After three rounds this year the Bertolini/Bartels duo (above, during the Adria round) have secured the top place in the Driver’s Championship with 20 points.

The fourth round of the FIA GT Championship will be held this weekend at the Oschersleben circuit, near Magdeburg in the ex DDR. The circuit is 3,668 meters long and it is widely considered among the most modern in Europe. It’s a racetrack where Maserati claimed its first victory with the MC12, on 19 September 2004, crewed by Bertolini and Salo duo. Since then the Trident has always won: in 2005 with Babini/Biagi, in 2006 with Bartels/Bertolini and again last year with Bartels/Biagi.

It is therefore a home race for the Vitaphone Racing team, which has earned three out of the four Maserati victories at the German track. After three rounds of the FIA GT Championship this year the Bertolini/Bartels duo have secured the top place in the Driver’s Championship with 20 points. Car no. 2, driven by Alexander Negraõ and Miguel Ramos, is ranked 5th with 10 points and in Oschersleben they will have to expiate the penalty earned in Adria due to a clash during the race, losing five positions in the starting line, but the Latin duo are very motivated to overcome this.

Vitaphone Racing Maserati dominates the points rankings in the Teams category, with 30 points. Lastly, the third MC12, which is run by JMB Racing confirms that Ben Aucott and Alain Ferté will again pair up after they were placed a splendid seventh at the Adria night races.

“Oschersleben is our racetrack for many reasons," says Andrea Bertolini. "Maserati has had a winning streak here right from the start, staying at the top for five consecutive times. As for me, I have always stood on a podium step since 2003 and I won in 2004 and 2006. Moreover, what is spurring us on is the fact that it’s Michael Bartels’ and the entire Vitaphone team’s home race. In these first three qualifying races we’ve proven that we are still the team to beat. We have to improve because in Adria we threw away a certain victory due to a mistake at the starting line, but our determination is paying off.”

FIA GT Championship, Rd 4 - Oschersleben - Timetable: Saturday 5 July: 9:00-10:20 Free Practices; 12:25-13:45 Pre-Qualifying; 17:15-17:50 Qualifying. Sunday 6 July: 9:00-9:30 Warm up; 13:15-15:15 Race.