Maserati MC12 GT1 – Click above to enlarge
While GT1 cars have faded away from the American Le Mans Series, they’re still running strong in other parts of the world. The 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship kicks off a 10-race series this weekend in Abu Dhabi with two dozen cars signed up, including a quartet of Maserati MC12s. The Maseratis are the defending GT1 champions and this year’s new series will see them challenged by Ford GTs, Nissan GT-Rs, LamborghiniMurcielagos, Aston MartinDB9s and ex-works ChevyCorvettes.
The format for this year’s events has been changed from a single two-hour race to a pair of one-hour sprints. Four events will be held outside Europe, including this weekend’s races and December’s season finale in Argentina.
[Source: Maserati, FIA]
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FOUR MASERATI MC12s IN THE NEW FIA GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
2010 FIA GT1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
FIA ENTRY LIST
13/04/2010 – Modena
Modena, 13 April, 2010 – The new FIA GT1 World Championship will start off on Saturday 17 April at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi with six brands and twenty-four cars lined up at the starting line.
The reigning champions, the Maserati MC12s, are expected to be in the centre spotlight, even if they are slightly penalized in terms of performance by new FIA GT technical modifications. One of the major changes is the race formula itself, with two separate sprint-type one-hour races instead of a single two-hour race.
This year Maserati will participate with four cars manned by two racing teams. Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini, winners of the driver title for the past two years running, will be driving Vitaphone Racing Team’s first Maserati MC12 once again, while Miguel Ramos and ex-F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi are confirmed at the wheel of the second MC12. The other MC12s are from the German racing team Triple H Team Hegersport and will be driven by Belgian driver Bert Longin and Italian driver Matteo Bobbi (who has raced with an MC12 in the past) in addition to the team’s owner, Alftid Heger, paired up with Alex Margaritis, a German driver of Greek origin.
There will be ten championship rounds, four of which outside Europe, and the championship will conclude in Argentina on 5 December.
Practices: Friday, 16 April, from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm (local time)
Race: Saturday, 17 April, from 4 pm to 5 pm and from 7:45 pm to 8:45 pm (local time)
Press Release
2010 FIA GT1 World Championship
27/01/2010
Team
Hexis AMR
Hexis AMR
Young Driver AMR
Young Driver AMR
Mad-Croc Racing
Mad-Croc Racing
Phoenix Racing / Carsport
Phoenix Racing / Carsport
Marc VDS Racing Team
Marc VDS Racing Team
Matech Competition
Matech Competition
All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport
All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport
Reiter
Reiter
Triple H Team Hegersport
Triple H Team Hegersport
Vitaphone Racing Team
Vitaphone Racing Team
Sumo Power GT
Sumo Power GT
Swiss Racing Team
Swiss Racing Team Nat.
FRA
FRA
DEU
DEU
BEL
BEL
DEU
DEU
BEL
BEL
CHE
CHE
DEU
DEU
DEU
DEU
DEU
DEU
DEU
DEU
GBR
GBR
CHE
CHE Car
Aston Martin DB9
Aston Martin DB9
Aston Martin DB9
Aston Martin DB9
Corvette Z06
Corvette Z06
Corvette Z06
Corvette Z06
Ford GT*
Ford GT*
Ford GT*
Ford GT*
Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV*
Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV*
Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV*
Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV*
Maserati MC12
Maserati MC12
Maserati MC12
Maserati MC12
Nissan GT-R*
Nissan GT-R*
Nissan GT-R*
Nissan GT-R*
* FIA homologation in progress