During the 2006 season, the Vitaphone Racing Team is going to continue its successful FIA GT Championship involvement. Just as was the case in 2005, the team is entering two Maseratis MC12s – in the striking colour scheme of Mannheim, Germany-based company Vitaphone, experts for tele medicine and emergency services, with Michael Bartels, Andrea Bertolini, Thomas Biagi and Jamie Davies having been signed as the drivers. The season will kick off on 7th May with the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy held at Silverstone, England. The International FIA Championship season this year consists of ten rounds, and on 2nd July, the ‘Oschersleben Motorsport Arena' will host the series' German round.

In the past season, the Vitaphone Racing Team secured the Team Championship title in superior style, with Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider being just pipped in the battle for the Drivers' Championship. At the end of the day, the team could take positive stock of the season: three wins and six runner-up finishes were a clear proof of the squad's competitiveness. The biggest highlight of the 2005 season turned out to be the triumph in Belgium's prestigious Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour Race.

And now, the course is set for the 2006 season. This year, Ferrari Formula One test driver Andrea Bertolini and England's Jamie Davies have been signed to team-up with the team's regulars, Michael Bartels and Thomas Biagi. For Bertolini, who shared a cockpit with Bartels in 2004, the Maserati MC12 represents anything but virgin soil as he was massively involved in the development of the sportscar's racing version – while Davies made his debut as a Vitaphone Racing team driver during the 2005 Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour Race, as team-mate of the 2003 FIA GT Champion, Thomas Biagi. One of his biggest successes so far was winning the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES) title as an Audi driver.

Stability is a must – and that's why the Vitaphone Racing Team opts for evolution instead of revolution. During extensive testing in the off-season, the optimisation of the Maserati MC12 was successfully continued, with a special focus being set on the Pirelli tyres the Butzbach based team once again is going to rely on, in the 2006 season. “The Vitaphone Racing Team delivered in fine style, in its first full season with the Maserati MC 12,” says Maserati Motorsport Director Claudio Berro.
 

“While doing so, the team consistently enhanced and refined the car. For 2006 we have set ourselves the goal to tie in with our previous successes. Yet, the competition will be clearly stronger than in the past two years," he adds.

Rafael Calafell, Director of the Vitaphone Racing Team, is confident: “We succeeded in creating an extraordinary package for the forthcoming season and will give our very best to defend our title in the team ranking. Furthermore, we have signed a top class driver line-up that has got what it needs to also secure the Drivers' Championship.” Meanwhile, Vitaphone's Managing Director, Matthias Quinger, adds: “Vitaphone has been involved in motor racing for five years – with the success increasing consistently. We succeeded in improving our company's publicity and are truly happy with what we've achieved so far. Still, I hope that we will be able to crown our 2006 involvement with the drivers' title.”

The ten-event 2006 FIA GT Championship season will kick off on 7th May, at the Silverstone circuit in England. But prior to the season getting underway, the official season launch combined with track tests will be held at Dijon, France, on 11th and 12th April.