Maserati Granturismo MC // Gulf Sport // UAE GTs

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As the entries for the first round of the 2010/2011 UAE GT Championship congregate on the Dubai Autodrome ahead of this Friday’s race, we thought we’d give you a little insight into two newcomers on the grid. Gulf Sport Racing, those happy guys who used to look after the Gulf Radical Cup but last year brought the Ginettas to the party, will be racing two Maserati Granturismo MCs.

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The cars are GT4-spec, so will run in the GTC class of the UAE GT Championship. With an extremely angry-sounding 4.7-litre V8 at the front and some trick carbon-fibre goodies, these Granturismo MCs not only treat the ears when out on track but are pretty stunning to look at too.

In a first for the UAE Championship, these cars are not backed by privateers or a local shop, but by the manufacturer themselves. A couple of weeks ago, we caught up with Barry Hope, Director of Racing & Sales at Gulf Sport, to find out more.

C&P: What’s the low-down on these Maseratis then?
BH: We have an arrangement with Maserati directly, there’s nothing grand about it but we’re partnered with them in the UAE to run a couple of Maserati Granturismo MCs. Basically, it runs in class C of the GT Championship – one of the cars is going to be driven by Robert Cregan who raced with Martin last year in the Ginetta. The other one I’m negotiating a deal, but nothing is finalised as yet. But we will have two cars and two drivers.

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I think it’s a really good deal as it signifies that people like Maserati are interested in what’s going on here and I think that’s good for everybody. It just shows that we’ve got real interest and Martin has been out and spent the weekend with the team. We have a really good rapport with them, they’re brilliant guys to work with and the cars are here and it all looks very promising.

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C&P: How is the car out on track?
BH: We ran the car for the first time at the Media and test day and that was it. We’re getting it ready, and are going to go out there and see what happens.

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C&P: Was this arrangement something that was driven by Maserati themselves?
BH: I’m dealing with Umberto Cini who is the Managing Director for Maserati in the Middle East and Africa. He’s been out with us at the circuit, he knows what we do, he’s driven our Ginetta. He’s checked us out and we’ve checked him out – and we’ve decided we’re all in love and we’re going to race Maseratis.

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C&P: Which team will the cars run under?
BH: It’s a Gulf Sport run car, so the cars will run under our entrant’s licence. We’re running five GT cars this year – three Ginettas and two Maseratis. Obviously, we will develop some promotional activities around the cars because Maserati are a manufacturer and they want to sell cars and they’ve got a lot of customers here. And the idea behind it is to try and help this market understand that Maserati has another side to it which most people here don’t really see.

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C&P: Do you think the market knows about Maserati’s exploits in racing?
BH: Maserati had a magnificent history in racing, and now they’re current GT1 World Champions, but it’s probably a bit lost on the market at the moment. But there is Maserati Corsa, which is the racing division of Maserati, the whole thing is a great opportunity. The GT1 World Championship comes here of course and we have a burgeoning local GT Championship. Sticking a couple of Maseratis out there will be fantastic and I think some people will be surprised.

I think when people begin to realise that Maserati races cars I think that’ll be a pleasant surprise for a lot of people. So as a marketing tool for Maserati it’s great, everyone wins.

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The Maserati Granturismo MCs will be out on track during tomorrow’s test sessions at the Dubai Autodrome in preparation for race day on Friday. If you’re at a loose end, it’s well worth coming down to check out the action. Access to the raceday is free for all spectators and more info can be found on the Dubai Autodrome website.