Two races, two podiums for Vitaphone and Maserati
Strong results put Vitaphone on top of Teams’ Table

For the second race in succession, Vitaphone Racing claimed a podium finish in the FIA GT Championship. Racing the Maserati MC12 supercar, this time it was Miguel Ramos and Xandi Negrão who took the honours after misfortune struck the sister car of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini.

In the fast and furious 15-minute qualifying session on the high-speed Monza circuit, Xandi Negrão did a fine job in qualifying the Maserati in third place – this is the Brazilian youngster’s first season in the FIA GT Championship, so this was only his second race in the MC12. He lapped the 3.6-mile circuit in 1:49.737, putting him within half a second of pole position. The session didn’t go so well for Bertolini; with the circuit already damp and with rain starting to fall, he opted for intermediate tires. Unfortunately the rain proved to be no more than a brief shower, and in such a short qualifying session there was no time to pit for slick tires, so he could do no better than sixteenth.

In contrast to the practice sessions, the race took place in dry conditions, with the sun finally putting in an appearance towards the end of the two-hour race. Away from the start Negrão was fourth, which soon became third when a car in front went off the circuit. Meanwhile Bertolini was charging; he made up five places on the first lap, and another four places on the second lap. He was in a solid sixth position when a left rear puncture sent him to the pits, more than ten laps earlier than planned. So Michael Bartels took the car over and immediately found himself a lap down on the leaders, and caught in heavy traffic.

On lap 29, as the cars ahead made the first of their two pit-stops, Bartels made it back into the top ten; a lap later Negrão briefly led the race before he came in to hand over to Ramos. The long first stint and a string of consistently fast lap times from Negrão allowed Ramos to rejoin the race in second place. Bartels handed the No.1 Maserati over to Bertolini for the final stint with more than 45 minutes remaining; the earlier puncture had forced the team to reschedule their pit-stops. Ramos led the race for five laps until he came in to hand over to Negrão for the final 25 minutes.

Bertolini did his best over the closing laps, but by now he was having to lap slower cars on virtually every lap; given their sixteenth place on the grid, and the time lost to the early puncture, fifth place was a fine result. Negrão brought the Maserati MC12 home in second place to score his first ever podium in the FIA GT Championship; the result puts  Ramos and Negrão on 10 points, five points away from the championship leaders, while Bartels and Bertolini have 12 points and lie in second place. Vitaphone Racing are seven points clear at the top of the Teams’ Championship.

The next race in the series is also in Italy, on the tight Adria circuit on June 21st. It should favor the Maserati MC12, as the mid-engined layout gives good traction out of slow corners. As an added complication the race takes place on Saturday evening, with the finish due just before 10pm.