Naarden, July 1 2024 – One year after the car and sports plans were unveiled, Maserati returns to Spa-Francorchamps for round 3 of the Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli. Over a weekend when the 24 Hours of Spa is also being held, the three Maserati GT2s were the stars on Friday, achieving a magnificent one-two in Race 1 with the victory of LP Racing’s number 1 car, driven by Leonardo Gorini and Carlo Tamburini who finished ahead of teammate Philippe Prette, the winner in the Am class. In the same class, the third Maserati, the TFT Racing team’s number 24 driven by Alexandre Leroy, crossed the finish line in second (fifth overall). In Race 2, the Belgian took the bottom step of the podium for the class.
At the end of qualifying for Race 1, the Maseratis took the top three places with Leroy taking his first pole position of the season. At the start, the number 24 picked up on the advantage to maintain the lead in the race but was forced to give way to the number 1 Maserati GT2 with Gorini at the wheel, who made his way to the front of the pack after a few laps. Passing the baton to Tamburini, the latter then made a mistake at Les Combes, giving his teammate Philippe Prette the opportunity to catch up significantly, although he still kept the lead. Tamburini was the first to the chequered flag, with Prette finishing 2.8 seconds behind, confirming the Maserati one-two and his third win of the year in the Am class. Leroy remained in the battle for the overall podium all throughout, but then dropped to fifth to take second in the Am class.
In the second 50-minute race held on Saturday morning, Prette was forced to pit in the early laps due to a puncture, compromising the rest of the race. After a good start, Tamburini found himself in fourth, but after about 20 minutes he slipped to eighth after contact with an opponent. At the end of the mandatory pit window, Gorini – who took over from Tamburini – began to make up for falling behind but was unfortunately forced to pit again due to a puncture; he ended up finishing tenth. Leroy, with a steady pace throughout the race, finished sixth overall and third in the Am class.
The next event, round 4 of the Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli, is scheduled to take place in Hockenheim, Germany, from 19 to 21 July.
Giovanni Sgro, Head of Maserati Corse: “Our winning streak with Maserati GT2 continues: I couldn’t have hoped for anything better this weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, despite a bit of bad luck in Race 2. Once again, taking the first and second places in Race 1 demonstrates that we have developed an outstanding car for motorsport customers, professional racing teams and gentleman drivers. Maserati’s racing vocation, recently celebrated with the two MC20 Icona and MC20 Leggenda special editions for the 20th anniversary of the MC12’s debut, both in GT1 and Stradale versions, is the common thread that binds all our cars. Starting from the MC20, via the Maserati GT2 to the MCXtrema, our brand reiterates its intent to develop cutting-edge technologies and to meet customers’ requirements, both on the road and on the track. We can’t wait to line up on the grid for the next round of the 2024 Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli at Hockenheim”.
Maserati S.p.A.
Maserati produceert een serie unieke auto’s die direct herkenbaar zijn aan hun bijzondere persoonlijkheid. Dankzij hun stijl, technologie en aangeboren exclusieve karakter voldoen ze aan de meest veeleisende smaken en zijn ze altijd een refentiepunt geweest binnen de wereldwijde automobielindustrie. Samen vormen ze een rijke traditie van succesvolle auto’s, waarbij elk individueel model een nieuwe definitie van een Italiaanse sportwagen is op het gebied van design, performance, comfort, elegantie en veiligheid. Momenteel zijn de modellen internationaal leverbaar in meer dan zeventig landen. Ambassadeurs van dit erfgoed zijn het Quattroporte topmodel, de Ghibli sportsedan, de Levante – de eerste SUV van Maserati – en de Grecale, de nieuwe ‘everyday exceptional’ SUV. Alle modellen worden gekenmerkt door het gebruik van de meest hoogkwalitatieve materialen en geavanceerde technologieën. De Ghibli, Levante en Gecale zijn nu ook beschikbaar als hybride. Daarmee beschikt Maserati nu over een compleet modelprogramma, met viercilinder hybridemotoren plus V6 en V8 benzine-units, met achterwiel- en vierwielaandrijving, die alle het performance-DNA van het merk met de drietand weerspiegelen. Het absolute topmodel is de MC20 supersportwagen, die wordt aangedreven door de baanbrekende Nettuno V6-motor, waarmee Maserati voor het eerst F1-afgeleide technologieën beschikbaar maakt in een motor van een standaard productieauto. De sportieve nieuwe GranTurismo-modellen – leverbaar met zowel high-performance benzinemotoren als een 100% batterij-elektrische aandrijflijn – luiden voor het merk met de Drietand de toekomst in. Tevens is de GranTurismo de eerste auto in Maserati’s elektrische Folgore-serie. Rond 2025 zijn alle Maserati-modellen in een elektrische variant beschikbaar en tegen 2030 rijdt de volledige Maserati-range uitsluitend elektrisch