The No. 35 Maserati MC12 posted the sixth-fastest GT1 class time during Friday's final twenty five minute qualifying session for today's 10 Hour or 1000 Mile Petit Le Mans, the penultimate race in the 2005 American Le Mans Series. Andrea Bertolini lapped the challenging 2.54-mile Road Atlanta road course in one minute 7.501 seconds for sixth in class behind the championship-leading Corvette C7-Rs, the Aston Martin DB9s and the sole Saleen S7-R. After posting the third-fastest time during Friday morning practice, the team had hoped for a higher qualifying position. But the priority was to find a consistent setup for the long endurance race, and both drivers and crew were satisfied with the team's progress.

Maserati is competing in the 2005 ALMS series with an MC12, running in compliance with the rules of IMSA and which matches FIA GT Championship GT1 specifications. The team does not score points in the American Le Mans Series championship.

GT1 QUALIFYING - CORVETTE AHEAD OF ASTON MARTIN

Olivier Beretta put Corvette Racing's No. 4 Corvette C6-R on the GT1 pole with a track-record effort of 1:16.627. Beretta, who shares the class points lead with teammate Oliver Gavin and has three poles this year, won Petit Le Mans in 2004 with Gavin and Jan Magnussen. They also have won the last two 24 Hours of Le Mans class titles. "The C6 has shown it is the best GT1 car there is," Beretta said. "Today, it was the car. The race will be very important because it is very long and there will be a lot of traffic. But we have a very good team, very fast and very good. We just have to be a little bit more on the rear and we will be fine. Ollie and Jan are fantastic teammates, and we work really well together."

Beretta and Gavin lead the class points standings over Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell, drivers of the No. 3 sister Corvette, by one point heading into the weekend. Beretta said that while the championship is important, having a Corvette outlast the likes of Saleen, Aston Martin and Maserati is the goal for the weekend. "Every race is prepared the same way. There is no race more important than the other," Beretta said. "At Sebring, the C6 was a fast car and we had a bad moment. We lost the race because someone had a bad race. At Le Mans, we didn't have the speed, but we knew that. The focus was that we were fast all week long and had a good strategy. When the Aston had a problem at Le Mans, we were leading the race. Petit Le Mans is another important race, and we will try to do the same things. GM and Corvette race to win, not just for show."

The No. 3 car of Fellows, O'Connell and Max Papis was 0.151 seconds behind Beretta on Friday. Next was Aston Martin Racing's DBR9 of David Brabham, Darren Turner and Jonny Kane at 1:17.020.

Claudio Berro, General Manager Maserati Corse: "The qualifying was not what we expected after the free practice, but in any case, for a long- distance race, it is not the qualifying position, but the consistency of the car that is important. We are very confident for the race."
 

Andrea Bertolini: "It was not too bad. I'm happy for the consistency of our car. It's not the best qualifying, but that doesn't matter in a 10-hour race. In the race, the consistency is important. For us, it is very important to finish in a good position at Road Atlanta. It is a very hard race for the car, but I am confident and I hope for a good race."

Fabio Babini: "It's a fantastic experience for me to drive with Maserati and Risi Competizione. It was good today because we tested different setups of the car and different types of tyre, and it was good for me to get used to the track again. It's not an easy track; it's very difficult to drive in the fast corners with the prototypes. It's also very hot here. Last year my car had the engine in the front, but the Maserati is cooler for the driver because the engine is in the rear."

Fabrizio de Simone: "We already raced here in April and we had a test in June. The conditions now are a bit different, but we worked on a very good direction for the setup. The car was much more stable to drive at the end of the day from where we began. We can go on working and getting a bit better, but I'm quite satisfied with what we did in the afternoon."

The participation of Maserati Reparto Corse in the 2005 American Le Mans Series has been made possible thanks to the fundamental cooperation of important partners, including Pirelli and team Risi Competizione, that 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 ALMS.

GT1 FINAL QUALIFYING TIMES: 1st (11th overal) Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6-R (GT1), 1:16.627, 2nd (12th overall) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6-R (GT1), 1:16.778, 3rd (13th overall) David Brabham, Australia; Darren Turner, England; Jonny Kane, Ireland; Aston Martin DB9 (GT1), 1:17.020, 4th (14th overall) Peter Kox, The Netherlands; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Tomas Enge, Czech Republic; Aston Martin DB9 (GT1), 1:17.144, 5th (16th overall) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Johnny Mowlem, England; Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Saleen S7R (GT1), 1:17.234, 6th (17th overall) Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Fabrizio de Simone, Italy; Fabio Babini, Italy; Maserati MC12 (GT1), 1:17.501, 7th (19th overall) Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Michele Rugulo, Italy; Jean-Philippe Belloc, France; Dodge Viper (GT1), 1:19.636.