Throughout its history, the Italian auto manufacturer Maserati has participated in various forms of motorsports including

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, sportscar racing and

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not mov ...

, both as a works team and through private entrants.

Beginnings

One of the first Maseratis the Tipo 26 driven by

Alfieri Maserati Alfieri Maserati (23 September 1887 – 3 March 1932) was an Italian automotive engineer, known for establishing and leading the Maserati racing car manufacturer with the other Maserati Brothers. Maserati was born in Voghera. In 1903 he and his ...

with Guerino Bertocchi acting as riding mechanic won the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

1,500 cc class in 1926, finishing in ninth place in overall. Maserati was very successful in pre-war Grand Prix racing using a variety of cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another). Other notable pre-war successes include winning the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

twice (1939 and 1940), both times with

Wilbur Shaw Warren Wilbur Shaw (October 31, 1902 – October 30, 1954) was an American racing driver. He was president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death in 1954. Shaw was the automotive test evaluator for '' Popular Science'' magaz ...

at the wheel of a 8CTF.

Sports and GT cars

Maserati won the Targa Florio in 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1940. The first two wins were achieved by

Giovanni Rocco Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

with a Maserati 6CM and the last two by

Luigi Villoresi Luigi Villoresi (16 May 1909 – 24 August 1997) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver who continued racing on the Formula One circuit at the time of its inception. Biography Born in Milan, Lombardy, and nicknamed "Gigi", he was the older ...

with a 6CM in 1939 and a 4CL in 1940. Maserati's post-war factory effort in sports car racing began in 1954 for the second season of the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...

. The factory raced as Officine Alfieri Maserati.

World Sports Car Championship

Maserati 300S 2-seater sport 1955 2993cc

Maserati scored points in all but one year of the first era of the World Sports Car Championship from 1953 to 1961. Both factory-entered and privately-entered cars were eligible to score points for the manufacturer. At the end of 1957 Maserati retired the factory team from racing though they continued to build cars for privateers. In the

1953 World Sportscar Championship The 1953 World Sportscar Championship was the first FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was a seven race World Sports Car Championship (Makes), 1974 FIA Yearbook of Automobile Sport, Grey section, page 122 international motor racing series for sp ...

Maserati placed thirteenth. In the 1954 World Sportscar Championship Maserati entered the

Maserati A6 Maserati A6 were a series of grand tourers, racing sports cars and single seaters made by Maserati of Italy between 1947 and 1956. They were named for Alfieri Maserati (one of the Maserati brothers, founders of Maserati) and for their straight-si ...

GCS and placed fifth. In the

1955 World Sportscar Championship The 1955 World Sportscar Championship season was the third season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured a series of six endurance races for sportscars, contested from 23 January to 16 October 1955. The championship was w ...

Maserati placed fourth. In the

1956 World Sportscar Championship The 1956 World Sportscar Championship was the fourth annual FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was a contested by sportscars over a series of five races from 29 January to 12 August 1956. Following the major accident at the 1955 24 Hours of ...

Maserati placed second including a win at the 1000 km Buenos Aires and the 1000 km at the Nürburgring. The win at 1956 1000 km Buenos Aires was a Maserati 300S sports car driven by Stirling Moss and Carlos Menditéguy. In the 1957 World Sportscar Championship Maserati again placed second. This time with wins at Sebring and Rabelöfsbanan In the

1959 World Sportscar Championship The 1959 World Sportscar Championship was the seventh FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was a series for sports car racing, sportscars that ran in many worldwide endurance events. It ran from 21 March 1959 to 5 September 1959, and comprised f ...

Maserati placed fourth. In the 1960 World Sportscar Championship Maserati placed third. With a win at the

ADAC ADAC, officially the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (), is Europe's largest motoring association. ADAC is the largest club (Verein) in Germany with around 21 million members. It would be more aptly described today as an individual mo ...

1000 km Nürburgring for a Maserati Tipo 61 driven by Stirling Moss and

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...

. In the

1961 World Sportscar Championship The 1961 World Sportscar Championship was the ninth season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It was contested over a five race series,Previous FIA Championship Winners, World Sports Car Championship (Makes), FIA Yearbook, 1974 whic ...

Maserati placed second. With a repeat win at the

1000 km Nürburgring for a Maserati Tipo 61 this time driven by

Lloyd Casner Lloyd Perry Casner (August 30, 1928 in Miami, Florida – April 10, 1965 in Le Mans, France) was an American race car driver and the creator of the Casner Motor Racing Division team. An airline pilot by trade, "Lucky" Casner developed an interest ...

and

Masten Gregory Masten Gregory (February 29, 1932 − November 8, 1985) was an American racing driver. He raced in Formula One between and , participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races. He was also a successful sports car r ...

FIA GT Championship

Maserati returned to sportscar racing in 2004, entering the

Maserati MC12 The Maserati MC12 (''Tipo M144S'') is a limited production two-seater sports car produced by Italian car maker Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004, with 25 cars produced. ...

in the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

. Since 2005 the MC12 fielded by Vitaphone Racing Team won five teams' championships and four drivers' championships in a row.

FIA GT1 World Championship

Michael Bartels Michael Bartels (born 8 March 1968) is a German professional racing driver. He is a multiple FIA GT champion and former Grand Prix driver who attempted to qualify for four races in with Lotus. Career Bartels was the 1985 German karting champi ...

and

Andrea Bertolini Andrea Bertolini (born 1 December 1973, in Sassuolo) is an Italian professional racing driver currently driving for AF Corse in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is the official test driver of the Maserati factory. Bertolini began racing a ...

won the inaugural GT1 World Championship for Drivers in the

2010 FIA GT1 World Championship The 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship was the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship, a motor racing competition reserved for FIA GT1 cars. The championship was a replacement for the FIA GT Championship which had been held annually from 1997 to 200 ...

driving a

for the Vitaphone Racing Team. The Vitaphone Racing Team won the GT1 World Championship for Teams.

List of Maserati sports and GT racing cars

GCS Sports Car * Maserati 350S Sports Car. * Maserati 300S Sports Car. * Maserati 250S Sports Car. * Maserati 200S Sports Car. * Maserati 150S Sports Car. * Maserati 450S Sports Car. * Maserati Tipo 60 Sports Car * Maserati Tipo 61 the "Birdcage" Sports Car * Maserati Tipo 63 * Maserati Tipo 64 *

Maserati Tipo 65 The Maserati Tipo 60/61 (commonly referred to as the Maserati Birdcage) are a series of sports racing cars produced between 1959 and 1961 by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati for privateers racing in sports car events including the 24 Hours ...

Maserati Tipo 151 The Maserati Tipo 151 is a racing car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati for the 1962 LeMans season to compete in the experimental GT car class. Three cars were built in total, one for Johnny Simone of Maserati France (151 00 ...

Maserati Barchetta The Maserati Barchetta is a mid-engine racing car, like the 350 and 450S, that was designed by Carlo Gaino of the Synthesis Design, an Italian design house. The Barchetta was designed and developed for the one-make racing series ''Grantrofeo Bar ...

Sports Car *

Maserati Ghibli Maserati Ghibli is the name of three different cars produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati: the AM115, a V8 grand tourer from 1967 to 1973; the AM336, a V6 twin-turbocharged coupé from 1992 to 1998; and the M157, an executive s ...

II Open Cup GT Car * Maserati Trofeo series GT Car. * Maserati Trofeo Light GT3 Racing Car * Maserati Trofeo GranSport series GT Car. *

GT1 Racing Car *

Maserati GranTurismo The Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio are a series of a grand tourers produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati. They succeeded the 2-door V8 grand tourers offered by the company, the Maserati Coupé, and Spyder. GranTurismo I ( ...

GT4 *

GT3 * Maserati MC20 GT2

Touring cars

The

Maserati Biturbo The Maserati Biturbo is a family of executive grand tourers produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati between 1981 and 1994. The original Biturbo was a two-door, four-seater notchback coupé (of somewhat smaller dimensions than the BM ...

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

racing car competed unsuccessfully in the

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

in the late 1980s, the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

and the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

(1987). The cars for the 1987 World Touring Car Championship season were entered by Pro Team Italia/Imberti. The car was in

Division 3 competing against the

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...

and later in the season Ford Sierra RS 500. The car was driven by

Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli (; born 10 September 1952) is a retired racing driver from Italy. He won one of the two 1976 British Formula 3 Championships and the Formula Two championship. He participated in 82 Formula One Grands Prix, competing for the fi ...

Armin Hahne Armin Hahne (born September 10, 1955 in Moers, West Germany) is a German racing driver, best known for his exploits in touring car racing. The highpoint of his career was winning both the 1982 and 1983 Spa 24 Hours driving BMW's. Another highli ...

, Marcello Gunella, Mario Hytten, Nicola Tesini and Kevin Bartlett. For the

the cars were entered by Trident Motorsport. This was for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. The car was driven by Nick May, John Lepp and Vic Lee.

Rally cars

A former 1987 WTCC car was bought by Adriano Dece who converted it for used on road rallies and the company also manufactured the

Rally car.

Formula One

Maserati participated in Grand Prix racing during the 1930s and in

motor racing during the 1950s and 1960s. Its works Formula One programme was broadly successful, providing a total of 9 Grand Prix wins for the factory team. In addition, Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 World Championship of Drivers with a Maserati 250F. Maserati designed two Formula One cars: the Maserati 4CLT and the Maserati 250F, and the pre-World War II Maserati 4CL was also used with some success. In addition, the Maserati A6GCM, designed as a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

car, was also used in F1. Due to financial difficulties in the late 1950s the team had to withdraw from Formula One in 1958 despite the 250F still being successful. Privateers continued to use the 250F until 1960. In the 1960s, Maserati supplied engines to British Formula One team Cooper. The most successful car of that collaboration was the Cooper-Maserati T81, which had a Maserati V12 engine. It won the

1966 Mexican Grand Prix The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca on 23 October 1966. It was race 9 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufactur ...

and the

1967 South African Grand Prix The 1967 South African Grand Prix, formally the 1st AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: ''Eerste AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix''), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 2 January 1967. It was race 1 of 11 in both the 1967 World Ch ...

, driven by

John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...

and Pedro Rodríguez respectively.

Beginnings of Formula One operation

The 1948 Maserati 4CLT was one of the first cars built to the new Formula One regulations, introduced in 1946, and was developed from the 1938 Maserati 4CL

voiturette A voiturette is a miniature automobile. History ''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers t ...

car. The older design was still competitive despite the hiatus of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was entered into Formula One races when racing resumed after the war. Its success encouraged Maserati to develop the car's design and these refinements were brought together as the 4CLT.

Complete Formula One results

Formula E

On 10 January 2022, Maserati announced they would be competing in Formula E beginning in the 2022–23 Formula E World Championship They will become the first Italian manufacturer in the series once they start competing.

References

External links

maseraticorse.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maserati In Motorsport Maserati in motorsport Formula One constructors Formula One entrants Formula One engine manufacturers Italian auto racing teams Italian racecar constructors Grand Prix teams Sports car manufacturers World Sportscar Championship teams Auto racing teams established in 1950 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1957