02.10.2006 At Mugello yesterday Toni Vilander and Giambattista Giannoccaro clinched the Italian GT Championship title

Toni Vilander and Giambattista Giannoccaro, at the wheel of the Playteam Sara Free Maserati MC12, were yesterday crowned champions in the GT1 class of the Italian Gran Turismo championship with a race to spare. The team headed by Rocco Verduci scored a fine one-two in Tuscany. In both races the runners-up were Luca Cappellari and Piergiuseppe Perazzini in the other Maserati MC12 entry, this time fielded by Racing Box. With yesterday's result, Luca Cappellari moves into second place overall.

RACE 1

At the start, Vilander was quick to stretch into a lead. Perazzini, starting from third, tried hard to overtake Casé's Ferrari 575 GTC and he continued to push his Racing Box MC12 hard over the early laps. Up front Vilander was setting an exceptional pace and was the fastest on the track by some two seconds. The duel between Perazzini and Casé was an exciting one. On lap 5 the Racing Box driver picked his moment to launch himself into second.

The laps ticked by and Toni Vilander increased his advantage notably. He also set the fastest lap of 1’50”549 at an average of 170.802 km/h, one that would remain unbeaten. After twenty minutes of racing, the Finn held a 23" lead over Casé. At the halfway point the first Maserati driver to pit was Perazzini who handed over to Luca Cappellari; a few minutes later Giambattista Giannoccaro substituted Vilander. Twenty minutes from the chequered flag, the Maseratis were coasting up front with the Playteam Sara Free MC12 enjoying a 40" lead. Cappellari, in turn, had a 15 second cushion over Loris Kessel. The race concluded without major incident and Giannoccaro took the win from Luca Cappellari.

Toni Vilander: "I tried to start well and the only inconvenience during my stint was the debris on the track. I raced at a high tempo but didn't want to push too hard. This is our third win at Mugello and it is one of my favourite circuits."

Giambattista Giannoccaro: "The car was repaired brilliantly by the team after the crash in the FIA GT two weeks ago. Despite having very little time for repairs, the components proved very reliable."

Piergiuseppe Perazzini: "I was caught behind Casé early on and this meant that I lost some time. When I finally managed to get past, Vilander had pulled away. There was some vibration out there, probably due to the debris that had stuck to the tyres."
 

MASERATI MC12
MASERATI MC12

In both races at Mugello the runners-up were Luca Cappellari and Piergiuseppe Perazzini in the other Maserati MC12 entry, this time the car fielded by Racing Box. With yesterday's race result, Luca Cappellari moves into second place overall.

MASERATI MC12
MASERATI MC12

Toni Vilander and Giambattista Giannoccaro, at the wheel of the Playteam Sara Free Maserati MC12, were yesterday crowned champions in the GT1 class of the Italian Gran Turismo championship with a race to spare.


Luca Cappellari:
"A positive result. Understeer hindered my race and we were not able to eliminate it completely in free practice."

RACE 2


Cappellari was alone on the front row as a technical problem forced Giannoccaro to start from the pit lane. Cappellari sped off at the start, pursued by Loris Kessel in the Ferrari. Kessel managed to get past the Maserati driver on lap two after the San Donato braking point. Meanwhile, Giannoccaro was making a fightback and was up to fifth after six laps and third after ten. Cappellari was forcing the pace and closed in on Kessel: on lap 11 the Racing Box Maserati moved into the lead on the main straight. However, Kessel did not lie down and newly took top spot. Shortly after, Kessel, Cappellari and Giannoccaro came into the pits, almost at the same time, for the driver change.

The Racing Box team made the quickest stop and Perazzini took the lead followed by Casé's Ferrari and the Maserati from Playteam Sara Free with Toni Vilander on board. The Finn proved to be quick right away and sneaked past Casé at San Donato and now had Perazzini's car in his sights. A first attack on the subsequent lap was unsuccessful but Vilander tried again at Materassi and this time he claimed first place. The driver from Finland was focused throughout and set a fastest lap of 1’51”348 at an average of 169.576 km/h. In the closing stages Vilander increased his lead and secured the third one-two of the season for Playteam Sara Free, beating off Perazzini's MC12.

Giambattista Giannoccaro: "Great satisfaction for the championship win. I had an uphill race all the way and this makes the result all the more special."

Toni Vilander: "I would like, first of all, to thank my team for the hard work they have put in this year. Winning the Italian title was a group effort. In race two the car was again spot on and this allowed me to make up time lost at the start. I had fun battling with Perazzini."

Luca Cappellari: "After a long break, Mugello was a useful test ahead of the last round at Vallelunga. There I hope to cement my place in the overall classification."
 

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20.06.2006

The Maserati MC12 continues to exert its stranglehold on the 2006 Italian GT Championship with the Scuderia Playteam entry sweeping to victory in both races

Report & Photos: Maserati Corse / © 2006 Interfuture Media/Italiaspeed