THE FORMER F.1 RACER LOGGED 50 LAPS ON HIS MERCEDES C63 AMG TO PREPARE FOR IMOLA
After having enjoyed a successful and rewarding weekend at Monza, Tonio Liuzzi was back on-track at Magione. On Thursday, April the 12th, the former F.1 racer logged about 50 laps in a private test held by CAAL Racing, the works-supported team of Mercedes AMG Italia.The Abruzzo-based driver, who cruised to a sensational debut win in Race 1 of the 2012 INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTARS SERIES season opener, had a positive overall experience on older Hankook tires, which proved extremely well-performing over their whole life span. Liuzzi evaluated the possible set-up choices for the upcoming round at Imola (April 20 to 22), even with the addition of the 40 kilograms of compensation ballast from his results in Round 1.
«We did some experiments in terms of set-up choices. - told CAAL Racing's manager Luca Canneori - We weren't aiming at putting some record laps and that's why we used some older tires. I can confirm that this test has proved extremely valuable for us in terms of getting on-course for Imola. That said, it will be tough to compete against the Audi RS5 and BMW M3 racers as they are set to be back in full glory».After the gearbox issues experienced in pre-race testing for Monza, CAAL Racing decided to keep the same gearing set-up used there, and everything went on smoothly.For Liuzzi, the next round will feature a nice comeback to Imola, where he raced in the 2006 Formula 1 San Marino Grand Prix with Toro Rosso. The SUPERSTARS SERIES will also have a great time in celebrating a special occasion: the FG GROUP-promoted championship will hit its 100th race, and CAAL Racing will definitely share the honours. The Umbria-based squad has been lining-up since the very beginning and brought Francesco Ascani to title in the first edition, back in 2004.