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The first round of the FIA GT1 World Championship has
revealed the full effects of rule changes with the
reigning world champions, Maserati, being pushed off the
podium at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit at the weekend. |
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The first round of the FIA GT1 World Championship has
revealed the full effects of rule changes with the
reigning world champions, Maserati, being pushed off the
podium at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit at the weekend.
Although the Maserati MC 12 has proven itself in a wide range of sprint and
endurance races in the past, the two teams running the Maserati super car have
their work cut out to adapt the car to suit the new format of two one hour
sprint races instead of the previous format of a single one hour race, as well
as technical rule changes that have reduced the performance of the MC12 along
with its ability to maintain performance during the sprint format events.
Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini finished in fourth
place with Vitaphone Racing Team's Maserati MC12 with
the reigning champions fighting for the podium until the
pit stop of the "Championship Race", but then as the
race proceeded it was evident how much the Maserati MC
12 is penalized by the new rules with respect to its
rivals, with the three leading cars pulling away from
the lead Maserati.
As a consolation, the other Maserati MC12s improved
through the race meeting with the Vitaphone Racing
Team’s other car, driven by the Enrique Bernoldi and
Miguel Ramos finished sixth but had started out from the
back of the starting line due to contact during the
Qualifying Race, which forced them to return to and
remain in the pit.
Triple H Team Hegersport's no. 34, driven by Matteo
Bobbi and Bert Longin, also did well. They also started
out from the back and had reached seventh place when the
checkered flag was waved. They did not participate in
the first race of the afternoon due to a problem which
led to loss of traction. The Triple H Team Hegersport Maserati driven by Alftid
Heger and Alex Margaritis started from fourth position,
but were delayed due to contact with another car, but
nevertheless finished in ninth place.
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