IN FRONT OF LIUZZI (MERCEDES)
GUEDES-AGUAS (FERRARI), FONTES-BARBOSA (MERCEDES) CRUISE TO WIN IN GTSPRINT
After his dominant performance in the last round at Zolder, Gianni Morbidelli stayed on a move at Portimao, in the Portuguese race of the 2013 SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES. Driving an Audi RS5 for Audi Sport Italia, the Italian took the spoil twice although he had his hands full in both occasions, especially in Race 2. Eventually, he cruised to win both heats in front of Vitantonio Liuzzi (Mercedes-AMG Romeo Ferraris). While third place in Race 1 was scored by the second works Mercedes C63 AMG of championship leader Thomas Biagi, Luigi Ferrara achieved the same feature in Race 2 on the Coup model fielded by R.R.T. The Bari-based man, who lost his power steering at the start, resisted fiercely to take the final podium spot in the afternoon before visiting the medical center with some strained tendons.
In both Race 1 and 2, the BMW M3 racecars of Team BMW Dinamic ended up close to the top-3. In his morning run, Max Mugelli took fourth in front of team-mate Giovanni Berton and Francesco Sini (Chevrolet Camaro - Solaris Motorsport), while Berton returned the favour to round out the top-5 in Race 2 from Mugelli and Mauro Trentin. The four straight race wins hit by Morbidelli enabled him to trim his gap to Biagi in standings to just 3 lengths as the Mercedes ace finished his runs in 3rd and 4th. Biagi now sits on top with 143 points followed by Morbidelli (140) and Liuzzi (122), who leaped in front of Berton.
At the beautiful Algarve Circuit, it was local talent to steal the scene in GTSPRINT. While Guedes-Aguas won Race 1 on the AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, the Mercedes SLS, making its debut in the series, ended up on top in Race 2 with Fontes-Barbosa (Sports&You). The Audi MTM-prepared Audi R8 LMS of Schffler-Albuquerque took second place twice handing the young German the overall lead with 123 points. A tough day with two hard setbacks forced Glauco Solieri (Porsche 911Autorlando Sport) to settle out of contention and the Italian now stands second overall with 120 points. The podium spots for the two races were completed by Brazilian Fernando Croce, on the Ombra Racing Team Ferrari 458, and by the second Sports&You Mercedes SLS of Coimbra-Silva.The SUPERSTARSWORLD will now enjoy a small summer break before being back on-track on the 31st of August and 1st of September at the British Donington Park Track.
SUPERSTARS | Race 1 (top 5): 1. Morbidelli (Audi RS5) 15 laps 2843.907; 2. Liuzzi (Mercedes C63 AMG) 2.066; 3. Biagi (Mercedes C63 AMG) 2.346; 4. Mugelli (BMW M3 E92) 5.531; 5. Berton (BMW M3 E92) 13.775.
SUPERSTARS | Race 2 (top 5): 1. Morbidelli (Audi RS5) 14 laps 2659.970; 2. Liuzzi (Mercedes C63 AMG) a 1.569; 3. Ferrara (Mercedes C63 AMG Coup) a 7.949; 4. Biagi (Mercedes C63 AMG) a 8.292; 5. Berton (BMW M3) a 13.252.
SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES (top 5): 1. Biagi 143; 2. Morbidelli 140; 3. Liuzzi 122; 4. Berton 109; 5. Ferrara 90.
GTSPRINT | Race 1 (top-5): 1. Guedes-Aguas (Ferrari 458 GTS3) 33 laps 1h0133736; 2. Schffler-Albuquerque (Audi R8 GTS3) 34544; 3. Croce (Ferrari 458 GTS3) 104953; 4. Coimbra-Silva (Mercedes SLS GTS3) 111310; 5. Di Benedetto-Merendino (Porsche 997 GTS3) 121243.
GTSPRINT | Race 2 (top 5): 1. Fontes-Barbosa (Mercedes SLS GTS3) 31 laps 1h0003911; 2. Schffler-Albuquerque (Audi R8 GTS3) 3.222; 3. Coimbra-Silva (Mercedes SLS GTS3) 8.757; 4. Tkac-Studenic (Ferrari 458 GTS3) 10.099; 5. Guedes-Aguas(Ferrari 458 GTS3) 14.283.
GTSPRINT INTERNATIONAL SERIES (top 5): 1. Schffler 123; 2. Solieri 120; 3. Del Castello 109; 4. Necchi 93; 5. Tkac 75.
