Tomorrow afternoon the third round of the 2005 American Le Mans Series will be held on the technically-demanding Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at Lexington, and once again a real battle to the chequered flag is in store in the highly-competitive GT1 class.

Maserati Reparto Corse will be fielding a single GT1-class MC12 once again for the 2 hour 45 minute duration event. The progress made by the car in the opening two championship races, at Sebring and Road Atlanta, mean that Andrea Bertolini and Fabrizio De Simone go into the race in high spirits.

At Mid-Ohio significantly, the MC12 will benefit from a reduced ballast load, down from the 30kg at Road Atlanta to 10kg. This is the second reduction handed to the MC12 by IMSA, and now bring the car almost onto a level playing field with its Chevrolet Corvette and Saleen rivals in the all-important weight stakes.

There will be tough competition in the GT1 class with the factory-backed Team Corvette appearing with its usual official crews, Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell, backed up by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta.
 

One potential outsider is the Saleen S7R from ACEMCO Motorsports with Terry Borcheller and Johnny Mowlem on board. Having obtained the permission of the IMSA, they can now fit a higher performing 2004 standard rear wing.

Completing the list of potential winners of the GT1 class is the private Chevrolet Corvette C5R fielded by Pacific Coast Motorsport, and Carsport America’s Chrysler Viper GTS-R.

The Mid-Ohio track as configured by the American Le Mans Series, measures 2.25 miles (3.620 km) in length and takes in 13 curves. Windy and technically demanding, the circuit has tricky ups and downs to deal with as well as a range of chicanes. ‘Keyhole’, ‘Esses’, ‘Thunder Valley’ and ‘Carousel’ are some of the more famous points on the circuit. The race will begin at 12.00 local time on Sunday 22 May and will last 2 hours and 45 minutes.