The unwanted GT car that changed sportscar racing forever

By:

James Newbold

Sep 21, 2021, 12:35 PM

Had FIA GT boss Stephane Ratel had his way, the Maserati MC12 would never have been allowed to set foot in his series. It duly proved the class of the field that most had expected, but the Balance of Performance that its superiority spawned would keep GT1 battles tight and bring long-term benefits that sportscar racing enjoys today

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It all started above an ice-cream shop in Maranello. The Maserati MC12, a car that won titles in five consecutive years, claimed three Spa 24 Hours victories in five attempts and came to define its era – and which could have fallen through the cracks of history without Max Mosley’s intervention – started life in a discreet apartment building in 2002.

“The first time we had a meeting with them, basically Maserati Corse was just three guys,” recalls Nicola Scimeca, who headed up the racing version’s development at Dallara.

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James Newbold Autosport Plus Editor

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James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.