Kuppens leads in the Trofeo Maserati

Renaud Kuppens, representing Konvex Motorsport, leads the Overall standings in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series thanks to a win and two third places at Imola. Twenty-five Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeos took to the track for the third round of the season, with 36 drivers from 12 countries taking part. The races were exciting with three different drivers taking top spots: guest driver Luca Lorenzini, in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon – he did not pick up any points meaning the win went to AF Corse’s Cedric Sbirrazzuoli. Riccardo Ragazzi was first in Race 2 this morning and Kuppens in Race 3, in the 50-minute endurance event.

Riccardo Ragazzi, appearing for the first time in the Maserati single-make series, secured the day’s first race. He crossed the line ahead of Giorgio Sernagiotto and Renaud Kuppens. The early stages saw Romagnoli in aggressive form as he tried, without any luck, to overtake the Belgian. Sernagiotto made the most of the duel to attack and get past the Italian to move into third place. Things were decided on lap 11, in the stretch of track between Piratella and Acque Minerali, when Sernagiotto pulled up alongside Kuppens and edged ahead of him. Romagnoli also tried to get by but Kuppens defended his position. The two clashed and the Italian ended up in a spin. Romagnoli’s race was over but, fortunately, Kuppens was able to continue. From there to the chequered flag things remained unchanged meaning that Riccardo Ragazzi topped the podium followed by Sernagiotto and Kuppens. Max Pigoli, making his debut in the Swiss Team Trofeo, came fourth, ahead of Venier and Garelli.

The endurance race, held in the afternoon, saw Kuppens build an early lead. Things were much tighter in this event starting from the clash between Max Pigoli and Alan Simoni not long after the start. The young driver from Ferrara came off worst and slipped to last spot but did amazingly well to climb back up to sixth by the driver change.

It was non-stop action in the 50-minute race: Pigoli was slapped with a stop-and-go for a false start, as was Ragazzi for coming into contact with Sernagiotto just after the compulsory pit stop. Luca Lorenzini, sharing the drive with Autosprint director Alberto Sabbatini, was forced out with a suspension problem when fighting for a leading spot. Stefano Garelli also bowed out when in second, just a few curves before the finish. The race also saw the AF Corse crew of Sbirrazzuoli/Chionna lose ground because of a drive-through imposed by race officials for not respecting the pit-stop time limit.

In the end it was Kuppens who dominated: he finished 58’’ up on the second-placed car crewed by Andrea Dromedari/Max Pigoli. Third across the line were Simoni/Ragazzi and then came a surprising Bakker/Serafino, who had started from the back of the grid. In fifth were Fascicolo/Sernagiotto whose transmission problems cost them a podium place and saw the series lead taken by Kuppens.
Riccardo Ragazzi: “I tried to set the pace at the start of Race 2 and build a lead. The drivers chasing me were quick and I hoped that they would get into a private battle but they kept right on my tail. Kuppens closed in but then dropped back again, depending on the section of track we were on. Luckily for me, Sernagiotto started hounding him and the fight between the two allowed me to create a gap. I started pushing on, as I did in qualifying. I had a bit of trouble with the back markers towards the end but then took an encouraging win”.

Renaud Kuppens: “I tried to give my all right from the start in the afternoon race. I stepped on the gas and tried to build an advantage. My only concern was how to deal with the back markers; this morning I missed out on second because of the drivers at the back of the field. Luckily it didn’t happen again, 40 minutes in, I relaxed. Thanks to this win I now lead the Overall standings”.

Highlights of all the weekend’s action will be shown at 1.00 on Eurosport, during the ‘Motorsport Weekend’ programme. At 13.00 on Thursday 28 June, Eurosport 2 will broadcast a 26-minute highlights package.

Round 4 in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series is scheduled for 22 July at Paul Ricard, France.