Montermini / Salaquarda reached the top-ten behind the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT3 in the first round of the championship at Nogaro

First points for Scuderia Villorba Corse in Nogaro where the Italian team made its debut in the Blancpain Sprint Series.

Behind the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT3 Andrea Montermini and Filip Salaquarda finished tenth overall and ninth in their class in the main race of the French weekend.

The opening round of the championship organized by SRO had opened with free and qualifying practice and then with the qualifying race on Easter Day, when, under the rain, the former F1 driver from Modena and the talented Czech made a good comeback providing a lot of action and getting fourth row for Monday's main race. In the main race, on dry conditions, Villorba Corse has been able to be competitive since the start. Salaquarda fought for top-five places in the first part of the race. After the mandatory pit-stop for driver change Montermini got back on track in fifteenth position but he didn't gave up. He grabbed the top-ten and the first points of the season right in the final laps.

“It was a difficult weekend - says Raimondo Amadio, Team Principal - but, in the end, it gave us a points finish. Our performances have been  improving session by session despite Nogaro is not a very favorable track to us and to the 458. We had to deal with set-up issues and a very  different kind of tyres compared to the ones which we are used to. However, we were able to be competitive even though our work should also  focus on pit-stops. We are confident with Ferrari's competitiveness and our drivers' professionalism. This race was very useful to start knowing a very competitive championship. We are very happy to be part of the Blancpain GT Series and will work hard to improve our results.”

 Blancpain Sprint Series calendar: 19-21 apr. Nogaro (FRA); 17-18 may Brands Hatch (GBR); 5-6 july Zandvoort (NED); 23-24 aug. Slovakia Ring 

(SLK); 6-7 sept. Portimao (POR); 18-19 oct. Zolder (BEL); 1-2 nov. Baku (AZ).