Monza Auto GP: Kevin Giovesi triumphs in race two
Kevin Giovesi took a serene Auto GP race two win at Monza, controlling the 15-lap event from start to finish to emulate his Paul Ricard success from April
Converting his reverse grid pole position, Eurotech's Milanese driver delighted his home circuit fans by managing a steady gap to second-placed Andrea Roda, who followed Giovesi home 2.4 seconds adrift in his Virtuosi UK run Lola-Zytek.
While the first two positions were never in serious doubt, behind there were battles aplenty as front row starter Giuseppe Cipriani created a bottleneck in the early running when he defended stoutly from the chasing pack.
This blockage enabled race one winner Markus Pommer to pick off several rivals in the opening laps and set up his podium challenge.
An early pitstop when his Super Nova team realised he would lose time behind Cipriani, ensured Pommer's pace would pay dividends and he secured the final rung of the podium to leave Monza with a healthy points tally that elevates him in to second place in the standings as the series reaches the halfway stage.
Pommer's title rival Tamas Pal Kiss made up for a poor start to eventually finish in fifth place. The Zele Racing driver took the chequered flag behind Yoshitaka Kuroda, who showed improved pace throughout.
Kuroda's fellow Japanese Euronova driver Shinya Michimi just failed to catch Kiss on the line after fighting back from a gravelly lap four excursion at the second Lesmo.
Michele La Rosa attempted to wrest third place from Cipriani at Variante Roggia on lap three but lost his MLR71 by Euronova entered car under braking, bouncing over the kerbs and into retirement.
Race one podium visitor Michela Cerruti gathered more points for seventh position. She repelled Christof von Grunigen mid-race, the Swiss enduring another erratic race despite showing occasional speed.
Von Grunigen had a wild ride over the gravel at the second Lesmo on lap 11, falling back behind Cipriani's Ibiza Lola. The two crossed the finishing line almost together, as von Grunigen attempted to take eighth place back.
Francesco Dracone took the final point despite a time consuming spin at the Rettifilo on lap 10.
Results - 15 laps: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Kevin Giovesi Eurotech 25m04.813s 2. Andrea Roda Virtuosi +2.406s 3. Markus Pommer Super Nova +8.049s 4. Yoshitaka Kuroda Euronova +11.611s 5. Tamas Pal Kiss Zele +12.926s 6. Shinya Michimi Euronova +14.856s 7. Michela Cerruti Super Nova +25.363s 8. Giuseppe Cipriani Ibiza +30.546s 9. Christof von Grunigen Zele +30.816s 10. Francesco Dracone Super Nova +37.297s 11. Loris Spinelli Euronova +1m26.729s Retirements: Samin Gomez Zele 3 laps Michele La Rosa MLR71/Euronova 2 laps
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