With the qualifying session and Race 1, at Silverstone yesterday and Race 2 today, the first round of new FIA European GT3 Championship got underway, and closely involved in the track action were five new Maserati GranSport Light sportscars. In the colours of AF Corse team onto the track went Roberto Sperati and Andrea Palma, Alberto Cerrai and Diego Alessi and also Lorenzo Casè and Christian Passuti; for GPC Sport team, Giuseppe Arlotti and Paolo Cutrera joined Fabrizio Gini and Bruno Barbaro.

RACE 1

All the five Maserati GranSport Lights finished the 60 minutes of the race one yesterday, which featured bad weather and track conditions: changing from wet to dry tarmac during the second part of the race. The best Maserati GranSport Light was with the crew Palma and Sperati, in 16th overall on the 38 cars to cross the finish line. Then came Arlotti and Cutrera (23rd,) Cerrai and Alessi (26th,) Casè and Passuti (29th) and finally Gini and Barbaro (31st.) On the podium, first place in race one went to Lester and Simonsen (Ferrari F430 Challenge,) in second Deverikos and Edwards (Porsche 997 Cup GT3) and third Scott-Collins (Ascari KZ1R). At the start of Race 1, Alessi was very fast and from 18th position moved up to sixth place. Then he lost some prcious seconds because went out of the road. Sperati ran well in the eight place until the pit-stop. The Arlotti and Cutrera GranSport Light obtained the fastest lap of the five-strong “Maserati group”.

Lorenzo Casé: "It was a very tough race that, unfortunately, was going well. Christian Passuti, my team mate, was first in the cockpit when the weather was at its worst. However, he managed to make up ten places before the spin that was caused by an overtaking event.
 

"It was a mistake that is understandable in such conditions. When I replaced Christian, the track was drying out and, perhaps, it would have been better to mount dry weather tyres. In any case, we opted to keep the rain tyres but it was hard to control the car in the last ten laps. I believe that it is important to finish the race and gain experience. The car handled well in the rain. I have already had the chance to measure myself against Rui Aguas, one of the top drivers in the Trofeo Light in last year's GT Italia, who himself confirmed that the car is very competitive in the wet. His words were borne out by Sperati's performance in which he climbed to five spot. In the end, the crews who opted for slick tyres got the best of things and so both Palma (who had switched with Sperati) and ourselves had many problems in the latter stages and slipped down the pack a little".

Andrea Palma: "With Sperati at the wheel with wet weather tyres in the rain, the car handled well and we climbed to fifth. When I got on board, the track had begun to dry out but we decided not to change the tyres. The last few laps were terrible for us as the conditions were not suited to rain tyres; there were not even any puddles that would have allowed the worn tyres to 'breathe' a little. Those who delayed making the driver change were able to substitute their tyres, resulting in an improvement of up to fifteen seconds a lap".

Roberto Sperati: "We fare well in the wet and were not far off the best times. We also managed to attack the Aston Martins. Tomorrow, we hope that the weather is on our side. It is clear that we are able to attack in the wet while, in dry conditions, we defend well. Much will depend on the start".

Race 2

The first round of the FIA GT3 European Championship wrapped up with Race 2 which took place at 11.45 this morning prior to the start of the first round of the 2006 FA GT Championship. In 30th place at the chequered flag was the Barbaro and Gini crew, with Passuti and Casè two places further back in 32rd. Alessi and Cerrai were forced to pull out after running off the track on the fifth lap while Sperati and Palma also retired after clashing with another car soon after the start.