The two Maserati MC12s shared the spoils at Misano last Sunday and confirmed that they are the cars to beat in the Italian Gran Turismo championship. Miguel Ramos and Luca Cappellari claimed the opening encounter in the Racing Box MC12, while Gianbattista Giannoccaro and Toni Vilander made it a clean sweep for the GT1 class Maserati by running out on top in race two.

Qualifying

The Maserati MC12s continued the fine form shown in Saturday morning’s two practice sessions for the Italian Gran Turismo championship. In the first timed lap to decide the grid positions for race 1, Miguel Ramos’ Racing Box car took pole in a time of 1’08”824 at an average of 131,134 km/h. The Portuguese driver completed eleven laps and only set his fast lap at the end of the session, half a second quicker than Andrea Montermini’s Saleen S7R. Third on the grid will be Toni Vilander in the Playteam Sara Free MC12 (1’09”463). Vilander’s car was weighed down with 100kg of ballast, the maximum permitted under GT1 regulations.

In the second session to clear up the race 2 grid positions, Luca Cappellari took his Racing Box MC12 to pole after a tight battle with Bontempelli’s Saleen S7R. Despite the ever worsening track conditions, Cappellari set a fantastic time of 1’09”465 at an average of 129,924 km/h (18 laps run). Fourth came Giannoccaro (Playteam Sara Free, 1’10”775), who overtook Kessel’s Ferrari as the session drew to a close. Immediately after setting his fastest time, Giannoccaro ended up in the sand at the Merzario curve, resulting in the red flag being shown as his MC12 was towed to the pit lane.

Miguel Ramos: I was surprised at the MC12’s speed here at Magione. Compared to front wheel drive cars, we are good when cornering and do not experience tiresome understeer.

Luca Cappellari: It was a tough session because of the track conditions that were wet after an entire day of qualifying. I often ran into traffic and this created problems for me.

Toni Vilander: We felt immediately at home in the car and made very few modifications after Vallelunga. We slightly adjusted the aerodynamics and boosted the rear load. In this race, 100kg of ballast will certainly not help us.

Gianbattista Giannoccaro: The car’s balance was a little better than in free practice with less understeer. Unfortunately, I found myself on a dirty stretch of track and I finished up in the sand. This marked the end of my session and I did not have the chance to counter Chiesa’s attacks.

Race 1

At the rolling start, Ramos (Racing Box MC12) held off Montermini’s Saleen while Vilander (Playteam Sara Free MC12) conserved third. Thanks to his pace, the Portuguese driver built a lead of over 3” after ten minutes. In third, the extra 100kg that Vilander had on board did not prevent him from keeping in contact with Montermini and enjoy a healthy lead over Chiesa’s Ferrari. Over the successive laps, Vilander closed in to only five tenths of the Saleen. Meanwhile, the Racing Box MC12 stretched even further ahead and was 9” up after twenty minutes of racing. After 13’, Vilander tried to edge past Montermini on the mixed section of the track but clipped him. The clash resulted in the Finn spinning. He managed to continue and even held onto his third place. At the halfway stage, Vilander pulled in for the driver change but the Playteam Sara Free’s MC12 stop lasted longer than expected. It turned out that the incident with the Saleen had damaged the front right suspension and retirement was inevitable.
 

Ramos, in the Racing Box car, delayed making his stop as long as possible and, when he eventually pitted, handed over to Cappellari. Fifteen minutes from the end, the MC12 held a 12” advantage over the Saleen (with Bontempelli at the wheel). The race did not offer any further surprises and Cappellari went on to score the Racing Box MC12’s first win of the season.

Miguel Ramos: A perfect car that allowed us to take pole, victory and set the quickest lap without ever dipping in performance.

Luca Cappellari: My job was to maintain the lead that Miguel had established in the first half of the race. When I saw the other MC12 pull up and the Saleen much further back, I slowed down and closed out the race without any trouble.

Toni Vilander: I clashed with Montermini in the curve that leads into the start straight. The incident resulted in my suspension being damaged. I completed another six laps before it gave out after taking a battering from the kerbs that are very prominent here.

Race 2

Luca Cappellari got off to a fine start in race 2. Giannoccaro also held onto his position and was in fourth at the end of lap one. On lap five, the Playteam Sara Free driver had moved up to third after overtaking Kessel’s Ferrari. After 20’, Cappellari’s lead over Bontempelli’s Saleen was still a limited one; Giannoccaro was some 8”5 further back. The two MC12s both came in at around the same time for the driver change while the Saleen stayed out one lap more. Once all the pit stops had been made, it was Montermini’s Saleen that held top spot. He was tracked by Ramos’ Maserati and that driven by Vilander. On lap 25, Vilander attacked Ramos at the curve situated by the old pit lane and set off after Montermini. He duly swept him past in the mixed stretch of the circuit. In just a few hundred metres, the Finn had taken the lead, leaving a duelling Montermini and Ramos behind him. Twenty four minutes from the end, Ramos shook off Montermini but the gap to Vilander was too large to bridge. The race order remained unchanged to the end, with Vilander taking a deserved win from Miguel Ramos.

Gianbattista Giannoccaro: The lighter ballast in race 2 was a relief. I tried to preserve the car before handing it over. We managed to find a better set up than in race 1.

Toni Vilander: I would like to thank the team that never stops supporting its drivers in times of difficulty. This success is down to the group. Giannoccaro handed over a perfect car and this meant we could carry out the plan we had prepared, namely to attack in the second half of the race.

Luca Cappellari: We have to analyse the times to work out why we lost first place during the pit stops. However, the day was a positive one.

Vilander and Giannoccaro maintain their overall lead of the 2006 Italian GT Championship with 115 points. Cappellari is sixth on 70 points while Ramos, who missed the Vallelunga race, is seventh on 55.