ALBERTO CERRAI DOMINATES AT NUERBURGRING AND EDGES CLOSER TO THE TITLEWith his win at Nuerburgring, Alberto Cerrai has almost made the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa title his own. Hans Notter and Max Cattori are still in with a mathematical chance after they came home third behind the VIP crew of Fabio Babini and Sabine Schmitz.The race was a gripping one right from the start. Pole-position ace Diego Alessi took an early lead but had Cerrai for close company. Also filing behind him were FIA GT driver Michael Bartels, followed by Casé, Babini, Zenere and Notter. Unfortunately for Maurizio Fabris, who races under the Union Jack and was in the run for the Championship title, he went into a spin almost straight away and was forced to take up a position at the back of the field. This put paid to his chances of overall victory.

Cerrai was driving conservatively and not taking unnecessary risks in attacking Alessi. He was lapping faster but opted to wait until the compulsory run of pit stops to make his move.

Just behind the duels were between Vitaphone Racing Team members Michael Bartels and Fabio Babini, in the end it was Babini who had the edge and moved into third spot. Hoping to improve their position, the Notter/Cattori pairing made a very early pit stop. It was a strategy that worked as they went on to claim a podium position.

Alberto Cerrai and Sabine Schmitz (who had replaced Fabio Babini behind the wheel of the Toora VIP car) left the pit lane simultaneously and only just avoided a collision. Cerrai overtook the tenacious German, who's become a celebrity in the UK after her appearances on BBC2 Top Gear. However, after a couple of laps he slowed and had to give way with a technical problem. As expected, the driver changes gave the classification a new look. Cattori managed to climb to third. Next came Emmanuele Smurra and Manuel Villa who had got the better of Francesco Ravasio and Swiss model-television presenter Christina Surer (they had taken over from Diego Alessi and Michael Bartels).

In the last two laps the race got even more exciting with Cerrai raising the tempo and catching Sabine Schmitz, who was slowed down by a lapped car. Cerrai thus managed to overtake Sabine, who finished a fine second in the Toora VIP car ahead of Notter/Cattori.

Thanks to this win, Cerrai now has 127 points in the championship. Notter/Cattori are second on 104. Twenty five points will be up for grabs at Valencia on 2 October and so the title is still undecided. However, Cerrai seems much better placed.

Stanislao and Emanuele Smurra did well to come home fourth ahead of Michael Villa. In sixth came the Vitaphone VIP car driven by Michael Bartels and Christina Surer. Then came Vescovi and Ravasio/Alessi.

Williams F1 test driver Tung-Ho Pin crossed the line in 12th position with his partner Matthew Marsh. Racing in a GranSport bearing the colours of the Maserati importer from Hong Kong, the crew had held eighth for long periods of the race. They finished ahead of Roggero/Casè and the Pirelli VIP car with the young German crew of Kati Droste and Mario Kossmehl in the driving seat.

The Nuerburgring Trofeo Race offered Vitaphone Racing Team a chance to celebrate their fine win in the Spa 24 Hour and the Oschersleben race in the Maserati MC12. Alongside FIA GT drivers Michael Bartels and Fabio Babini, and motor race rising star Mario Kossmehl, three female racing drivers made a dazzling appearance at the Nuerburgring. Christina Surer, Sabine Schmitz and Kati Droste attracted the attention of the paddock with their friendly attitude, beauty and driving skills in the Trofeo GranSport. Their appearance continues the trend for women drivers in the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa series: eleven have competed so far.

Vitaphone Racing Team and Maserati Corse decided to donate the proceedings of the Nuerburgring race to the populations in the United States affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Maserati Trofeo GranSport is the racing version of the Maserati GranSport. Built at the Maserati factory in Modena on the same production line as the GranSport, the Trofeo was designed to offer the driver an easy-to-drive car capable of stirring the emotions on the race track. The 4200cc V8 engine produces 415 bhp and coupled to the six-speed gearbox from the standard road car it allows the driver to make the most of the power without compromising the torque. The ride height has also been reduced by 50 mm. All non-essential accessories have been removed substantially reducing the weight of the Trofeo and improving the handling of the car.

2. Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europe - Racing Calendar 2005

8-10 April 2005 Monza, Italy - FIA GT 6-8 May 2005 Barcelona, Spain - F1 Grand Prix 27-29 May 2005 Imola, Italy - FIA GT8-10 July 2005 Silverstone, UK - F1 Grand Prix 28-30 July 2005 Spa, Belgium - Spa 24 Hours2-4 September 2005 Nürburgring, Germany - European Le Mans Series30 Sep-2 Oct 2005 Valencia, Spain - WTCC