Vitaphone Racing's Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini won the third round of the
FIA GT championship at Oschersleben in Germany on Sunday.
Bartels and Bertolini crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of the sister Maserati MC12 of Jamie Davies and Thomas Biagi, to give Vitaphone a perfect one-two.
Bartels has always liked the Oschersleben circuit, but despite some excellent qualifying positions in the past, including pole last year, he has never been able to bring his car home in first position. That changed today, when, along with his Italian team-mate Bertolini, he put in a fine performance to win the event in the #1 Vitaphone. Starting from pole, the #1 car kept the lead from the start, and apart from during the pit stops, was in command throughout.
"After my past experience in Oschersleben, a track I like very much as you can see from my qualifying results, I am very happy with what we have achieved here," reflected Bartels. "Last year, we won here with Fabio Babini and Thomas Biagi, and we were close to a double win. This year, finally, we got it! I am happy that Andrea and I won, as I have had many tries in Oschersleben, but although I've led a lot, I've never won here. The team did an incredibly good job. We were very concentrated all weekend and didn't change our programme. We had some problems as we collected some stones and things on the tyres but Pirelli worked hard to clean them, and they deserve a big, big thank you, as they were one of the big factors for winning here. What can be better? Blue skies, Germany in the semi-finals, a double win for Vitaphone in Oschersleben. I hope this will continue on Tuesday."
"I must give a special thanks to Pirelli as I have won here with them in the
Ferrari in 2003, then again in 2004 with the Maserati, and now again today," added Bertolini. "For sure, the team has put in unbelievable work today. Everyone has worked very hard in the team. Today, in the Vitaphone Team, it's like the semi-final between Italy and Germany, so I am waiting impatiently for the next match!"
