Kuppens dominates the Maserati Trofeo

Konvex Motorsport’s Renaud Kuppens has earned a place in the Maserati Trofeo hall of fame. His second place in Race 1 of Maserati’s single-make series at Shanghai, China, was good enough to see him to the title. Kuppens has been in good form since Friday’s free practice and again shone in Qualifying 2. The only other driver able to trouble the Belgian was Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, who took pole in Race 1.

The win in today’s opening event went to Riccardo Ragazzi with Kuppens claiming second and Ange Barde third. In truth, it was the Swiss driver who crossed the line first but he was hit with a 10-second penalty after clashing with Ragazzi a few laps from the end as both drivers chased the win.

Also in the spotlight in this sixth round of this Maserati Trofeo MC World Series was Dutchman Mathijs Bakker. He closed out fourth after driving consistently well. Things could have turned out better for Monaco-based Cedric Sbirrazzuoli but he was forced to retire on lap 17 while challenging for the lead. Sbirrazzuoli had slipped down the field after an over-aggressive Pigoli had attacked at the start, a move that saw him shown the black flag by race officials. Labi Tadlaoui also deserves a mention for his comeback from last spot (25th) to finish in 13th.

So, Kuppens adds his name to the Maserati Trofeo winners from 2010 (Pietro Zumerle) and 2011 (David Baldi). This is a real triumph for the Belgian: as well as taking the overall title, he scooped the Trofeo Europa (for winning the most races in Europe), took the prize for earning the most pole positions and is first in the Team standings with Konvex Motorsport.

Renaud Kuppens: “I am really happy at winning the championship as, this year, it was a global event with the rounds in the USA and China. I knew that I had two races to secure the title and today I focused on not running any risks. Winning a title is more important than winning every single race so I drove within myself apart from the early duel with Ragazzi for first place.

The Maserati Trofeo is a top-class series. The organisation is excellent, the atmosphere is great and the car is reliable; you couldn’t ask for more. What sticks in the mind most is the US weekend at Sonoma; it was almost perfect. The only thing it lacked was a victory and I only missed out with a technical problem and had to retire. The other major step was Race 2 at Imola where I collected all the points on offer and moved into the Overall lead, one I have held onto ever since. I hope to have the chance to race with Maserati again in the future”.

The second race in Shanghai, and the last in the Maserati Trofeo season, is timed for 10.20 on Sunday morning (local time).

Race 1                             
1. Riccardo Ragazzi/Alan Simoni – 40:49.649    
2. Konvex Motorsport – Renaud Kuppens – 40:50.775*    
3. Ange Barde – 40.54.737                

*in the Team series

The classification and complete results can be found at www.maseraticorse.com.
The site also features in-depth reports, driver interviews and images from the final round in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series.