The result of official qualifying at Zhuhai confirmed the values that emerged in free practice. The added ballast assigned to the MC12 for the FIA GT championship did not let the drivers of the two teams to claim pole position. It was unthinkable for the three MC12 drivers at the top of the classification, to go for top performance.

So wisely the teams worked on a race set up in order to find the right balance and choose from the different types of tyre and brakes, as these components suffer unusual wear owing to the extra weight on board. The best time was set by the Aston Martin of Cristophe Bouchut. He edged out the 550 driven by Gabriele Gardel and 575 fielded Team GPC.

Fifth was the Maserati driven by the Italian pairing of Fabio Babini and Thomas Biagi. The Pirelli test driver set a time of 1.32.276, two seconds off the best time of the day. The number ten Vitaphone Racing Team that won at Oschersleben had 150 kg on board, ten more than the twin car entrusted to the winners of the Spa 24 Hour and the race in Istanbul, Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider. The performance of the two German drivers was similar to that of their team mates, with a time of 1.32.388.

The objective of both crews is to try to sneak points from Bertolini/Wendlinger and maintain the advantage over Gardel. It was a good placing for for the two unmistakable black and green cars that allows the Vitaphone Racing Team to have hope to win the team championship in anticipation. In eighth place was the JMB Racing MC12 driven by Andrea Bertolini/Karl Wendlinger, just off 1.32.814 down on the leader. For the championship leading car from the midway stage of the season, this is not the first time that have had to start from down the field. Despite this they have always finished on the podium. This bodes well for tomorrow's race. In an identical car is the untested crew of Cristophe Pillon, Marcello Zani and Luca Pirri Ardizzone. They vastly improved their time in the second qualifying session. For Pillon and Zani this is the second time in the JMB Racing MC12 while it is the first for Pirri. As they have only 30kg extra weight, the chances of a good finish are quite high.

Karl Wendlinger: "We worked all day in race mode, simulating long runs. The car is well balanced, the tyres work well despite the added weight and this calms us and is reason for optimism. The brakes will be crucial in the race as the ballast will work them hard. This is why it will be difficult to brake late and overtake, even GT2 cars. In order to score points, concentration levels have to be maintained, as does a constant pace until the finish. Even our direct adversaries, Gardel apart, are in the same position regarding weight. This is why I think the championship will come down to the final race".

In any case, Maserati has already made the Manufacturers' Cup a mathematical certainty. Here at Zhuhai last year the MC12 secured its second victory in the four races it competed in. Andrea Bertolini and Mika Salo crossed the line ahead of Johnny Herbert/Fabrizio De Simone. The local fans are hoping for more of the same from the Trident cars. Maserati has a presence in China with a Shanghai based joint venture, while Auto Italia Ltd. is the importer that operates in Hong Kong and Macao. The Chinese market has enormous potential while the Hong Kong one is already well established. On Friday 21 October the new showroom was opened in Wanchai.

RACE

No 9 - M.Bartels/T.Scheider (Vitaphone Racing Team - chassis n. 02/15439)
3rd Place - 1.19.589 down

No 10 F.Babini/T.Biagi (Vitaphone Racing Team - chassis n. 07/15443)
4th Place - 1.23.356 down

No 15 A.Bertolini/K.Wendlinger (JMB Racing - chassis n. 04/15444)
6th 1 lap down

No 16 C. Pillon/M. Zani/L. Pirri Ardizzone (JMB Racing - chassis n. 04/15441)
retired

Weather: sunny, dry

Circuit length: Circuit: 4.300 m

At the end of a gripping, tough race, Maserati took the team championship to add to the Manufacturers’ Cup. The Vitaphone Racing Team has a good lead and is only five points off making mathematically certain of the title with two races left. JMB Racing is next in the overall standings and so it will surely be a Trident team that claims the title.

On the Chinese Zhuhai track where they scored a one-two last year, the MC12s managed to secure a fine result in making the podium despite carrying an extra 40kg of weight. This meant that the number 10 and 15 cars raced with 150kg of ballast. The number 9 car lined up with ten less. This was the car that took third with Michael Bartels/Timo Scheider on board. They edged out the twin car driven by Fabio Babini and Thomas Biagi.

Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger came home sixth. They lost a place after a final refuelling stop in the closing stages. They still lead the Drivers' standings and are four points clear of Bartels/Scheider. Fourth on 59 are Babini/Biagi with Gabriele Gardel on 60 points, at the wheel of a Larbre Competition 550 just ahead of them. Two races from the end the championship is still wide open. It is obvious that the ballast helped Gardel's cause. He halved the gap that separated him from the Maserati drivers before the trip to China. The outcome of the race was uncertain right to the end with fast Corvettes and 550s hounded by the 575 and the weighed down MC12s.

After three laps Bouchut's pole placed Aston Martin left the scene after running across some oil left on the track. Lamy's 550 and a Porsche GT2 also succumbed at the same spot. The intervention of the safety car allowed the three to return to the track. Bouchut still had to pull up shortly afterwards. Lamy, on the other hand, mounted a comeback that saw him on the tail of the leading cars after around twenty laps. The race order up front often changed as the strategy of the teams played out. Even team Vitaphone led for a spell.