Victories for Romagnoli and Sernagiotto in the first round of the Maserati Trofeo
Riccardo Romagnoli and Giorgio Sernagiotto added two wins to the pole positions they secured in qualifying for the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series. This weekend’s action is taking at Jarama, Spain, and features 23 crews from 10 countries (Italy, Spain, Monaco, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia and Morocco). Race 1 saw Romagnoli sprint off pole, extend into a seven-second lead, but only just hold off Cedric Sbirrazzuoli at the finish. The Monaco-based driver adopted a wait-and-see strategy to keep his tyres in decent shape for a final effort. Unfortunately for him, a combination of Romagnoli’s defence and taking too long to lap a back marker saw his chances of victory vanish. Renaud Kuppens took an even bigger gamble by opting to change into slicks when the track was still wet; the rain had only just stopped coming down. The move saw the Belgium forced to give up his original third on the grid for a pit lane start at the very back of the field.
Alan Simoni took third with a solid drive completed by holding off Andrea Dromedari at the end. Australian Richard Denny also put on a fine show to finish fifth with Moroccan Ismail Sbai coming home sixth.
First across the line in Race 2 was poleman Giorgio Sernagiotto after managing his lead from start to finish. Behind him came Andrea Dromedari with Moroccan Youssaf El Marnissi securing an unexpected third. Also among the leading drivers were Renaud Kuppens (fourth), Andrea Gardelli and Australian Richard Denny.
The race was interrupted by the safety car coming on to help Sergio Garcia: the Mediaset journalist had ended up in a dangerous spot after suffering problems with his car. Garcia’s colleague, Jaime Hernandez, who writes for Marca Motor and El Mundo, had earlier finished eighth in Race 1.
With the Jarama meet out of the way, the Overall classification, standings that are this year also open to Teams, is headed jointly by Fascicolo/Sernagiotto and Andrea Dromedari (Swiss Team) on 25 points.
Riccardo Romagnoli: “The track was really slippery because of the rain. This caused me a few problems in finding the ideal racing line. Once into my stride I tried to build a big enough lead to see it through but, towards the end, I realised that Sbirrazzuoli had managed to catch me. I had no option but to hold onto my position until the chequered flag. The Trofeo Maserati could not have started any better”.
Giorgio Sernagiotto: “When you take pole and then go on to win it is a special feeling because if you get the victory it means you really were quickest. It is even better if it all happens on such a demanding and eye-catching circuit like Jarama. I wanted to build up an advantage from the start but then the safety car ruined my plans. Luckily, I managed to slot back into a groove and finish the race out in front”.
The Maserati GranTurismo MC GT3 made its first appearance this weekend at Jarama. Fielded by the private Swiss Team, the car is crewed by Alessandro Pier Guidi and Gabriele Gardel. Before having to retire after an accident, the Maserati had set some interesting lap times. The MC GT3 will make its next track appearances in the GT Open series.
Round 2 in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series is scheduled for 3 June at Portimao, Portugal.
Race 1
1. Riccardo Romagnoli/Edo Varini 40:27.493
2. AF Corse – Cedric Sbirrazzuoli/Alessandro Chionna 40:27.630*
3. Alan Simoni/Riccardo Ragazzi 40:49.826
Race 2
1. Giorgio Sernagiotto/Giuseppe Fascicolo 41:23.899
2. Swiss Team – Andrea Dromedari 41:32.890*
3. Youssaf El Marnissi 41:35.741
*in the Team standings
Overall classification
1. Fascicolo/Sernagiotto – Dromedari – 25 points
3. Romagnoli/Varini – 24 points
4. Simoni/Ragazzi – 18 points
Trofeo Classification Team Classification
1. Fascicolo/Sernagiotto –29 points 1. Konvex Motorsport (Wasczinski/Kuppens) – 47 points
2. Romagnoli/Varini – 27 points 2. Swiss Team (Dromedari) –35 points
3. Simoni/Ragazzi – 25 points 3. AF Corse (Sbirrazzuoli/Chionna) –32 points
