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©Mario Chiarappa/
Cedric Sbirrazzuoli
©Mario Chiarappa
Gaetano Ardagna
©Mario Chiarappa
David Baldi
©Mario Chiarappa
Cedric Sbirrazzuoli
©Mario Chiarappa
Nicolò Piancastelli, Andreas Segler
Mark Kroes and Owen Mildenhall
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Donington Park, UK, 17th July 2011
Sbirrazzuoli and Ardagna triumph at Donington
Cedric Sbirrazzuoli and Gaetano Ardagna came out on top in the two round five Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC races. This weekend the action took place at Donington Park, England.
For the Monaco driver, Race 1 was a lone experience that began in Saturday’s qualifying where he took a fine pole. Sbirrazzuoli, from Team AF Corse, led from start to finish, first keeping his rivals in check and then slowly turning the screw to finish 19 seconds up on David Baldi.
Things were exciting right from the start behind the AF Corse driver. Ardagna, Baldi, Piancastelli and Bakker were especially spectacular in their fight for the two remaining podium slots. The turning point came when Piancastelli and Ardagna clashed, forcing the Venezuelan into the pits. Baldi and Bakker made the most of it to finish behind the eventual winner; a result that meant that Baldi triumphed in the Trofeo category. Nicolò Piancastelli, fourth overall and third in the Trofeo category, was later hit with a post-race penalty by officials of 25 seconds and a 6 place relegation on the Race 2 starting grid for his collision with Ardagna. With the rain coming down and with debris scattered across the track, the race was suspended with a few minutes to spare. As 75% of the race time had been run, a full points quota was awarded.
Race 2 was gripping. Baldi started on pole but had to deal with a super-quick Ardagna who was looking to make up for the morning’s events. On the final curve on lap 11, the Venezuelan managed to edge past the overall leader and never looked back. Behind David Baldi came a superb Nicolò Piancastelli whose effort was helped when the safety car came on to allow a car that had spun to be removed. When the cars bunched up, Piancastelli was well set to make up a few places. After easing off the gas halfway through the race, the Romagna driver managed to lose Bakker once and for all with a series of fast laps. He even posted the race’s quickest lap of 1:37.430.
Over in the Team series, AF Corse repeated the morning’s success when Alessandro Chionna (tenth overall), held off Waszczinski (Konvex Motorsport) and Davide Durante (Swiss Team). Owen Mildenhall, the English journalist from Auto Express, also deserves a mention for two fine displays. Driving the N.18 Maserati, in Radio Monte Carlo colours, he finished fifth in both legs. The other journalist from England, Roberto Giordanelli, from Auto Italia, came home eighth and eleventh, respectively, in the two races.
After the Donington weekend, David Baldi has extended his lead in the general Trofeo classification over Ardagna and Piancastelli. Even so, everything is still to play for.
Cedric Sbirrazzuoli (AF Corse): “It went well at Donington. I started on pole but didn’t have a chance to warm up the tyres and so eased off on the early laps because I didn’t want to make any errors and mess things up. On warm tyres, I pushed on and managed to build a lead over the others without any major problems. I am well pleased because we had a few problems on Friday but were able to sort them out yesterday”.
Gaetano Ardagna: “I am overjoyed with this win. It was a fantastic race and a tough fight, first with Bakker and then Baldi – who I eventually managed to overtake. I saw Piancastelli coming up fast towards the end and I was a bit worried. Luckily, I kept cool until the end. It is very satisfying, especially after this morning’s unfortunate accident that saw me finish at the back of the field”.
Race 1 - Trofeo
1. David Baldi 26:31.174
2. Mathjis Bakker 26:32.651
3. Mark Kroes 26:39.432
Race 1 – Team
1. Cedric Sbirrazzuoli (AF Corse) 26:11.497
2. Matteo Grassi (Swiss Team) 27:21.189
3. Renato Benusiglio (Team Benusiglio) 26:31.264
Race 2 - Trofeo
1. Gaetano Ardagna 40:48.125
2. David Baldi 40:49.054
3. Nicolò Piancastelli 40:49.503
Race 2 – Team
1. Alessandro Chionna (AF Corse) 41:57.864
2. Daniel Waszczinski (Konvex Racing Team) 42:21.071
3. Davide Durante (Swiss Team) 1 LAP (40:51.591)
Trofeo classification
1. David Baldi –102 points
2. Gaetano Ardagna – 88 points
3. Nicolò Piancastelli – 74 points
Team classification
1. AF Corse (Sbirrazzuoli/Chionna) - 130 points
2. Swiss Team (Durante/Grassi) – 62 points
3. Scuderia Jolly Club (Olivier Doeblin) – 48 points
The sixth round of the Trofeo will be held in Valencia, Spain, on 4 September. Driver interviews, photos, videos and in-depth articles on Maserati’s single-make series are available on the Maserati Corse website (www.maseraticorse.com).
Text courtesy of Maserati Press Center
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