FIA GT Championship

Maserati MC12’s for Vitaphone and JMB in FIA GT

After a successful season in 2004, when the Vitaphone Racing Team took three wins with a Saleen S7, the German team Vitaphone will enter two Maserati MC12 cars in 2005. The preparation and maintenance of the car will be done by Bartels Motor & Sport GmbH, with Pirelli providing the tyres.

© Maserati

Michael Bartels, already with the team in 2004, and Fabio Babini from Italy have been named as drivers; the rest of the team will be announced later. The Maserati made its FIA GT debut in 2004, entering three rounds on a non-Championship basis and then claiming an impressive one-two in Zhuhai once the car was homologated.

“It was our goal to develop a well-balanced car in 2004, and we even succeeded in clinching our first victories,” said Maserati’s Motorsport Director, Claudio Berro. “We have only recently received the definitive homologation for the FIA GT Championship, and we are happy with the results achieved so far. There is still a lot of potential in our car, and I am convinced that the Vitaphone Racing Team will prove this fact in the course of the 2005 season.”

The team took part in its first tests with the Maserati MC 12 last week. “The Maserati is truly an impressive racing car,” Michael Bartels said afterwards. “We worked consistently, and succeeded in improving the times lap by lap.” Vitaphone’s Managing Director, Matthias Quinger, is confident: “Using the Maserati MC 12, the Vitaphone Racing Team enters two extremely competitive cars in the 2005 FIA GT Championship season. Furthermore, we are continuing our great cooperation with our tyre partner, Pirelli.”

Jmb Racing announce 2004 plans

Monaco-based team JMB Racing has announced its plans for 2005. The team plans to enter two Maserati MC 12 cars in the FIA GT Championship. No further details have yet been announced. The team will use Pirelli tyres.

JMB Racing has been a regular competitor in the FIA GT Championship over recent years. In 2001, under the name JMB Competition, the team won the NGT Championship with Christian Pescatori and David Terrien. Last year, it entered three Ferrari 575 M Maranello cars, winning the Donington round with Karl Wendlinger and Jaime Melo at the wheel. In 2003, they gave the Ferrari 575M its first-ever win, at Estoril - also winning the N-GT category during that race for a clean sweep in both classes. The team also plans to compete in the LMES and the Italian GT Championship.