Michael Bartels
and Timo Scheider have won the FIA GT championship in the
GT1 class. The two Vitaphone Racing Team drivers came home
fourth, the best placed finishers among the drivers going
for the title. Lamy and Gardel's number 11 Ferrari 550
Maranello was fourth across the line but was later excluded
by the sporting commissioners. The decision was taken after
technical checks revealed that three litres of fuel,
required by the regulations, were missing from the tanks.
The team Labre, who fielded car number 11, have lodged an
appeal. The award of the GT1 Drivers title is pending this
appeal.
Thanks to this result, Maserati has capped an extraordinary
year. The Trident company secured, apart from the Drivers'
title, the GT1 class Constructors' Cup at Istanbul and the
team title (Vitaphone Racing Team) at Dubai. Five wins and
twenty podium finishes in eleven races demonstrate the high
standard of Modenese cars. The race was won by Christophe
Bouchut and Antonio Garcia in a car fielded by Russian Age
Racing. Next came Philipp Peter and Jamie Davies (MC12 JMB
Racing). Davies also set the fastest lap of 1'56"478 on lap
61. Third spot was filled by Kumpen, Hezemans and Longin's
Corvette. Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider took fifth in
the MC12, just behind Pedro Lamy and Gabriele Gardel who,
with this result, claimed the title. Karl Wendlinger and
Andrea Bertolini were unable to defend their overall lead
after their bevel gear gave way on lap nine.
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Philipp Peter and new recruit Jamie Davies finished
in second place in the JMB Racing
Maserati MC12 in Bahrain |
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Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider have won the FIA
GT championship in the GT1 class, the two Vitaphone
Racing Team Maserati C12 drivers came home in fourth
position, the best placed finishers among the
drivers in the title fight |
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The driver from
Sassuolo was holding onto second place in the race at the
time, behind Bouchut. It was the first retirement of the
season for the pair. Bad luck also hit the second Vitaphone
Racing Team MC12 entry. It was forced to pull out just three
laps from the end of the race. This time the transmission
shaft on Fabio Babini's car failed when he was in third
place. The Vitaphone number 9 was still classified ninth
(later eighth when Lamy and Gardel were excluded).
This race marks the conclusion of the 2005 FIA Championship,
the highlight of which was the 24 Hours of Spa. Michael
Bartels and Timo Scheider claimed the title with 75 points.
Next came Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger on 71. In the
teams' series, Vitaphone (Maserati) won with 139 points from
JMB (Maserati), on 103. In the GT1 Constructors' Cup,
Maserati triumphed (227) over Ferrari (116) and Corvette
(54).
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