racing a
Maserati MC12 GT1 in the 2006
FIA GT racing a
BMW Z4 GT3 in the 2012
FIA GT The Vitaphone Racing team has enjoyed success in the
FIA GT,
GT1 class championship. In
2004, they initially campaigned a
Saleen S7-R, coming in fourth in the teams championship. Although racing under their own entrant name, the car was in actually run by
Konrad Motorsport. In
2005, they switched to the
Maserati MC12 and won the FIA GT teams championship ahead of
JMB Racing (also racing a Maserati MC12) allowing
Maserati to win the FIA GT Manufacturers Title. In 2006 Vitaphone Racing again won the FIA GT Teams Title, and their drivers Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels tied each other for the Drivers' Title. In 2007, they once again won both the Driver and Teams Championships, this time with
Thomas Biagi the sole Drivers Champion, because the regular co-driver that year, Michael Bartels, missed races at Silverstone and Bucharest, with
Mika Salo and
Fabrizio Gollin taking his place at each of those rounds respectively. Also, Bartels did not receive the points for finishing 6th at Zhuhai, as he did not complete the required 35 minutes of time in the car. 2008 would be another successful year for the team, with Bartels and Bertolini repeating their success of 2006, and also winning the
Spa 24 Hours alongside fellow Vitaphone drivers
Miguel Ramos and
Alexandre Negrão. Vitaphone also claimed the Teams' Championship for the fourth consecutive year. They also entered an
Aston Martin DBR9 at the
24 Hours of Le Mans in
2008, as the Maserati MC12 was not eligible as a GT1 car under
ACO's technical regulations. In 2009, they won their fifth consecutive Teams' Championship, with Bartels and Bertolini being Drivers' Champions for the third time. They have continued their GT programme in 2010, entering two updated Maserati MC12 to contest the
FIA GT1 World Championship. They became the inaugural GT1 World Champions at the
2010 FIA GT1 San Luis round winning both the Drivers and Teams Championships with Bartels and Bertolini taking the Drivers Championship. For the 2011 season, Vitaphone withdrew from the GT1 World Championship and competed in the
Blancpain Endurance Series with 2
Ferrari 458, one of which was driven by the team's owner
Michael Bartels and
Andrea Bertolini. In 2012, the team (as Vita4One) entered the FIA GT1 World Championship one last time in a
BMW Z4. In the following years, he competed in championships such as
ADAC GT Masters,
Blancpain GT Series, and
British GT, without notable success. His last appearance was in 2014. ==References==