In the land
of Juan Manuel Fangio, unforgettable Formula 1 World
Champion in 1957 with Maserati, Andrea Bertolini
and Michael Bartels have added another title to the
Trident's collection. Driving one of Vitaphone Racing
Team's Maserati MC12s, they've won their second Drivers'
title in the FIA GT International Championship on
Sunday, after the first one obtained in 2006. This is
the third consecutive Drivers' title for the German
team, counting Thomas Biagi's victory last year.
The
Vitaphone Racing Team also won the Teams' Championship
for the fourth consecutive year, proof of the team's
high professional quality and top-notch race drivers.
The second Maserati MC12, driven by Miguel Ramos and
Alexandre Negraõ, collected an excellent final third
place behind their own team-mates. This extraordinary,
lasting competitiveness is also due to the victory of
three of Spa's classic 24 Hours in the last four years.
Since the
year of its debut, 2004, to today, MC12 has won an
overall ten titles in the FIA GT (4 Drivers', 4 GT1
Teams' and 2 Manufacturers' titles). This year's high
level of FIA GT International Championship racing is
confirmed by the participation of five different car
makes under the category GT1: Maserati, Aston Martin,
Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Ferrari and
Porsche were part of the GT2 category. In general, over
twenty cars competed at each race. The last race saw
Bertolini zoom into third position behind Mackowiecki
and Fassler.
After noting
the track's tire grip problems due to dust and sand and
the new, rather thinnish paving, the Italian driver
adopted a conservative tactic together with team-mate
Bartels, letting their adversaries move on to stay in
control of the race and not take unnecessary risks.
There were quite a few accidents, and only five cars
made it to the finish line. During the 20th lap Negraõ
lost control of the car at curve 16 and was forced to
leave the track. Maserati SpA CEO Harald Jakob Wester
was present at the circuit and congratulated the drivers
and the team at length.
"It was an
extremely tough race; every time I moved ahead, the car
would pick up dust and sand and would become uncontrollable.
This is why I tried to drive it as smoothly as possible in
order to make sure it made it to the finish line because an
accident would have ruined everything. When I jumped in the
car to run the last decisive laps, I felt an enormous
responsibility weighing on me, but luckily everything went
fine."
Michael Bartels: "The tracks condition was really difficult
and this turned the race -which should have been a stroll in
the park- into a sort of lottery in which anything could
happen. In the end we once again emerged as champions and
this is what counts. I would like to thank Stephane Sarrazin
and Eric van de Poele from here in Argentina for the
fantastic job they did in Spa, enabling us to win the 24
Hour, which once again proved to be the key race to win the
championship. I'd also like to emphasize the great job the
San Luis community did in creating this circuit in just nine
months."
Harald Jakob Wester: "I can't say much because it is the
first time that I witness a live race with our team. I am
very happy. This is an important victory and we will keep on
working in order to repeat it next year."
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