Thanks to a fine series of results in today’s eighth round of the FIA GT Championship held at Brno, Maserati are now out of reach in the Manufacturers’ Cup. Montanari/Ramos (Vitaphone Racing) took the win, fourth place was secured by Bertolini/Piccini (Playteam Sarafree), in fifth were Giannoccaro/Pier Guidi (Playteam Sarafree) with Bartels/Biagi (Vitaphone Racing) in seventh.

The Modenese company leads the Manufacturers’ standings with 151.5 points; next come Corvette on 92. With only 58 points still to play for, Maserati are mathematically champions (confirmation will come after homologation by the FIA). The Team championship is between Vitaphone Racing Team (on 91 points) and Playteam Sarafree (on 57). Both outfits race in the Maserati MC12. In the light of today’s results and with two races left to run, the challenge for the Drivers’ title is now wide open: there are five Maserati drivers at the top of the standings separated by only three points. Leading are Thomas Biagi, Andrea Bertolini and Andrea Piccini on 47 points with Christian Montanari and Miguel Ramos, thanks to today’s win, coming next on 44.

QUALIFYING

The front row places were taken by the Vitaphone Racing Team (Maserati MC12) in the qualifying session held on Saturday at Brno, Czech Republic. Pole was taken by German Michael Bartels, here sharing the drive with current championship leader, Thomas Biagi. The reigning champion stopped the clock at 1’54”064 on his first lap, a time over a second and a half faster than last year’s pole. Alongside him on row one was his team mate Christian Montanari. The driver from San Marino, with his usual partner Miguel Ramos in the car, set a time just 61 seconds off pole pace (1’54”125). This was the first time that he had qualified on the front row since making his FIA GT debut.

The two Playteam Sarafree Maserati MC12s would start from sixth and seventh. Andrea Bertolini managed to limit the effect of the extra 80kg ballast in the car, equivalent to 1”4 on the tough Czech circuit. His top time of 1’55”336 was set on his first timed lap. He and his partner, Andrea Piccini, would be out to close the gap to Thomas Biagi in the overall standings and will try to make the most of their high performing and consistent Pirelli tyres.

Alessandro Pier Guidi and Giambattista Giannoccaro, having been quickest in the morning’s first free practice session, qualified his MC12 in seventh with a time of 1’55”492. The two JMB Racing Maserati MC12s that are competing in the Citation Cup also did well. Alain Ferté, who is substituting Stephane Daoudi alongside Ben Aucott, was the quickest of the competitors in this championship (1’58”674), or thirteenth overall. Peter Kutemann set the eighteenth best time (2’01”327) to take second in the Citation Cup.

RACE

The race got off to an exciting start and saw leader Michael Bartels come off worst in a clash with Hezemans. The German spun and finished up in the sand, losing a lot of ground in the process. The excitement did not stop there as Montanari benefited most from Bartels’ bad luck. Having moved into the lead, Montanari increased the gap he had over the pack, The first round of pit stops hinted at the teams’ strategy and Ramos, Montanari’s replacement, found himself chasing Sharp once back out on the track. The Portuguese driver, in a stunning overtaking move on the Englishman, soon retook command. Behind them Piccini defended his position from Menten without breaking too much sweat. Also drawing the crowd’s attention was Biagi’s personal battle with and overtaking of Deletraz on lap 41.

Montanari took the wheel again at the second round of pit stops. He raced well to hold off Wendlinger until the two hours were up. The chequered flag soon came out to mark the first win of the season for Montanari/Ramos. Filling the other podium places were Wendlinger/Sharp and Kumpen/Longin. Given the extra 80kg they had on board, Bertolini/Piccini’s fourth spot was a superb result and they even edged out their team mates, Giannoccaro/Pier Guidi (sixth after making a sparkling comeback). Seventh went to Michael Bartels, a finish that allowed his partner, Thomas Biagi, to keep hold of the lead among the drivers.
 

Even though it is one which is shared with Bertolini/Piccini JMB Racing scored a great one-two in the Citation Cup. Aucott/Ferté cruised to victory in front of their team mates Kutemann/Gosse; both crews in a Maserati MC12.

The next round of the FIA GT International Championship will take place next weekend at Nogaro, France.

Roberto Ronchi: “Today’s win just goes to show the professionalism of the guys at Maserati Corse and the reliability and performance levels of the MC12, a car that has brought us a lot of success. I would like to thank the whole team for today’s result”. 

Christian Montanari: “The first win in the FIA GT is special. We did not get off to the best of starts but made the most of an accident ahead of us that we managed to avoid getting caught up in. The car was very well balanced and this allowed us to push on during our stints. This was a win that we have been chasing for a while and I think we deserved it. Everyone, from Miguel (Ramos) to the mechanics did a fine job and I would like to take the chance to thank them. We now have a better chance in the championship and we will be going all out to til the end”.

Miguel Ramos: “It was a splendid race and we did not have any real problems. When I got into the car I found Sharp ahead of me and the race was decided in that instant. I knew that I had to do all I could to retake the lead and I made the most of the fact that my tyres were fresher than his. The pit stop went without a hitch; we have worked hard to improve the driver changes as were losing too much time before. The championship now has a more interesting look about it and whoever wins will be the driver who makes the fewest mistakes. It is great knowing that we are among the title contenders”.

Andrea Bertolini: “This was an important result because we claimed important championship points and have lost a little ballast. The championship race has been open and today only confirmed that. We probably did not have the edge the other drivers did but we can always count on our high performing tyres”. 

Andrea Piccini: “Fourth place is an excellent result given the extra weight we carried at Brno. We opted for hard tyres to lengthen each stint even though this limited our strategy a little. In the end we got the result we wanted: the championship lead”. 

Alessandro Pier Guidi: “Fifth was a pleasing result. The first half of the race went well and the car was very balanced. There was not much traffic out on the track and its width made it easy to lap the back markers. We tried not to push the tyres too much to minimise wear. All in all it was a positive result and fifth caps a fine weekend”.

Thomas Biagi: “We could have won because the car handled well and the strategy we had was the right one. It didn’t turn out like that unfortunately, even though I am pleased that Montanari and Ramos, in the other Vitaphone Racing Team car, came out on top. I had to make a comeback during my stint. I was the quickest out there and climbed the pack but the gap was too big to close. Also, the fact that our adversaries race under different conditions makes an even race almost impossible. This is most apparent when accelerating when the difference in the size of the restrictors is felt most. I lost a lot of time behind Ruberti and, as has happened in the past, he made it hard to lap him. I would like to see things in a positive light and say that the two points that came with seventh place mean that I am still leading the championship. This said, I have two tough competitors for company in Bertolini and Piccini. Others have also climbed the standings. It is a shame because the car was perfect. It will be an exciting end to the series with the two races at Nogaro and Zolder. Now, I should have worked off the worst of the bad luck and will be hoping to edge back into the lead at Nogaro”.