Trofeo Maserati
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| Category | One-make racing by Maserati |
|---|---|
| Country |
International Middle East Europe |
| Inaugural season | 2003 |
| Constructors | Maserati |
| Tyre suppliers | Pirelli |
| Official website | Official website |
The Trofeo Maserati is a single-marque motorsport championship that was started by Maserati Corse in 2003, with the introduction of the Maserati Coupé. Its title is commonly confused as Maserati Trofeo, which in fact refers to the name devised for the 4200 Coupé built for the series. However, in recent years Maserati themselves have been very inconsistent regarding the name of the championship, making it hard to define what is officially correct. In this article, the series will be referred to as Trofeo Maserati.
It is very similar to the Ferrari Challenge, although not on such a large scale. The concept is simple: customers purchase or rent a Trofeo car which is for track use only, register themselves and their team for a season or race and compete. Teams are not allowed to tune their engines, but can adjust suspension, brakes etc. Entrants can also use Maserati in-house teams at an additional cost.
Originally, the Trofeo Maserati consisted of only one series, based in Europe. This was until 2010 when the Maserati Granturismo MC (not to be confused with the GranTurismo MC Stradale) was introduced. Today, there are several series. The Trofeo Maserati is regulated by the National Sporting Authority (ASN) of an involved country and FIA. If there is any argument during a race weekend, the ASN has a higher ruling than the FIA.
This new season format was introduced in 2010 alongside the new GranTurismo MC. The 2012 calendar encompasses seven events spanning the globe, including circuits in Italy, China, Portugal, France, Spain, and the United States. A new twist made in 2011 is the inauguration of "endurance" events. This gives the season a 3+3 format, with three regular race weekends and three endurance race weekends. The difference is explained below.
This is a sub series to the Worldwide series which only encompasses the events in Europe, thus keeping the costs down for those who do not wish to bring the car to China and United States. This saves the entrants approximately €40,000 in entry fees alone, but they still compete in 5 of the 7 Worldwide series' events.
The regular events precede as follows:
The endurance events precede as follows:
The JBF RAK Middle East championship is an unusual race series because it is run during the Northern Hemisphere's winter months. The season starts in November and ends in March. It is run on circuits in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar. A season comprises seven events, just like the worldwide series. The Middle East series has yet to adapt the Worldwide Series' 3+3 season format. Technically, since the Worldwide Series ends in November and stars in April, those wishing to can race in the Trofeo-series all-year around. This is one of the only race series in the world which allow this unique possibility, and it is possibly the only GT Racing series.
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Wikipedia