Date: 27 April 2011 Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC 2011 - Monza (I) - PDF document

Date: 27 April 2011 Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC 2011 - Monza (I) - Presentation of Round 1 The new Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC season starts at Imola The 2011 Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC season gets underway this weekend at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit. There are eight two-race rounds on the calendar: four in Italy and the others on renowned European tracks. After Imola, the Trofeo circuit moves on to Monza on 15 May, Budapest (Hungary) on 5 June, Spa (Belgium) on 26 June, Donington (Great Britain) on 17 July, Valencia (Spain) on 4 September, Vallelunga on 18 September, before the conclusive round at Mugello on 2 October. The main changes this season centre on the car: the Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo has had its power upped by 38 bhp to 488 bhp. The car’s engine and transmission software has been upgraded to bring gear changes down to 60 milliseconds; the brakes and aerodynamics have also been tweaked to improve performance on the track. The Trofeo package allows drivers to compete individually or paired with a team-mate, as part of a team, for an entire season or for single races with cars made race-ready by the Maserati organisers.

Owners of GT4-configured GranTurismos will still be able to take part in the Team championship by bringing their cars into line with the technical specifications of the 2011 GranTurismo MC Trofeo. The 21 drivers lining up for the opening race come from nine countries: in the Trofeo category, one to keep an eye on is Steven Goldstein, second last year after missing out on the title at the very last round. Making a comeback after pocketing the 2005 Trofeo Maserati crown is Alberto Cerrai; Nicolò Piancastelli, Andreas Segler, Dario Bertanza, Stefano Gai, David Baldi (2009 Italian Speed Hillclimb champion), Manuel Villa, Gaetano Ardagna Perez and Olivier Doblin who all appeared last year. Lorenzo Casè, driving for Swiss Team, will feature in the Team championship. Casè, together with Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, was the driver behind the wheel when the Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 made its debut at Spa in the European Cup. This time round, Sbirrazzuoli will team up with Alessandro Chionna for AF Corse. 2011 races will be shown live on Nuvolari, available on digital terrestrial channel 222, and on Sky.

RMC, Radio Monte Carlo, is a media partner of the Trofeo and, for each round, the weekly ‘RMC Motori’ and ‘RMC Music & Sport’ will feature the event. More information, updates, interviews, a photogallery and videos will be available in the Blog Sport section of the www.radiomontecarlo.net site. Video clips will be available on the days following the race on www.thenewsmarket.com with in- depth news and driver interviews appearing on www.maseraticorse.com . The programme Friday 29 April 15.30 – 16.10 Free practice 1 17.40 – 18.20 Free practice 2 Saturday 30 April 13.55 – 14.15 Qualifying 1 18.30 – 18.50 Qualifying 2 Sunday 1 May 11.35 – 12.15 Race 1 (38’ + 1 lap) 16.10 – 16.50 Race 2 (38’ + 1 lap)