Erik Janis and Jakub Knoll secure a double victory
The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo visited the infamous Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, for rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the 2011 season on 28-30 July, with a double race win for Erik Janis and Jakub Knoll continuing Gravity-Charouz's rise in the Teams' StandingsNew faces joined the one-make series in the Ardennes, with highly-respected moto! rcycle racer turned sportscar driver Didier de Radiguès entering, as well as German journalist Christian Gebhardt from publication Sport Auto and Radical racer Fabio Fassitelli.Frequent podium visitors Fabio Babini and Matteo Zucchi claimed victory in the opening race after winning from pole position, before the returning Janis and20-year-old Knoll won a dramatic second race.There was further excitement in race three, where the Czech duo made it two in a row after sealing a lights to flag triumph. The new red colour scheme of the #1 Automobili Lamborghini VIP car crossed the line in second position after a three-way battle on the last lap.Commenting on the #1 entry's podium finish, Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said: "Lamborghini always aims to surprise and excite. Red is the traditional colour of race cars in Italy: we are celebrating 150 years of Italian unity in our Super Trofeo series, which is the fastest on! e-make series in the world."
Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Spa-FrancorchampsThe #99 leads the field around the legendary Belgian circuit
QualifyingThursday's qualifying session saw typical Spa-Francorchamps conditions: wet.Babini set the fastest time with his last lap of the session, while the #76 entry of Peter Kox and Nico Pronk clinched second. In his first outing of the season, Gravity-Charouz Racing's Janis took third place.Round tenBabini and Zucchi earned their fourth victory of the season in aweather-affected opening race. Pro-Am driver Zucchi battled t! o keep the car in the top three during his opening stint, before handing control to Pro Drivers' Standings leader Babini who charged to the front in a matter of laps.Babini led to the chequered flag, while Gerard Tweraser and Filip Sladecka clinched second place ahead of Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L.'s Gianluca Carboni and Riccardo Ragazzi when Luigi Ferrara retired from the race in the last lap.
"Matteo did a good job to stay near the front, especially at a tough circuit like Spa," said Babini. "In qualifying we couldn't get a real feel for the set-up as it was so wet. We made a compromise with the set-up, which wouldn't have worked if the track had dried too much, but it did work and we have another good result for the team."Round elevenJanis and Knoll clinched their maiden victory in round 11, where a spectacular opening stint from Czech driver Janis helped the #99 entry climb from eighth to first by lap six.Knoll took over! from his co-pilot, staying in front of the competition. Knoll continued around the seven-kilometre circuit to claim round 11 honours.Behind the winning car was the Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L. entry of Ragazzi and Carboni, who continued their fine form by securing second place, and Hervè Leimer, who made his first visit to the podium this season."It was a pretty good return to the series for me!" exclaimed Janis. "We had good pace as we'd made some changes since this morning's race, so this one was much better."
Round twelvePole-sitters Janis and Knoll sealed their second successive victory of the weekend.The Gravity-Charouz Racing duo produced a flawless drive to claim victory in yet more wet conditions, finishing ahead of Lamborghini VIP drivers Ferrara and Fassitelli.
As with the weekend's previous two races, Ragazzi and Carboni visited the podium with a third-place finish.Knoll, who also received the weekend's Rookie Award, was delighted: "My role was to maintain the gap today. I got in the car, was focused and we achieved a good result. I'm very happy to also win the Rookie Award, as I really wasn't expecting this. It was a brilliant surprise to have two trophies on the podium."
The 2011 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo season resumes at Hockenheim, Germany, on 30 September - 2 October 2011.Qualifying results1. Babini/Zucchi (#22), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., ! 2:43.441?2. Pronk/Kox (#76), Reiter, + 0.549?3. Janis E./Knoll (#99), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 0.560?4. Ferrara/Fassitelli (#1), Automobili Lamborghini, + 1.028?5. Tweraser/Sladecka (#77), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 1.461?6. Leimer C. (#63), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 1.480?7. Ragazzi/Carboni (#80), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 2.853?8. Seveso (#20), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 3.772?9. Mamé (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport, + 5.036?10. St'ovícek/Charouz (#88), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 6.044?11. Leimer H. (#11), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 8.211?12. Gebhardt/de Radiguès (#2), Automobili Lamborghini, + 8.266?13. Jenny (#19), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 9.132Round 10 results1. Babini/Zucchi (#22), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., 39:05.3652. Tweraser/Sladecka (#77), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 9.5033. Ragazzi/Carboni (#80), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 40.0964. Pronk/Kox (#76), Reiter, + 40.5245. Leimer H. (#11), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 1:31.3996. St'ovícek/Charouz (#88), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 1:32.9397. Jenny (#19), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 1:41.0928. Janis E./Knoll (#99), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 1:58.7709. Gebhardt/de Radiguès (#2), Automobili Lamborghini, + 2:01.79210. Mamé/Zanardini (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport, + 2:14.23711. Ferrara/Fassitelli (#1), Automobili Lamborghini, + 1 lap12. Leimer C. (#63), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 4 lapsNot classifiedSeveso (#20), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 12 laps?Round 11 results1. Janis E./Knoll (#99), Gravity-Charouz Racing, 41:42.9752. Ragazzi/Carboni (#80), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 2.2393. Leimer H. (#11), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 34.4074. Ferrara/Fassitelli (#1), Au! tomobili Lamborghini, + 34.9765. Seveso (#20), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 52.3046. St'ovícek/Charouz (#88), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 1:42.0597. Gebhardt/de Radiguès (#2), Automobili Lamborghini, + 2:15.9578. Mamé/Zanardini (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport, + 2:32.2109. Babini/Zucchi (#22), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 3 lapsNot classifiedTweraser/Sladecka (#77), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 5 lapsJenny (#19), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 10 lapsPronk/Kox (#76), Reiter, + 11 lapsLeimer C. (#63), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 15 lapsRound 12 results?1. Janis E./Knoll (#99), Gravity-Charouz Racing, 42:32.1682. Ferrara/Fassitelli (#1), Automobili Lamborghini, + 22.3673. Ragazzi/Carboni (#80), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 22.9354. Tweraser/Sladecka (#77), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 23.0425. Pronk/Kox (#76), Reiter, + 48.4876. Leimer C. (#63), Autovitesse Ga! rage R. Affolter + 1:01.8097. St'ovícek/Charouz (#88), Gravity-Charouz Racing, + 1:24.8658. Mamé/Zanardini (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport, + 1:33.7839. Jenny (#19), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 1:38.51710. Leimer H. (#11), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter + 2:30.88911. Gebhardt/de Radiguès (#2), Automobili Lamborghini, + 1 lapNot classifiedSeveso (#20), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 6 lapsBabini/Zucchi (#22), Autocarozzeria Imperiale S.R.L., + 11 lapsThe 2011 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo season began in April, featuring the Lamborghini Super Trofeo: a lightweight version of the Gallardo LP 570-4. The Super Trofeo has a reworked chassis and a power output of 419 kW (570 hp) from its V10, 'Iniezione Diretta Stratificata' engine. The race car features Lamborghini's permanent four-wheel drive, making the Super Trofeo the only one-make, all-wheeldrive motorsport series.Lamborghini will again partner with luxury Swiss watchmaker Blancpain, who is the series' title sponsor, creating a perfect partnership between two prestigious and highly-innovative brands.Pirelli, one of the world's largest tyre manufacturers and sole OEM supplier to Automobili Lamborghini, partners the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series. Pirelli, who have a successful motorsport heritage across rally, sports cars and Formula One, will be for the second season a strategic partner to the series. With a history built on high performance tyres, Pirelli is a world leader in both original equipment and the aftermarket, with 24 factories in 12 countries around the world.