The MC12 makes the podium at Road America

The Maserati MC12, fielded by Doran Racing, collected a fine third place in the Generac 500.

At the end of the four-hour race where the weather played a determining role, the Theys/Lienhard car crossed the line behind the two official Corvettes driven by Gavin/Beretta and Magnussen/O’Connell. The Maserati managed to cope with the demands of the event well and did not experience any mechanical problems.

The Lebanon-based team announced before the race that the aim was to finish and get as much experience as possible along the way. The objective was reached in full and, at the end of the race, Doran Racing confirmed that it would compete in the Petit Le Mans to take place at Road America in October. However, it did not reveal the name of the third driver. 

The performance of the MC12 was on a par with the other cars on display. Didier Theys’ fastest time (lap 68) in the Modenese GT was 2:02.908, compared to the 2:02.031 of the quicker of the two Corvettes (Magnussen, lap 12).Didier Theys enjoyed an incident-free first half to the race.
 
The only minor clash came after 21 minutes, as the restarted, when the Belgian collided with Dirk Mueller (in a GT2) but without suffering any damage. 
Dark clouds loomed over the Elkhart Lake track during those early laps. When it came, the storm was a violent one and meant that the safety was on the track for over an hour, from lap 37 to 51. 

Theys handed over the drive as the two-hour mark ticked by and Lienhard comfortably held third in his class (or between 14th and 19th overall). After an hour and three minutes, the Swiss driver pitted to allow Theys to take the MC12 across the finish line in third; fourteenth overall.