Maserati - MC12 GT1 - Brochure - 2004 - 2004

2004 Maserati MC12 GT1 #007 / 15443 Maserati MC12 GT1 #007 Specifications Sold: 2004 Number Built: 10 Construction: Carbonfibre and Nomex composite Monocoque Engine: All-alloy, M144B/2, 5998cc V12, multi-point fuel injection, Magneti Marelli Marvel GT ECU (FIA 2010 spec) Compression Ratio: 15:1 Power: 580bhp (2010 spec with two 31.2mm restrictors) Suspension: Wishbones all round, pushrods, four-way adjustable Sachs coilover dampers Steering: Rack and pinion Brakes: Discs all round, Brembo six-piston calipers front and rear Weight: 1258kg Wheels: OZ forged magnesium Tyres: Front: 18in x 12.5in with Michelin S9G 30/68-18 tyres. Rear: 18in x 13in with Michelin S9G 30/71-18 tyres. Key Features: - One of 10 MC12 GT1s Built - Consistently the fastest GT1 car ever - One of only Two lifetime Works Cars - Raced successfully for 6 Seasons (All as a Works owned and supported car) - 5 Outright Race Victories - 27 FIA International Podiums - 5 time Spa 24 Hours entrant - 2 Owners From New - including Maserati - Totally restored in 2015/6 - Huge spares package The GT1 Class & Maserati Few manufacturers can boast a competition pedigree in the middle of the decade by the McLaren F1 - to rival that of Maserati. From the Targa Florio to morphed into the FIA GT Championship for 1997. Its Indianapolis, the Italian marque has won all over the GT1 class allowed more extreme modifications than world – and with some of the greatest drivers of all the GT2 category, plus a smaller production run, time. Juan Manuel Fangio claimed the last of his five and was briefly exploited by the likes of Porsche and Formula One World Championships at the wheel of the Mercedes. The governing body was forced to step in legendary 250F, while Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney and alter the class structure in an attempt to stop teamed up to win the Nürburgring 1000km in a Tipo manufacturers building barely disguised racing cars 61 ‘Birdcage’. and passing them off as GT models. But that success seemed very distant at the dawn It was nonetheless the ideal stage on which to of the 21st century. For three decades, Maserati confirm Maserati’s renaissance, and in 2002 work had struggled under the stewardship of various started on the spectacular MC12. The exclusive new owners, until first Fiat and then Ferrari injected new hypercar was based around the Ferrari Enzo’s carbon- life into the Trident. Thoughts turned once more to composite monocoque, mid-mounted 5998cc V12, a motorsport programme with which to restore the and six-speed semi-automatic gearbox. The body prestige of this most charismatic of marques. was styled by Frank Stephenson, who had strict In many ways, the timing was perfect. Since the instructions that form should follow function. After implosion of prototype racing in the early 1990s, GT all, the MC12 existed as a road car only so that it machinery had formed the backbone of the sports could be homologated for racing, and aerodynamic car scene. The BPR Global GT Series – dominated efficiency was far more important than a svelte shape. An intensive period of testing followed for what had been dubbed Project MCC, under the watchful eye of renowned engineer Giorgio Ascanelli. Many of the driving duties were assigned to Andrea Bertolini, but on occasion he was joined by none other than Michael Schumacher, who was en route to winning five consecutive Formula One World Championships for Ferrari. The new Maserati broke cover – in both roadgoing and competition form – in 2004. Fittingly, its sporting debut came on home turf that September. The Imola 500km was the first of three races in which the MC12 GT1 was allowed to compete on a non-homologated basis. Even before the car had reached that point, the FIA requested that the rear wing was made smaller, and the governing body was also free to alter the engine’s restrictors as well as add more ballast. In a statement, it said that: ‘Data from the car operating in race conditions will be collected and assessed by the FIA and the results will be presented to the FIA World Motor Sport Council in October when the question of the homologation of the car is decided.’ That decision went Maserati’s way in time for the final race of the 2004 season, which the MC12 GT1 duly won, Mika Salo and Bertolini claiming the honours at Zhuhai, with the sister car of Johnny Herbert and Fabrizio de Simone coming second. (Pictured right). It marked the beginning of a period of unprecedented domination. For 2005, the GT1 and GT2 class structure was reintroduced for the FIA GT Championship, and Maserati swept all before it. It claimed the Manufacturers Cup with a points total that was almost twice that of second-placed Ferrari, while the Vitaphone Racing Team - which campaigned a pair of MC12 GT1s – won the Teams Championship. Despite winning four races, however, and having three crews in contention with two rounds to go, Maserati did miss out on one title. The car was hit with a 40kg weight penalty in an attempt to level the playing field, and Ferrari ace Gabriele Gardel snatched the Drivers Championship. There was no such disappointment the following year. Bertolini and Vitaphone Racing Team owner Michael Bartels opened the season with victory in the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone (pictured bottom right) and went on to share the Drivers Championship. Vitaphone again won the Teams Championship, but this time Aston Martin pipped Maserati to Manufacturer honours courtesy of its DBR9. As it turned out, though, the MC12 GT1 was only just getting into its stride. It delivered three more Teams Thomas Biagi - The 2007 FIA GT Drivers Champion Championships for Vitaphone Racing in 2007, ’08 and ’09. Thomas Biagi was crowned drivers’ champion in 2007, and Bartels and Bertolini shared the honours in both 2008/09. It was a remarkably sustained period of success for a design that, by 2010, was entering its sixth full season of racing. It even included three outright wins in the Spa 24 Hours, but victory in another endurance classic was frustratingly denied by officialdom. While the FIA had declared the MC12 GT1 to be legal at the end of 2004, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest disagreed and throughout this period refused to let it run at Le Mans – ostensibly on account of its bodywork, which was deemed to be too long and wide. At the beginning of 2010, there were rumours that the impasse could be broken. The FIA had split the GT1 and GT2 classes into separate series, and the ACO would be allowing cars that were eligible for the new FIA GT1 World Championship to run at La Sarthe – but sadly the 24 Hours took place without any MC12 GT1s. Given the car’s success elsewhere, it would surely have added class victory at the world’s most famous race had it been allowed to. Once again Bertolini/Bartels (standing right) win the FIA GT championship, whilst Pier Guidi/Bobbi (standing left) win the race at Zolder 2009. Maserati Dominates 2008 Spa 24 Hour Race 1. Bartels/Bertolini/Sarrazin/van de Poele Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 24hours 02mins 42.228secs 577 laps GT1 2. (Pictured below) Ramos/Negrao/Lemeret/Pierguidi Vitaphone Racing Maserati MC12 +2 laps GT1 3. Simonsen/Peter/Turner/Thompson Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9 +7 laps GT1 4. Ferte/Aucott/Daoudi JMB Racing Maserati MC12 +16 laps GT1 5. Malucelli/Ruberti/Camathias/Rigon BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 430 +22 laps GT2 Chassis #007 / 15443 Only 10 MC12 GT1s were built, and chassis #007 is one of just two that were owned by Maserati SpA throughout its competition career (the other was 009). In 2005, it was run by the all-conquering Vitaphone Racing Team for Thomas Biagi and Fabio Babini, who started the year with a string of third-place finishes at Monza, Magny-Cours, Silverstone and Imola. Victory at Oschersleben and a second place at Istanbul put them in contention F. Babini & T. Biagi on the Podium at the 2005 Silverstone GT for the Drivers Championship as the season moved towards its conclusion, but a best finish of fourth in the final three races meant that they were pipped by Gardel’s Ferrari. In 2006, #007 was again run by Vitaphone, this time for Biagi and British driver Jamie Davies. After finishing fifth and seventh in the opening two races, they embarked on a strong run of form in which they won twice. The first of those was at Dijon, the 100th race for the FIA GT Championship, and they came out on top despite having to serve a drive-through penalty after Biagi made contact with the Saleen of Jarek Janis as they disputed the lead. Victory for the Davies-Biagi Maserati MC12, Dijon, 3rd September 2006 Six weeks later, they won again at Adria, this time having to fight their way through the field after qualifying only seventh. At times, Biagi was up to one second per lap quicker than Bertolini and Bartels – and that was despite carrying 65kg of success ballast, 10kg more than their Vitaphone team-mates. They added a second place at Oschersleben, plus a third at both Paul Ricard and Mugello, as Vitaphone again dominated the standings. Scuderia Playteam Sarafee had enjoyed considerable success running an MC12 GT1 in the 2006 Italian GT Championship, and was therefore entrusted with running #007 during the following year’s FIA GT Championship. The car was driven throughout the season by reigning champion Bertolini and Andrea Piccini, who took it to a superb victory in the third round of the series – the Bucharest 2 Hours. Conditions were treacherous around the 1.93-mile street circuit, but both drivers were flawless. Piccini initially ran second to the Aston Martin DBR9 of Karl Wendlinger, but when he came in to hand over to Victory in 2007 at the Bucharest 2 Hours The Playteam Masaratis leading the pack at the 2007 FIA GT Bucharest Ryan Sharp, the Maserati moved into the lead and stayed there. As the Autosport report put it, “the MC12 was the best car. Scuderia Playteam made all the right tactical calls, and Pirellis were the tyres to have”. There were also second-place finishes at Adria & Oschersleben, and thanks to such strong results the equipe finished as runner-up in the team standings. Miguel Ramos / Alexandre Negrao Leading at Nogaro 2008 For 2008 and ’09, chassis #007 returned to the Vitaphone Racing Team. The first of those seasons included victory at Nogaro courtesy of Miguel Ramos and Alexandre Negrao, plus a second-place finish at the Spa 24 Hours, where the regular drivers were joined by Stephane Lemeret and Alessandro Pier Guidi. Proving that it was still very much a force to be reckoned with, #007 then registered podium finishes in 2009 at Adria, Oschersleben, Portimao and Paul Ricard. The MC12 GT1 continued its domination in 2010, the Victory at Nogaro courtesy of Miguel Ramos and Alexandre Negrao first year of the revised FIA GT1 World Championship. As Vitaphone picked up yet another Teams Championship – and Bartels and Bertolini claimed their fourth Drivers Championship together – #007 was in the hands of Triple H Team Hegersport. Altfrid Heger and Alexandros Margaritis finished third at Paul Ricard, while Heger and Alex Müller were second at Spa. That same driver pairing gave #007 its last competitive outing in the final round of the championship, at San Luis in Argentina, where they finished ninth. After six years at the very top level of GT racing, #007 returned to the Maserati Corse racing department so #007 at the Circuito de Navarra, Spain 23rd-24th October 2010 that it could be fully prepared for the 2011 season but, at the last moment, the company instead decided to withdraw from the GT1 World Championship. Over the next couple of years, the FIA shifted the emphasis of the series to GT3-spec cars, and in 2014 it morphed into the Blancpain Sprint Series. As for #007, it remained with Maserati until being acquired direct from the factory in 2016 by Dutch company Raceart. There it was thoroughly overhauled in preparation for a return to circuit use. All of the oil, water and fuel lines were renewed, the brake system was overhauled, and the fuel cell, pumps and filters were replaced. A new seat and safety harness were fitted, the fire equipment was serviced and all of the oil seals in the engine and gearbox were replaced. Still presented in the specification in which it completed the 2010 season, it’s fitted with engine number 113, which produces 580bhp running on two 31.2mm restrictors. It also features a spare engine, number 28, which is of an earlier specification. With the MC12 GT1 picking up 14 titles in the FIA GT series, and 19 overall race wins, it fully deserves its place in Maserati’s illustrious competition history – and did exactly what it was intended to do in terms of restoring the company’s sporting reputation. It vanquished the likes of Ferrari, Chevrolet and Aston Martin, and #007 was central to that dominance, scoring five victories in its own right and being part of the standard-setting Vitaphone Racing Team for most of its life. Add to that its status as one of only two MC12 GT1s that belonged to Maserati, and you have a great racing car of impeccable provenance. 2005 Monza (ITA) P3 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Magny Cours (FRA) P3 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Silverstone (UK) P3 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Imola (ITA) P3 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brno (CR) NC Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spa 24h (BLQ) NC Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oschersleben (GER) P1 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Istanbul (TUR) P2 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Zhuhai (CH) P4 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dubai (UAE) P5 Babini / Biagi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bahrain (BAH) P8 Babini / Biagi Spa Francorchamps 24h GT 2005 F Babini / T Biagi - FIA GT Winners at Oschersleben, 28 August 2005 P3 at Imola 2005 2006 Silverstone (UK) P5 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brno (CR) P6 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oschersleben (GER) P2 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spa 24h (BLQ) NC Biagi / Vosse / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Paul Ricard (FRA) P3 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Digione (FRA) P1 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mugello (ITA) P3 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Budapest (UNG) P7 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Adria (ITA) P1 Biagi / Davies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dubai (UAE) P3 Biagi / Davies En-route to victory at Dijion P3 at the final race of the season at Dubai Pit Stop & driver swap at Brno, Czech Republic 2007 Zhuhai (CH) NC Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Silverstone (UK) P5 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bucharest (ROM) P1 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Monza (ITA) P8 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oschersleben (GER) P4 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spa 24h (BLQ) NC Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Adria (ITA) P2 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brno (CR) P4 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nogaro (FRA) P6 Bertolini / Piccini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Zolder (BLQ) P8 Bertolini / Piccini Bertolini crossing the line to win at Bucharest 2008 Silverstone (UK) P7 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Monza (ITA) P2 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Adria (ITA) P20 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oschersleben (GER) P4 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spa 24h (BLQ) P2 Ramos / Negrao / Lemeret / Pier Guidi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bucharest (ROM) P2 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brno (CR) P7 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nogaro (FRA) P1 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Zolder (BLQ) P6 Ramos / Negrao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------San Luis (ARG) NC Ramos / Negrao 2nd Place at Monza in the wet Leading at Nogaro, France Miguel Ramos with #007 2009 Silverstone (UK) NC Ramos / Müller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Adria (ITA) P3 Ramos / Müller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oschersleben (GER) P3 Ramos / Müller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spa 24h (BLQ) P6 Ramos / Müller / Lemy / Poele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hungaroring (HUN) NC Ramos / Müller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Algarve (POR) P3 Ramos / Müller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Paul Ricard (FRA) P2 Ramos / Müller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Zolder (BLQ) P7 Ramos / Müller Alex Müller starting from Pole at the Hungaroring #007 leading the pack into Les Combes at Spa 24h 2009 #007 qualifyed on Pole (2:18.030) at the Spa 24h race Ramos / Müller secured 2nd place at Paul Ricard 2010 Yas Marina (UAE) P9 Margaritis / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Silverstone (UK) P6 Margaritis / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brno (CR) P21 Margaritis / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Paul Ricard (FRA) P3 Margaritis / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spa 24h (BLQ) P2 Müller / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nurburgring (GER) P20 Müller / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Algarve (POR) P9 Müller / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Navarra (SPA) NC Müller / Longin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interlagos (BRA) P10 Müller / Heger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------San Luis (ARG) P9 Müller / Heger Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi 2010 - No.33 (#007) driven by Heger/Margaritis Raining at Silverstone P3 at Paul Ricard Triple H Team Hegersport - Mueller and Heger, 2nd at Spa Francorchamps, 31 July 2010 Acquisition Consultancy | Sales | Service | Restoration to Perfection | Engine Building | Race Preparation | Rolling Road | Storage W: www.dke.co.uk T: +44 (0) 1923 287 687 F: +44 (0) 1923 286 274 E: [email protected] Little Green Street Farm, Green Street, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, WD3 6EA - ENGLAND Chorleywood Tube Station - 2 mins. Heathrow or Luton Airports – 20 mins. M25 Orbital J18 - 3 mins. London City Centre 20 miles. Helicopter Landing Facilities