NEWSFLASH FROM fiagt.com: Following post-race scrutineering, the No 14 K plus K Motorsport Saleen S7R was excluded as it failed to conform to the Regulations, as the engine did not stall by blocking the restrictors. This raised the No 1 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12 to take the win, followed by the No 33 Vitaphone Racing Team DHL Maserati MC 12 and the No 8 Sangari Team Brazil Corvette Z06. In the points, Bartels and Bertolini have a four-point lead over Hezemans and Kumpen, with Maassen third.

The splendid second place obtained by Bertolini/Bartels and the third spot by Pier Guidi/Bobbi at the Budapest City Challenge race held today at the Hungaroring racetrack has once again allowed Maserati drivers and teams to lead all the FIA GT championship rankings.

The result came at the conclusion of an exciting, hard-fought race whose main protagonists were the Maseratis. After losing Alex Müller's MC12 at the fourth lap due to an accident that occurred at the first curve, the two other Maseratis kept their adversaries on their toes, even holding the first places mid-race.

Bertolini's pit stop at lap 28 and Pier Guidi's at lap 22 caused a new rank and by the time the first hour of the race had gone by, the MC12s were taking up second place with Bartels and third with Bobbi. However, the German driver was penalized with a drive through for exceeding the speed limit at the pit lane. This, once the penalty was paid at lap 36, made him slide to third position.

The pace of the two Modenese cars, now behind Wendlinger/Sharp's Saleen, was nonetheless steady thanks also to the work carried out during the free practices. It was then that the team decided against changing tires during the second pit stops, occurring at lap 49 for Bartels and lap 54 for Bobbi.

At the end of the race, however, the MC12 driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi - in second place at the time - was forced to slow down because of the vibrations already felt during the qualifying practices and the warm-up, dropping behind Bertolini. At the end the Italian driver was nevertheless able to defend his third place from the attack of Enrique Bernoldi's Corvette, by mere 481 thousandths.

The checkered flag celebrated Wendlinger/Sharp's success, Bertolini/Bartels's second place (despite carrying over 100 kg of ballast on board) and Pier Guidi/Bobbi's third place. Thanks to these results, the reigning champions are once again at the top of the FIA GT1 driver championship, jumping up 5 notches over Hezemans/Kumpen (who came up sixth), while the Vitaphone Racing Team consolidates its leadership among the racing teams by moving up to 56.

Michael Bartels: "We were aware that by having a car with over 100 kg ballast on board we wouldn't have much of a chance to win. But getting second place was, to be frank, unexpected. During the free practices we had worked a lot to prepare a balanced vehicle that could enable us to compensate for ballast weight. In this case, Andrea's and my experience helped us take home very important points. It has been a fantastic weekend for the entire Vitaphone Racing Team".

Alessandro Pier Guidi: "I am extremely happy with my return to the FIA GT: after the second place at Spa, this return at the podium gives me high hopes for the next round at Portimao. We could have ended up second today but during the last part of the race the car's front vibrations, which had appeared during the qualifying practices and during the warm-up, reappeared. Unfortunately it was really difficult driving under those conditions. Before this, the car had performed perfectly, was very fast, and I thank the team for this".

RACE RESULTS:

1) Bertolini/Bartels (Maserati MC12)
2) Pier Guidi/Bobbi (Maserati MC12)
3) Bernoldi/Streit (Corvette Z06)
DQ) Wendlinger/Sharp (Saleen S7) - Failed to conform with regulations

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 5 ROUNDS:

1) Bartels/Bertolini - 41 points
2) Kumpen/Hezemans - 37 points
2) Maassen - 20 points

Photos and text courtesy of Maserati.