Date: 3 February 2006 Maserati celebrates its Champions Trident Drivers and Teams from last Season. First look at 2006 Programme. The prize giving ceremony to award drivers and teams who competed in a Maserati car in 2005 takes place this evening in Modena. At international level, Maserati won the FIA GT Constructors' title thanks to the efforts of Vitaphone Racing Team and JMB Racing. Further, the Vitaphone Racing Team triumphed in the Team championship and in the prestigious 24 Hours of Spa, claiming Maserati's first ever win in a 24-Hour race. The Michael Bartels/Timo Scheider/Eric Van de Poele squad crossed the line ahead of the other MC12 driven by Bertolini/Wendlinger/Peter. It was a clear demonstration of the reliability of the cars bearing the Trident badge. In total, there were three wins aside from that claimed at Spa: Magny Cours courtesy of Andrea Bertolini/Karl Wendlinger; at Oschersleben with Fabio Babini/Thomas Biagi; and at Istanbul where Michael Bartels/Timo Scheider took the chequered flag. In the Italian GT championship, team Racing Box finished in second place overall thanks to five wins obtained by Piergiuseppe Perazzini/Gabriele Matteuzzi. Another significant result was secured at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga, a 'classic' endurance race that is run at the end of the season. Here, the winning crew was made up of Davide Mastracci/Michele Serafini/Leonardo Maddalena. In the Trofeo Nazionale CSAI GT3, the Maserati Lights stormed a path through the competition with three cars that secured all the places on the championship podium. Andrea Palma and Danilo Zampaloni were the overall winners in their AF Corse car. Alberto Cerrai cruised to championship victory in the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa 2005, a series that sees the Trofeo GranSport on the track. In his third Trofeo season, Cerrai got the better of the Swiss pairing of Hans Notter/Max Cattori and of Maurizio Fabris. Cerrai has taken part in all the editions of the single-make series held so far and we look forward to seeing him in the Trofeo Audemars Piguet Europa 2006. Maserati's Chief Executive Officer, Karl Heinz Kalbfell, addressed the guests at the ceremony. He spoke of the close link the Trident company has always had with the racing world. He also thanked the sponsors and important partners for their contribution in obtaining such fine results and also underlined the superb targets reached in the production of standard models: in 2005 Maserati delivered 5,600 units to clients in 56 markets, 1,000 more than in 2004 - an increase of 25%. Claudio Berro, Director of Maserati Corse, gave an insight into the 2006 season where at least four client-fielded MC12s will line up in the FIA GT championship. Other negotiations are ongoing. The Vitaphone Racing Team has confirmed that it will run two cars, while JMB Racing will outline its plans next weeks. Racing Box will have Marco Cioci/Stefano Livio/Piergiuseppe Perazzini to contest five FIA GT races non coincident with the Italian GT championship. The Italian GT championship in fact will see the same car driven by Luca Cappellari/Miguel Ramos. A second MC12, in Playtime colours, will line up but the drivers have yet to be announced. In Japan, team Goh will have a MC12 with Seiji Ara and Jan Magnussen going for victory in the national GT series. To conclude, six Maserati Lights are expected to dispute the new FIA GT3 title..