Missing the Point Completely

Over the past year, fabled Italian automaker Maserati stoked the dreams of sports car fans everywhere by producing the MC12. The car, essentially a reworked Ferrari Enzo, is a thing of beauty, but last week both FIA and the ACO (the group that runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans) rejected the MC12 for competition at Le Mans and in the FIA GT series. Some commentators are lamenting that decision, whining on about what a missed opportunity it was to bring some pizazz back to sports car racing. What they don't grasp (or conveniently overlook) is that the MC12 is different from traditional GTs, such as the Ferrari 575, Corvette, and Lamborghini Murcielago, because it has a carbon fiber chassis. That makes the MC12 much more like an Audi R8 LMP than a 'Vette. Allowing the MC12 into FIA GT or the Le Mans GTS class would raise the cost of entry so much as to kill the classes. FIA and the ACO made the right call.