Four Maserati MC12s finished in the top six at the end of the two FIA GT Championship qualifying sessions held today at Sakhir, Bahrain. Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger made the front row thanks to a time of 1:54.296, just 112 thousandths slower than the pole crew of Bouchut/Garcia from Russian Age Racing.

JMB Racing's fine display was capped by the third place claimed by Philipp Peter and Jamie Davies who stopped the clock at 1:54.565. The first of the Vitaphone Racing Team MC12s came in fourth driven by Fabio Babini and Thomas Biagi (1:54.869). The other, with Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider on board, was sixth (1:56.113). They were just behind the Ferrari 550 Maranello of Gabriele Gardel and Pedro Lamy (1:55.352). The performance of the two German drivers has to be taken positively as they had an extra 130kg on board. Bertolini and Wendlinger carried 70kg while Babini and Biagi have 80kg.

All the best times were recorded in the second session, one that ended in the dark. The same conditions will characterise tomorrow's race. In the morning, Bertolini and Wendlinger were quickest (1:55.063). They headed the Aston Martin of Bouchut and Garcia (1:55.455), and the second JMB Racing MC12 with Peter and Davies (1:56.041) behind the wheel. Then came the two Vitaphone Racing Team cars.
 

Firstly the number 10 car crewed by Babini and Biagi (1:56.048) edged out Bartels and Scheider (1:56.472). The start of the race is timed for 14.00 local time. The event is taking place on Friday as this is a rest day for the Muslim population. The race will last three hours.

Andrea Bertolini: "We had a great battle with Bouchut for pole during qualifying. Naturally I am disappointed not to have claimed it but this was not our main aim. We only wanted to place our MC12 as high up the grid as we could. It will be a close race but having our team mates covering our backs is comforting. We are focused and will do all we can to bring home the Drivers' title".

Jamie Davies: "First of all I'd like to thank Pirelli and Maserati for giving me the chance to race here. Everything happened quickly, so much so that I had some difficulty in finding my overalls and the rest of my kit and get here in time. We have not yet discussed the race strategy as we still have to have the debriefing session and analyse the data from qualifying. Still, I am pleased and hope to do well."