Maserati to compete in 2005 ALMS Series
February 23, 2005
Maserati MC12
Maserati
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) today announced that
it has invited Maserati to enter the MC12 in the American Le Mans Series
(ALMS) as a guest of the sanctioning body. The invitation to Maserati
contains several limitations that Maserati has accepted and intends to
complete immediately. This announcement clears the way for the MC12 race
car to participate in the opening round of the American Le Mans Series at
the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 19, and each of the remaining
ALMS races in 2005. The new Maserati MC12 ALMS endeavor marks the first
time in 48 years that Maserati has fielded a full factory race car in the
United States. The last time a factory Maserati appeared on the grid at
Sebring, Juan Manuel Fangio drove it to victory in 1957.
"The Maserati does not completely comply with the Automobile Club de
l'Quest (ACO) requirements, and as such, has not yet been homologated for
competition under ACO regulations," said IMSA Chief Operating Officer, Tim
Mayer. "IMSA will bear the final responsibility to regulate the
performance of the car in the interest of ALMS competition, such that the
race car operates within the accepted performance envelope of cars within
the GT1 category," added Mayer.
The homologation process is the system by which a race car is derived from
the road car through technical specifications set by the ACO or the
Federation Internationale De L'Automobile (FIA). Because the MC12 race car
complies with the FIA's homologation but not with the ACO's homologation
requirements, it will not be eligible for points in any of the American Le
Mans Series championships, including the driver and team championships
which run under the ACO regulations. The car will also not be eligible for
any other races run under the ACO regulations.
"There is no question that this race car is the subject of much
speculation," said ALMS President and CEO, Scott Atherton. "However, we
have a very technically savvy audience and we expect that the inclusion of
the Maserati in the full season of ALMS races will create great interest
for our fans, both at the tracks and on television. We expect that our
fans, competitors and event promoters will greatly benefit from the
inclusion of this extremely exciting and competitive new ALMS race car
entry."
Maserati MC12 is a bit too long
Maserati
While the FIA homologation has not yet been finalized, IMSA has
specified several requirements in addition to those currently envisioned
by the FIA, including some changes to the bodywork. Because the FIA and
the ACO regulations have become generally parallel in 2005, the race car
complies with the ACO regulations in general terms with two specific
exceptions. The car, as it will be permitted by IMSA, is 66 mm (2.598
inches) wider than the 2000mm (78.74 inches) permitted in the ACO
regulations. The car was originally built to the 2004 FIA specification
which included a 2100mm (82.68in) maximum width and Maserati has been
forced to request a waiver for this requirement to run in 2005. The waiver
process generally indicates that some performance penalty be applied to
compensate for any performance gain.
The Maserati MC12 road car is longer than the 5000mm (196.85in) permitted
in the regulations. While Maserati has been able to shorten the race car
to the required length, full ACO homologation would require Maserati to
shorten the length proportionally from both the front and rear overhang,
which for 2005, Maserati has not been able to accomplish. This is not a
requirement for FIA competition.
Both the ACO and the FIA have recently included regulations that provide
for the control of performance of the cars in the GT1 category so that
they fall within a specified performance envelope. IMSA has worked
extensively with both organizations in order to develop a system of
controls that will be applied to the MC12, a first for ALMS competition.
"We have only agreed to invite the MC12 to compete on the basis that
Maserati has agreed to be subject to performance controls in the spirit of
Article 19 of the ACO regulations," continued Mayer. "While this
regulation does not specifically cover the situation of the American Le
Mans Series, the concepts contained therein are applicable and have been
agreed in principal by all of the manufacturers. IMSA has worked with the
FIA which has previous experience with the MC12 and has volunteered to
send representatives to inspect and monitor its testing. Additionally,
IMSA has been working with the ACO and the FIA to develop tools to analyze
the performance of all the cars in the GT1 category. We are confident that
we can create an environment where the MC12 can compete on a fair and
equitable basis with all of the other GT1 cars running in the ALMS," Mayer
added.
"Maserati Corse is pleased to have the opportunity to display our car in
front of audiences in North America. This is one of the most important
sales markets for Maserati so this development is very important for our
sales and marketing efforts as well," said Maserati Corse Director,
Claudio Berro. "We greatly respect the compromise that has been reached to
permit the running of our race car and look forward to competing on the
merits of our product, our team and our drivers. Maserati intends to
operate our car as a full factory effort, supported logistically by Risi
Competizione, a Ferrari / Maserati dealer in the United States."
Initially, one Maserati MC12 will compete in each event of the series. The
driver lineup will be announced at a later date. A second race car is
planned for the ALMS in 2005. A final timeline will be determined soon.
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