Maserati conducted a hectic four days of testing at the Misano circuit last week, with several GranSport GT3 racers, included a test-bed example being joined on track by a pair of MC12s belonging to Scuderia Playteam and Team Vitaphone.

Testing at the Santamonica circuit at Misano Adriatico, in Italy by Maserati began on Tuesday. Andrea Bertolini took to the track at the wheel of an MC12 to test Pirelli tyres and car setup in wet race conditions. The official Maserati tester covered 62 laps, the quickest in a time of 1'44''439. The GranSport "Laboratorio" was also out on the track. This car has been especially developed on the platform production GranSport model and the Trofeo Light model, winner of the 2005 Italian GT3 series, to test new solutions in view of Maserati future racing plans. The GranSport "Laboratorio" covered 77 laps with Fabrizio De Simone (34 laps, 1'51"655), Iradj Alexander (35 laps, 1'53"552) and Gianni Giudici (8 laps, 1'57"030) behind the wheel. Pirelli tyres and a modified transmission were being tested.

Wednesday saw Andrea Bertolini continuing to conduct tests aimed at developing the MC12's Pirelli tyres. Slicks were fitted during the afternoon as the track surface dried out. The official test driver ran 79 laps and set a best lap time of 1'26"411. The Team AF Corse GranSport GT3 made its debut at the test with Rui Aguas behind the wheel. The Portuguese driver ran 92 laps and clocked a top time of 1'35"375. Fabrizio De Simone continued with preparing the GranSport "laboratorio", adding 44 laps to the cars test, with a best time of 1'36"896.
 

The penultimate day of testing for Maserati on Thursday was once more disturbed by rain during the morning session. However, the asphalt gradually dried out as the hours passed by. There were numerous Maseratis on the track, including the Scuderia Playteam MC12. Vilander and Pierguidi alternated behind the wheel as they ran up a total of 58 laps. Pierguidi set a quickest time of 1'26"220 while Vilander posted a 1'26"300. Bertolini continued his work developing the Pirelli tyres and completed 73 laps, the fastest in 1'25"668. The GranSport 'laboratory' tests also proceeded with four drivers, De Simone, Alexander, Bartels and Giudici, alternating at the wheel. Ninety-two laps were covered, the best in 1'35"739. Rui Aguas spent 90 laps in the driving seat of the AF Corse GranSport GT3, clocking a time of 1'36"268.

The Modenese company announced on Thursday that the prize of the winner of the 2006 Trofeo Audemars Piguet Maserati Europa will be the very car used by the triumphant driver. The single-make championship will begin on 2 April, at Monza, on the same weekend as the WTCC. Meanwhile over the past few days Maserati and PTC, the American world leader in developing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, revealed that they have renewed for a further three years, a partnership which begun back in 2003. This agreement will see PTC act as the Trident's Technical Partner and Official Supplier. Maserati will thus be able to benefit from PLM solutions to manage its entire racing car product development cycle.

Rain fell during the first test session of the final day of the test yesterday but it did not prevent the cars from taking to the track. The Vitaphone and the Scuderia Playteam MC12s both continued their workouts, as did the GranSport ‘laboratory’. Andrea Bertolini completed 84 laps, the quickest in 1'42"540. Alessandro Pierguidi, at the wheel of the car in which he will compete in the Italian GT championship, ran 34 laps with a fastest time of 1'45"212. Meanwhile Michael Bartels meanwhile proceeded with work in the GranSport ‘laboratory' car.