Gianni Morbidelli leads Audi Superstars one-two in rain at Spa
Gianni Morbidelli was unstoppable in a rain-affected first International Superstars Series race at Spa-Francorchamps
Thanks to his Audi Sport Italia RS5's four-wheel-drive system, Morbidelli was able to pull a gap over the field in the opening corners of the race, quickly leaving the spray of the pack behind and building an unassailable lead.
His Audi team-mate Johan Kristoffersson was able to shadow Morbidelli throughout the race, however he never looked like challenging for the win, the pair instead opting for a measured one-two.
With heavy rain falling throughout the race, overtaking was near impossible, resulting in the top six finishing as they started - the CAAL Racing pair of Tonio Liuzzi and Luigi Ferrara in third and fourth respectively, ahead of Mika Salo (Swiss Team Maserati) and Camilo Zurcher (Romeo Ferraris Mercedes).
But while most of the top six had a pretty easy ride, Zurcher had to work for his sixth place. Starting from 10th on the grid, Thomas Schoffler quickly made in-roads on the two-wheel-drive cars in the third Audi, and found himself stalking Zurcher late in the race. However, Zurcher held his nerve, forcing Schoffler to settle for seventh.
Zurcher's team-mate Andrea Larini finished a lonely eighth, ahead of the Dinamic BMW pair of Stefano Gabellini and Thomas Biagi. For Biagi, it should have been a better result, the Italian spinning out of seventh place on lap four.
Biagi was not the only Dinamic BMW driver to have a moment in the wet. British Touring Car Championship regular and Superstars debutant Jeff Smith also spun on the fourth lap, lightly clipping the wall. Like Biagi, Smith was able to continue, finishing 13th.
Results - 9 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Gianni Morbidelli Audi Italia 28m12.795s 2. Johan Kristoffersson KMS Audi + 1.269s 3. Tonio Liuzzi CAAL Mercedes + 13.938s 4. Luigi Ferrara CAAL Mercedes + 15.725s 5. Mika Salo Swiss Maserati + 17.248s 6. Camilo Zurcher Romeo Mercedes + 23.843s 7. Thomas Schoffler MTM Audi + 26.241s 8. Andrea Larini Romeo Mercedes + 36.874s 9. Stefano Gabellini Dinamic BMW + 39.064s 10. Thomas Biagi Dinamic BMW + 44.571s 11. Francesco Sini Solaris Chevrolet + 59.828s 12. Luca Rangoni Romeo Mercedes + 1m00.525s 13. Jeff Smith Dinamic BMW + 1m14.378s 14. Nico Caldarola Roma Mercedes + 1m17.121s 15. Domenico Ferlito Ferlito Jaguar + 1m34.314s 16. Paolo Meloni W&D BMW + 1m42.575s 17. Mauro Cesari Swiss Maserati + 2m03.695s 18. Walter Meloni W&D BMW + 2m31.548s 19. Max Pigoli Ferlito Jaguar + 2 laps
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