioned event. "We are extremely gratified by the wonderful level of competition among all our teams on technical issues and in terms for value for our fans and competitors," said Tim Mayer, COO of IMSA. "Corvette has always taken a leadership role."

IMSA's ruling, which is an extension of a previous bulletin issued July 1, will enhance the performance for multiple GT1 cars at the Generac 500 at Road America and the Grand Prix of Mosport: the No. 63 ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen S7R, the No. 5 Pacific Coast Motorsports Corvette C5-R and the No. 71 Carsport America Viper. The improvements should allow for as much as 50 additional horsepower to the cars, according to Doug Robinson, IMSA executive director. The No. 35 Maserati MC12 has been running with a larger restrictor since the New England Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in early July.

ALMS GT1 QUALIFYING - 1st (8th) Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Corvette C6-R (GT1), 2:00.382, 121.06; 2nd (9th overall) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6-R (GT1), 2:00.582, 120.86; 3rd (10th overall) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Johnny Mowlem, England; Saleen S7R (GT1), 2:01.152, 120.29; 4th (11th overall) Fabrizio de Simone, Italy; Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Maserati MC12 (GT1), 2:01.741, 119.71, 5th (12th overall) Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ryan Dalziel, Scotland; Corvette C5-R (GT1), 2:02.535, 118.94; 6th (15th overall) Michele Rugulo, Italy; Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Dodge Viper (GT1), 2:07.353, 114.44