The No. 35 Maserati MC12 scored its second American Le Mans Series podium finish of the season, taking third place in the GT1 class in the series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, yesterday.

The partnership of Maserati Corse, US-based Risi Competizione and Pirelli tyres had also combined for a podium finish at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Gainesville, earlier in the season.

Andrea Bertolini drove the first race stint, starting fourth. He pitted during a caution period after 33 minutes of the two-hour 45-minute race, but dropped to fifth and lost a lap to the class leaders, who stayed on track and were "waved by" the safety car to gain a lap. Fabrizio de Simone took over at 1h16 and was able to move up to third at 2h24 when two competitors encountered problems and retired from the race.

Giorgio Ascanelli, Maserati Corse technical director: "I made a mistake in the first safety car [caution period] and we lost a lap. At that time, the race was nearly compromised, but the reliability of the car and the good work of the guys allowed us to finish the race. Also, I think we brought back some results from our partner Pirelli – there is something which we found – and it's promising for the next race."
 

Andrea Bertolini: "We were very lucky today, but it's good for the whole team. Fabrizio and I used different tyre compounds for development of the tyres, and now our team has more information about using the tyres in North America. It's good for next year and it's a good baseline for us to start the test day at Mosport [International Raceway, the next ALMS race venue]. I want to offer special thanks to Risi, Pirelli and Maserati."

Fabrizio de Simone: "It was another good experience. We worked a lot during the race and tried to keep a good pace. At the end, we tested a different tyre and it was good. Thanks for this podium to Maserati, Risi Competizione and a big thank-you to Pirelli, which always gives good support. Racing is like this – the others stopped and we're on the podium. We'll take it!"