Enna Superstars: Unhappy Gianni Morbidelli to race after all

The Audi Sport Italia driver announced on Saturday evening that he would not race at the unique Sicilian circuit, following two shock absorber failures across free practice and qualifying.

The failures were put down to the Audi's additional weight, added by series organisers as part of the 'balance of performance'.

Combined with an engine restrictor to limit power, the three Audis of Morbidelli, Johan Kristoffersson and Thomas Schoffler were both slow and fragile throughout Saturday's running, sparking Morbidelli's decision not to race.

But the former Formula 1 driver has since reversed that initial decision, and will now take part in Sunday's two races, albeit reluctantly.

"Yes, I will race because we must be professional until the end," he told AUTOSPORT.

"But I can't be happy about it. We have been too penalised, with the weight and the restrictor.

"The problem is not that we have lost our advantage, it's that we look ridiculous, because we have lost five seconds.

"Every time I try and take a kerb, I break a damper. It's ridiculous. Even if you are blind you can see that this is ridiculous.

"Audi is a big brand, and we put a lot of money into this programme. I think we did a good job with the engineering on the cars, and now we can't compete.

"I just want the opportunity to compete. I don't want the opportunity to win simply - I completely understand the reason for the balance in performance - but we have been penalised too much.

"You can't take one car and make it impossible for them to compete."