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©Mario Chiarappa/
David Baldi
©Mario Chiarappa
David Baldi
©Mario Chiarappa
Alessandro Chionna
©Mario Chiarappa
David Baldi
©Mario Chiarappa
Cedric Sbirrazzuoli
©Mario Chiarappa
Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC
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Vallelunga, Italy, 17/18th September 2011
Pier Guidi victorious. AF Corse claim the Team title.
Alessandro Pier Guidi has won the first of this weekend's Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC races. The Vallelunga round is the seventh in this season's calendar.
Pier Guidi, from Tortona, got the better of his team mate Andrea Bertolini, someone he competes with in the International Superstars Series driving the Maserati Quattroporte Evo fielded by Swiss Team. The two are appearing as guests here and so do not pick up any championship points. This means that the overall win went to Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, from Scuderia AF Corse. Thanks to this result, Sbirrazzuoli secured the 2011 Team title along with his team mate, Alessandro Chionna.
Behind the Monaco based driver at the chequered flag came David Baldi (fourth overall) who secured another podium finish in the Trofeo to move closer to the title. Baldi made the most of the fact that his closest rivals retired: Nicoḷ Piancastelli pulled out on lap 16 after suffering a problem with his car and Gaetano Ardagna threw in the towel following a pit lane clash with his fellow Venezuelan, Justino Riveroll Azcarate.
Completing the Trofeo podium was the returning Manuel Villa with Andreas Segler up next. Over in the Team series, Emanuele Smurra took second with Swiss Team's Matteo Grassi in third.
Vallelunga saw the introduction of the new Trofeo format, one that will also be employed at Mugello for the last round. The set up sees the Trofeo drivers competing alongside entrants in the GT Cup with races extended and more points on offer. As well as this, each driver has to make a 45 second pit stop.
Baldi wins the 2011 Trofeo
Second spot in the Trofeo was enough to see David Baldi crowned the Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC 2011 champion. This was the outcome of the Vallelunga meeting and means that, buoyed by a brilliant victory in Race 1 on Saturday evening, Baldi takes the title with a round to spare.
So, the Tuscan celebrates victory in a series in which he led from start to finish. Since the opening race at Imola, he has battled long and hard with a determined Nicoḷ Piancastelli and Gaetano Ardagna. A win this afternoon was not good enough for the Romagna driver to deny Baldi but it did see him overhaul the Venezuelan in the overall standings; Ardagna took a solid third today.
Race 2 was won by Alessandro Pier Guidi in a repeat of yesterday's result. Pier Guidi also kept up his amazing record of always winning when he has been in the Maserati GranTurismo MC. The Tortona driver was a guest this weekend and so didn't win any championship points, nor did his Swiss Team companion from the International Superstars Series, Andrea Bertolini. The two are turning out this year in the Maserati Quattroporte Evo and both tested new technical solutions that might appear in the 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo.
Things were also settled in the Team series at Vallelunga with the title going to AF Corse thanks to the efforts of Cedric Sbirrazzuoli and Alessandro Chionna. In Race 2, the category win went to Davide Durante, from Swiss Team, who finished ahead of Chionna and Scuderia Jolly Club's Olivier Doeblin.
The two journalists taking part, Massimiliano De Giovanni and Massimo Arduini, finished sixth in their respective races in the N. 18 Radio Monte Carlo car.
The Vallelunga weekend was held under new rules with the cars competing alongside entrants from the GT Cup. Races were ten minutes longer (with more points awarded) and each driver had to make a 45" pit stop.
David Baldi: "I am astounded; I can't believe I have won the Trofeo. I am really, really happy. I won the title after collecting six wins and managing drop to the points at Spa, my unluckiest round, as the regulations allow. I would like to thank Maserati for giving me the chance to race on some of Europe's best circuits. Today at Vallelunga I was in a back-up car and still managed to bring home the result. This proves how the GranTurismo MCs are the same for all the drivers. This is one of the single-make series' important factors. I will be much more laid back in the last round at Mugello as it is my home circuit. I won't be trying to add up the points but just enjoying the event with my friends".
Alessandro Chionna (AF Corse): "I was much calmer today after Cedric made sure of the title with yesterday's performance. It was tough making it to the finish because the tyres were really worn down. I tried for the category win but couldn't pull it off. I would like to congratulate Swiss Team for their win".
The final round in the 2011 Trofeo Maserati will be held on 2 October at Mugello.
Driver interviews, photos, videos and in-depth reports from Maserati's single-make series are available on the Maserati Corse website (www.maseraticorse.com).
Race 1 - Trofeo
1. Alessandro Pier Guidi 29 laps 51'27.820 *
2. Andrea Bertolini 29 laps 51'31.581 *
3. David Baldi 28 laps 50'46.286
4. Manuel Villa 28 laps 51'08.055
5. Andreas Segler 27 laps 50'42.975
Race 1 – Team
1. Cedric Sbirrazzuoli (AF Corse) 28 giri 50'26.216
2. Emanuele Smurra (Emanuele Smurra) 28 giri 50'49.412
3. Matteo Grassi (Swiss Team) 27 giri 50'14.998
* guest drivers who do not pick up any championship points
Race 2 - Trofeo
1. Alessandro Pier Guidi 28 laps 50’11.260 *
2. Nicoḷ Piancastelli 28 laps 50’38.711
3. Andrea Bertolini 28 laps 50'39.441 *
4. David Baldi 28 laps 50'52.829
5. Gaetano Ardagna 28 laps 51'04.522
Race 2 – Team
1. Davide Durante (Swiss Team) 28 giri 51'27.690
2. Alessandro Chionna (AF Corse) 28 giri 51'28.434
3. Olivier Doeblin (Scuderia Jolly Club) 27 giri 50'17.025
* guest drivers who do not pick up any championship points
Trofeo classification
1. David Baldi – 155 points
2. Nicoḷ Piancastelli – 121 points
3. Gaetano Ardagna – points 113.5
Team classification
1. AF Corse (Sbirrazzuoli/Chionna) - 189 p.
2. Swiss Team (Grassi/Durante) – p. 116.5
3. Scuderia Jolly Club (Olivier Doeblin) – 64.5 p.
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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