The Maserati MC20-based GT2 made its racing debut over the weekend, participating in the final round of the 2023 Fanatec GT2 European Series at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
The first team competing with the GT2 is LP Racing with drivers Leonardo Gorini and Luca Pirri. It didn’t take long for the GT2 to prove itself, claiming pole position on Friday and finishing in 2nd place for the first race on Saturday. It then finished in 7th in the second race of the weekend.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better debut,” head of Maserati Corse Giovanni Sgro said. “The car today proved to be really competitive, and we are very pleased with this result. For us, getting back on the track is like coming home. Maserati has a long history in racing. It’s something that has always belonged to us and has set us apart. The Trident’s DNA is made up of passion and competition, which translates to sensational cars dedicated to our series production and challenges on the track. Seeing the Maserati GT2 on the starting grid in a GT championship is a reminder of the Brand’s glorious past, which is once again taking shape and moving us forward into a new era of motorsport, where we once again strive to be one of the big players.”
Read: New Maserati GT2 Is A Race-Only MC20 Built To Beat Porsche And Audi
The Maserati GT2 is the Italian marque’s first entrant into GT racing competition since the 2000s when it raced the MC12 and claimed 13 drivers’, constructors’, and teams’ championships.
Like the road-going MC20 on which it is based, the GT2 rocks a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 but unlike the road car, the racer ditches an eight-speed dual-clutch in favor of a six-speed sequential transmission. It also benefits from a bespoke limited-slip differential and is fitted with two-way adjustable dampers at all four corners. Maserati has also gone to town on the car’s aerodynamics, fitting it with a revised front fascia with a new splitter and canards, a flat underbody, and a towering rear wing.