to go on-top in standings
SUPERSTARS went sold-out again at Vallelunga. In front of a record crowd of 33.000 that filled the circuit's grandstands over the weekend, Swede Johan Kristoffersson scored a spectacular double win aboard his Audi Sport KMS-prepared Audi RS5. In an incredibly exciting weekend for fans, he also moved past Tonio Liuzzi in standings. The former F.1 star, driving a Mercedes C63 AMG for Caal Racing Official Mercedes Team, ended up with a fourth and a seventh place, the latter due to a miscue while he was fighting for the lead. He now stands 10 points off Kristoffersson's lead. In Race 1, it also had been an 1-2 for Audi, with German Thomas Schffler ending up in second for Audi MTM Motorsport, while Thomas Biagi also fought his way up, rounding out the podium with the Team BMW Dinamic BMW M3. In Race 2, the podium was completed by his new team-mates Giovanni Berton and Max Mugelli, both on BMW power, while Schffer edged Gianni Morbidelli for fourth. The multiple SUPERSTARS champion suffered from a bad break: in Race 1 he was penalized for a contact with Liuzzi before having to recover from the back in the afternoon. An 8th and an 11th place (due to a drive-through penalty) were the score of Giancarlo Fisichella, who was at his championship debut with the Maserati Quattroporte of Swiss Team. Nonetheless, his battle with Liuzzi ignited the Roman fans, who welcomed him in an extremely warm fashion.
The two GTSPRINT races featured wins by the brand-new Maserati GT-MC3, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi for Swiss Team and by the Black Team Ferrari 458 Italia of Andrea Palma. The Italian, who also ended up in second on Race 1, finally celebrated the overall title clinched at Spa-Francorchamps with a win on home soil. Roberto Del Castello, on the RC Motorsport Corvette Z06R, managed to score a positive podium finish in his morning run, while Angelo Proietti (Porsche 997, Antonelli Motorsport) took the runner-up spoils in the afternoon edging Matteo Malucelli. Thanks to a great year-long effort, Ombra Racing's Mario Cordoni mathematically clinched the GTS3 title with 45 points. Even in the worst-case scenario of a tie at Pergusa, the wins scored along the way would be more than enough for him to stay on top.
The GTS Cup Trophy battle will be sensational. In Race 1, Raffaele Giammaria (Lamborghini Gallardo) took a great win from Lorenzo Cas (Ferrari 430) and Emanuele Romani (Porsche 997), while the second run went to Matteo Malucelli (Ferrari 430), followed by Vincenzo Donativi (Porsche 997) and Marco Galassi (Ferrari 430). The title challenge is still open. Steven Goldstein, who moved to the Lamborghini camp together with Giammaria, has 31 points over the Bocellari-Delli Guanti due while Vittorio Bagnasco is still in the hunt, 43 points back.
The next round for the SUPERSTARS SERIES will be at the Italian Pergusa venue on October 27, 28.
