Maserati MCXtrema – Pulpaddict

Some of our members do more than “break bread & tell lies “at our lunches. Here are some examples of ON TRACK W/FLORIDA’S SARASOTA CAFÉ RACERS!

Few enthusiast events have the appeal of the Goodwood Revival, and one of ON TRACK W/FLORIDA’S SARASOTA CAFÉ RACERS! Howard Mintz just came back from an exhilarating trip to Goodwood. It included riding “shotgun” with vintage racing car and Ford GT collector Gary Bartlett in his GT40 Mark III, the first customer car of seven built, up the iconic hill! A while back, Howard had struck up a relationship with Gary at Amelia Island, and Gary promised him a ride in his GT40 if he came to the Revival. Gary’s Mark III, chassis #1103, has been beautifully restored to its original 1969 condition and is kept in England for vintage racing events.

Michael McKee and Jeff Cripe (along with friend Paul Azan) will be racing Mike’s #169 BMW (ITR Class) this Saturday, Sept. 20^th, in the SCCA Four-Hour Enduro under the lights at Daytona. SCCA is racing all weekend long with one stream for each day. But be sure to tune in for their Enduro main event at 5 pm Saturday.

Saturday: https://youtube.com/live/TLNztT9cVKc

Sunday: 2025 SARRC Invitational Challenge @ Daytona – Sunday Championship Race Coverage LIVE

Maserati has just announced that they are starting construction on the last MCXtrema racercar, #62 of 62, and it will be going to Sarasota, FL. Historic racer and collector Michael Moss will be taking delivery of the single-seater that’s been called The Beast from Modena. Yeah, he’ll bring it to lunch!

For more information about ON TRACK W/FLORIDA’S SARASOTA CAFÉ RACERS! And the Goodwood Revival, please visit https://www.goodwood.com/motorsport/goodwood-revival/

The Three Mossketeers – Mike Moss, John Cutrone & Hank Gruenberg – all members of the Sarasota Café Racers, spend a week in Italy preparing for the 2025 Mille Miglia. They represent TEAM ZORA USA @ MONZA!

Similar to a travel industry FAM (familiarization) trip, The Spirit of Zora ’57 FI Corvette driver Mike Moss and TEAM ZORA USA teammate, John Cutrone were joined by Hank “Tifosi” Gruenberg on this dream trip: Milano to Monza to Modena. As guests of Maserati Corse, the motorsport soul of the luxury Italian carmaker, the Mossketeers had all-access creds for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Race, and an exclusive test session of the new Maserati MCXtrema racecar at Monza, Italy’s Temple of Speed.

The trip was curated by Cutrone, to gather hospitality, food & wine information as he will be managing TEAM ZORA USA during the Mille Miglia He is creating an agenda for Mike Moss and co-driver Bud Bennett who will be traveling the historic Brescia-Rome-Brescia route. Gruenberg, an experienced Ferrari driver will be sharing his driving and luxury goods shopping experiences in Italy with the Team.

Monza and Maserati racing were the trio from Sarasota, FL’s prime attractions. Mike is one of the lucky 62 who will be receiving a very limited production MCXtrema, and was at Monza for his first on-track experience with Andrea Bertolini, Maserati’s test and development driver. Bertolini, at just 19, was the youngest Scuderia Ferrari test driver, later moving up to work in the experimental and development labs at Ferrari. He won the WEC Championship (GTE AM) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015, and is currently Maserati’s Chief Test Driver.

After hot laps with Bertolini in an MCXtrema, Mike Moss shared his experiences trackside with Italian motorsports media and TEAM ZORA USA: “Holy crap! That was the most exhilarating experience ever. The violence of the braking, flying through the S-turns, the G-forces. Unbelievable. Andrea was amazing. He brakes at the last possible point throwing you violently forward, and then turns like the car is pegged to the track. The car never slipped in the turns. It was a violent ride. A real racecar with a real race driver. Nothing can prepare you for what you go through.”

Clearly blown away by Bertolini’s driving expertise and the MCXtrema’s capability at speed on a legendary racetrack, it should be noted that Moss is an experienced Historic racing driver. He pilots his ex-Peter Revson Can-Am Lola T163 powered by a fuel-injected 513-inch aluminum big-block, Lola T70 Mark IIIB with a 432-inch Dart/Chevy, and a Ford quad-cam Turbo Gurney Santa Ana Eagle. This was not his first rodeo!

TEAM ZORA USA’s Monza/Maserati adventure is being followed by an exhilarating week of driving, visiting automotive museums and collections, and experiencing fine Italian food, wines and hotels in preparation for the Mille Miglia ‘Storica’ next year.

For more information about Maserati Racing and the MCXtrema, please visit https://www.maserati.com/us/en/corse

Follow TEAM ZORA USA’s 1000 Miglia experiences in the USA & Italy, the preparation of The Spirit of Zora ’57 FI Corvette progress and TEAM ZORA USA @ MONZA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564994129830