Poor weather conditions did not affect the show at the 2008 Tourist Trophy held today here at Silverstone. It was a race worthy of being the opening round of the FIA GT International Championship. Vitaphone Racing's Maserati MC12s ran an aggressive race, recovering ground after yesterday's qualifying results which placed the cars from Viale Ciro Menotti in eighth and fifteenth place.

Already quite fast during the previous warm-up, at the light Andrea Bertolini rushed flat out to join the fray from the eighth row. In a single lap he overtook seven cars, moving up to eighth position at the second lap. By the seventh lap the Italian from Modena had also overtaken team-mate Negraõ. Then at the twentieth lap, the wise choice of stopping to mount slick tyres enabled the two Maseratis to approach the first five positions, reducing time on the lap.

The turning point of the race came at the fortieth lap. After the change of drivers and refuelling, Michael Bartels returned to the track at 5th place with the #1 MC12, followed by Ramos wi th car #2. The Portuguese driver touched an adversary at the Copse curve and lost contact with the lead of the race, whilst Bartels attacked and overtook Deletraz. The safety car entered the track at the 52nd lap and the group recompacted. When the race resumed, the devastating action of the German ace was felt, who first overtook Maassen, earning the podium, and not satisfied of this, ditched Peter four laps later, giving the Trident the place of honour after the Englishman Ryan Sharp. Bartels also marked the fastest lap of the race with 1'47"231. Ramos was able to end the race well in seventh position despite the damage to his car.

Gentleman drivers Peter Kutemann and Ben Aucott, racing in the Citation Cup with the JMB Racing team's MC12, got 26th place.

The FIA GT International Championship will return on 17 and 18 May with the first of the two Italian rounds at the Monza Circuit.

DRIVERS' COMMENTS:

Andrea BERTOLINI (Vitaphone Racing team Maserati MC12):

"It was an exciting and important race for us. After yesterday's difficult qualifying races we ran the risk of giving too much leeway to our adversaries. Instead, the team reacted brilliantly, working hard and offering me a competitive car. It was hard to overtake all those GT2s in front of me but I was able to move up from 15th position up to 5th, then Michael Bartels put the finishing touch to the result".

Michael BARTELS (Vitaphone Racing team Maserati MC12):

"After yesterday's qualifying, if someone had asked me then to sign for second place, I would have had no qualms. It's a great result for our team, we gained a lot of points for the Cham pionship and it proves our competitiveness. Near the end after I had overtaken Peter I got closer to Sharp, I felt the car would have supported me, I could have attacked him to win, but there wasn't enough time".

Text courtesy of Maserati Press Center

Final results at Silverstone

 1. Wendlinger-Sharp (#33 Aston Martin DBR9) 59 laps in 2h 00'07"
 2. Bertolini-Bartels (#1 Maserati MC12) 59 laps + 3"077
 3. Simonsen-Peter (#10 Aston Martin DBR9) 59 laps + 5"259
 7. Negrao-Ramos (#2 Maserati MC12) 59 laps + 40"770
 26. Aucott-Kutemann (#15 Maserati MC12) + 5 laps

FIA GT Championship - Drivers

1. Wendlinger, Sharp 10pts.
2. Bertolini, Bartels 8pts.
3. Simonsen, Peter 6pts.
4. Bouchut, Maassen 5pts.
5. Hezemans, Gollin 4pts.
6. Muller, Lichtner-Hoyer 3pts.
7. Negrao, Ramos 2pts.
8. Fassler, Deletraz 1pt.

FIA GT Championship - Manufacturers

1. Aston Martin 19pts.
2. Maserati 10pts.
3. Chevrolet Corvette 10pts.

FIA GT Championship - Team

1. Jetalliance Racing (Aston Martin DBR9) 13pts.
2. Vitaphone Racing Team (Maserati MC12) 10pts.
3. Gigawave Motorsport (Aston Martin DBR9) 6pts.
4. Phoenix Carsport Racing (Chevrolet Corvette C6.R) 5pts.
5. Selleslagh Racing Team (Chevrolet Corvette C6.R) 5pts.