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: Nicolò 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.

David Baldi: “I couldn’t have hoped for a better result after qualifying. Forty-eight minutes, an age, is a novelty in the Trofeo. Together with the obligatory stop this has shuffled the pack a bit. Such a long race really gives the car a workout and whoever manages the car best will come out on top. My first spot puts me in a good position overall because, with a 38 point lead and with three places left to run, I have a great chance of celebrating the title with my friends at Mugello”.

Cedric Sbirrazzuoli: “It feels great having steered AF Corse to the Team title with this success. I really wanted to do it because they have always supported me, first in GT2 and now in the Trofeo. A special thanks goes out to Amato Ferrari. The race went well. I had a lot of fun and, if I hadn’t lost a bit of time in the pits, I might have down even better. I tried to stick to Bertolini and Pier Guidi and did my best to limit the gap. The car was very well balanced all the way through and the tyres performed very well and were consistent throughout the race”.

The second race at Vallelunga is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday 18 September, at 13.20. The action can be caught on the Nuvolari televison channel while Radio Monte Carlo will report from the track at 15.00.

Race 1 – Trofeo Race 1 – Team

1. Alessandro Pier Guidi 29 laps 51’27.820 *       1. Cedric Sbirrazzuoli (AF Corse) 28 laps 50’26.216
2. Andrea Bertolini 29 laps 51’31.581 *                2. Emanuele Smurra (Emanuele Smurra) 28 laps 50’49.412
3. David Baldi 28 laps 50’46.286                             3. Matteo Grassi (Swiss Team) 27 laps 50’14.998
4. Manuel Villa 28 laps 51’08.055
5. Andreas Segler 27 laps 50’42.975

* guest drivers who do not pick up any championship points

Maserati Corse Press Office, Filippo Ghialamberti,

mediaracing@maserati.com
Photo: credits Maserati/Mario Chiarappa