The Adria circuit will this weekend host the seventh round of the FIA GT International Championship. The event will be the first of three races in the month of September. Following the 24 Hours of Spa, a meet that once again proved the reliability of the MC12 with four Maseratis finishing in the top seven, the Modenese cars will head into the weekend hoping for a repeat of the form that last year saw them score a one-two finish.

Unlike 2006, this year's race will last two hours and will be held in the evening. The event will get underway at 19.45. The circuit, the shortest in the championship series, will present numerous challenges as the layout was specially planned to make it a tough ride. This means that the brakes will come in for heavy use especially as the straights are not long enough to allow them to cool down enough. Traction will also play an important role on this track but the MC12 has shown in the past that it has what it takes to deal with circuits that call for good grip: in the third round on the city circuit of Bucarest, Bertolini/Piccini dominated with Montanari/Ramos completing a fine day's racing for Maserati by taking third.

Thomas Biagi, currently heading the Drivers' standings, will be hoping for another win to match his performance of last year. As usual, he will be partnered by Michael Bartels. The duo, as they won at Spa, will have to cope with an extra 95kg of ballast (25 kg of which is imposed by the Federation on all the MC12s to even out performance levels among the competing cars).
 

Andrea Bertolini and Andrea Piccini, third overall, will line up with an added 50kg (25+25) on board. Last year, Adria was the setting for Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels' clinching of the Drivers' title with races to spare.

The desire to do well on their home track is also strong for the other Playteam Sarafree MC12, driven by Giambattista Giannoccaro and Alessandro Pier Guidi. It goes without saying that the second Vitaphone Racing Team car, with Christian Montanari and Miguel Ramos in the driving seat, feels the same; both crews will be competing for a place on the podium. Drivers in the Citation Cup will again be competing this weekend. The overall standings see Joe Macari and Ben Aucott and their JMB Racing MC12 out in front.

At the Adria Raceway this weekend, two free practice sessions will be held on today (Friday) at 9.20 and 13.10). Qualifying will take place later in the day at 18.00. Saturday will then see the drivers go through their warm-up (at 13.40) with the two-hour race starting at 19.45.