Round two in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series 2012 will be held on Portuguese soil after kicking off at Jarama, Spain. The action will take place next weekend at Portimao in the Algarve. After the record number of entrants in Spain, Portugal will see another high turnout. This is a sign of growing interest in the Trofeo series and its racing format, one that will see a few changes in the upcoming round.
The new race format will be adopted at Portimao and will see the drivers contest 3 races during the weekend with a compulsory pit stop and driver change in Race 3 for crewed cars. Races 1 and 2 will last 30 minutes with Race 3 lasting 50 minutes. The changes will mean even more excitement than at Jarama.
Riccardo Romagnoli and Giorgio Sernagiotto raced to wins in Madrid. Romagnoli, in Race 1, took pole position and just edged out Cedric Sbirrazzuoli at the finish. In Race 2 Sernagiotto (driving with Giuseppe Fascicolo) led from start to finish to beat off Dromedari. Sbirrazzuoli and Dromedari share the lead in the Overall standings, a category that has this year been opened to the Teams.
The 2012 Trofeo has got off to a fine start and promises thrills and spills all the way. This is thanks to the new format and to the modifications made to the GranTurismo MC Trofeo. The changes to the car’s aerodynamics have boosted performance levels.
At 24.00 on Sunday 3 June, Eurosport will transmit the Portimao Maserati Trofeo MC World Series races during the ‘Motorsport weekend’ television programme. The report will be repeated on Monday 4 June at 8.35.
Video clips will be available in the days following the races at www.thenewsmarket.com with in-depth reports and driver interviews published on the www.maseraticorse.it website.
RMC (Radio Monte Carlo) is the Trofeo’s media partner. Each round of the championship will be presented on the weekly RMC motori and RMC ‘Music & Sport’ slots and driver interviews will be transmitted from Portimao. For more information, updates, interviews, a photogallery and videos, visit the Blog Sport section at www.radiomontecarlo.net .
The programme (local time)
Friday 1 June
13.00 – 13.45 Free practice 1
17.45 – 18.30 Free practice 2
Saturday 2 June
9.40 – 10.30 Qualifying
15.20 – 15.50 Race 1
Sunday 3 June
11.55 – 12.25 Race 2
17.45 – 18.35 Race 3