The Driver’s Seat: Henry Catchpole drives the Maserati MC20 GT2

The new Maserati MC20 GT2 is very cool, very new, and Henry Catchpole has driven it.

What’s more, it just might spawn a road car to rival a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. For the moment it is the freshest entrant to the Fanatic GT2 race series, competing against cars such as the Lamborghini Huracan, Audi R8, Mercedes-AMG GT and KTM X-Bow as well as a Porsche 911, obviously. It is also the successor to the legendary MC12 Corse.

With the same 621bhp, turbocharged Nettuno V-6 as the Maserati MC20 street car, the GT2 version is definitely not lacking in performance, but it is also intended to be more approachable than a GT3 car. Catchpole reports that it is designed to be approachable for an amateur as well as incredibly quick in the hands of a professional. To put this to the test, Catchpole was given eight laps to get as close as possible to the time of Maserati’s multiple championship-winning test and development driver, Andrea Bertolini.

Just to add to the pressure, the track is the Autodromo di Modena, a circuit that Catchpole has never driven before. And he had to talk to camera while driving. And, if you just turn to page 439 of the BIG Book of Racing Driver Excuses, you’ll know that a brioche for breakfast makes you slower. Thankfully, the MC20 GT2 has both adjustable ABS and traction control to lend a hand, and the secondary controls were all laid out according to the teachings of a certain Michael Schumacher.

The bodywork is carbon fiber but the brakes are steel. The GT2 category doesn’t prioritise aero like a GT3 car, but nonetheless it will generate over 1,000kg of downforce with its splitter, wing, diffuser and flat floor. The gearbox is still paddle-operated, but the ratios are in a six-speed sequential rather than a dual clutch ‘box. The dihedral doors remain from the road car and the GT2 can also be fitted with a second seat, to allow for training (or just very fun passenger rides). Catchpole shares that all in all, the MC20 GT2 is quite the balanced package.

So, how did Catchpole’s times fare against Bertolini’s? Not too bad, and the two shared a debrief to understand where our man could make up some time. See how he did in the video above.

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