Three Maserati Gransport Light GT3 racers took part in the second round of the FIA European GT3 Championship at Oschersleben last weekend, with the highlight being 7th place for Maserati Trofeo series regulars Alberto Cerrari and Diego Alessi who had started from the back of the grid.

RACE 1

The two Trofeo series drivers made a superb comeback from last spot to a place just behind the leaders as Alberto Cerrai and Diego Alessi, were forced to start from last spot as their seventeenth place obtained in qualifying was withdrawn. However, a number of great overtaking moves saw them come back into contention. Bad luck prevented the other AF Corse crews from claiming a good result.

Benedetto Marti, making his debut with Lorenzo Casé, was forced to retire when his rear suspension broke following a clash with a Lamborghini. The number 78 Trofeo GranSport driver was in tenth place. Sperati/Palma, after a tough qualifying session, were caught up in clashes with other cars in hard fought phases of the race. The two, who managed to climb to fourteenth, finished the race in eighteenth place.

The best comeback of the day goes to Alberto Cerrai and Diego Alessi. The first completed twenty overtaking moves, battled to the end and consistently lapped at 1"33. The entry of the safety car, owing to oil on the track, allowed the Trofeo champion to make a driver change and hand over the GT3 Trident in eleventh place. Alessi, after a few laps without fully exploiting the tyres, accelerated to lap in the low 1'33"s and lower still to 1'32"439 and an ultimate seventh place. The race was won by Ceccato/Livio, in the Viper Coupe, from Duqueine/Reid (Viper) and Rabineau/Ruffier (Corvette Z06).
 

Race 2

After the fine showing in race 1, there was much expected of the Trofeo GranSport Lights on Sunday. Instead, misfortune struck once again and back markers made life difficult for the Trident cars. Alessi, starting from thirteenth, and Casé, fifteenth, were the two most eagerly awaited drivers. At the green light, Alessi got off to a cautious start and slipped down to fifteenth with Casé tucked in behind him. Alessi then set off overtaking the cars ahead of him but, in a duel with some Vipers, he made an error and spun. The incident saw him slip to 29th spot. Now Casé was the best placed AF Corse driver in thirteenth.

On lap 15, Alessi ended up in the sand at turn one. The Roman, engaged in a tight duel with a Lamborghini, was closed out when trying to overtake but could not avoid running into the back of it. The collision resulted in the suspension giving way. Casé, in the meantime, continued lapping quickly and his fast times saw him climb to seventh place. Sperati, who had replaced Palma, was also beginning his comeback from twenty-second place.

Marti substituted Casé and was now in eleventh while Sperati had pulled off a series of overtaking moves that saw him claim eighteenth. Having driven a few laps without really exploiting the tyres, Marti sped up and climbed to ninth but, four minutes from the end, he was forced to retire with a damaged suspension. The hopes thus lay on the only Maserati left in the race, that driven by Sperati. He overtook several other drivers before crossing the line in twelfth place.