The Bertolini/Piccini came second at Adria in the seventh round of the FIA GT International Championship. The race was held in the evening and was an exciting one from the off. The MC12's fine form was also highlighted by Montanari/Ramos' fourth spot and the Ferté/Aucott crew taking victory in the Citation Cup.

Bertolini/Piccini started from eighth but made a sparkling comeback thanks to their consistently high performing Pirelli tyres. The fact that their tyres held up well meant that they did not need to change them during the final pit stop, allowing them to attack eventual winners Wendlinger/Sharp as the chequered flag drew near. A win was possible but a clash with Longin/Kumpen's lapped Corvette saw Andrea Piccini lose 15 seconds just after he had taken over in the cockpit. Andrea Bertolini, post race, dedicated the crew's second spot to the memory of Luciano Pavarotti.

The race was full of action from the start when Lichtner/Lechner's Aston Martin clipped Thomas Biagi's MC12, bending the right rear suspension. The mechanics replaced the damaged part, allowing Michael Bartels to make it back onto the track only eight laps down. The two closed out the race but Biagi now has an overall lead of only three points in the Drivers' championship. Bertolini/Piccini are hot on his heels.

Fourth placed Montanari/Ramos meant an unhappy weekend for the Vitaphone Racing Team. Still, they head the Team Championship by 31 points from Playteam Sarafree. Montanari, after a difficult start, managed to find his rhythm and quickly climbed from fifth to second. A hiccup in the pits saw the pair slip to fourth, a mistake that cost them precious time and blew their chances of finishing on the podium.

The other Playteam Sarafree MC12 was unlucky to pull up with a gearbox problem when in the top ten.

Over in the Citation Cup, reserved to gentleman drivers, Ferté/Aucott took the win (13th overall). Third went to Kutemann/Moser (23rd overall) in the JMB Racing MC12. The result sees Ben Aucott strengthen his lead in the championship.

Maserati continues to top the GT1 Manufacturers' Cup standings on 130.5 points from Corvette and Aston Martin.

The next round of the FIA GT will be held at the Czech circuit of Brno in two weeks time.

Maurizio Leschiutta: "I would like to thank our technical sponsors Pirelli as they worked very hard to supply a new and consistent tyre that performed great. We had good feedback from the tests in Valencia and today's race confirmed this".

Andrea Bertolini: "I would like to dedicate this podium finish to a very important person for my home town, Modena. He was also loved throughout the world: Luciano Pavarotti. As for the race, I am content with second as we made the most of Biagi's bad luck to move back into contention in the championship. I want to thank the entire team and, most of all, Pirelli, as they backed us up throughout and supplied a superb set of tyres. Things look bright for the future".

Andrea Piccini: "Considering our start position, the extra weight we had on board and how hard it is to overtake on this track, second place is a brilliant result. Together with Pirelli, we decided to sacrifice the qualifying spot to have a consistent and high-performing tyre in the race. Today we dropped fifteen seconds and so missed out on the win because of another car".

FIA GT Championship: final results at Adria:
1. Wendlinger-Sharp - GT1(Aston Martin DBR9) 95 laps in 2:00:55.343secs
2. Bertolini-Piccini - GT1 (Maserati MC12) + 3.516secs
3. Babini/Davies - GT1 (Aston Martin DBR9) + 8.267secs
4. Montanari/Ramos - GT1 (Maserati MC12) + 33.859secs
16. Ferte/Aucott - GT1 (Maserati MC12) + 3 laps
22. Biagi/Bartels - GT1 (Maserati MC12) + 8 laps
23. Ferte/Aucott - GT1 (Maserati MC12) + 19 laps

D.N.F. Pier Guidi/Giannoccaro - GT1 (Maserati MC12) only 33 laps completed

FIA GT Championship for Drivers (after seven races):
1. Biagi 45pts
2. Bertolini and Piccini 42pts
3. Hezemans and Deletraz 40pts
4. Sharp and Wendlinger 35pts
5. Montanari and Ramos 34pts
8. Davies and Babini 25pts

FIA GT1 Teams Championship (after seven races):
1. Vitaphone Racing Team 79pts
2. Scuderia Playteam SaraFree 48pts
3. Carsport Holland 40pts
4. Jetalliance Racing 38pts
5. Aston Martin Racing BMS 30pts
6. PK Carsport 28.5pts
7. All-Inkl.com Racing 22pts

FIA GT1 Manufacturers Cup (after seven races):
1. Maserati 131.5pts
2. Chevrolet Corvette 86.5pts
3. Aston Martin 69pts
4. Lamborghini 25pts

Text courtesy of Maserati Press Center