Zolder Superstars: Gianni Morbidelli wins, Laurens Vanthoor stars
Gianni Morbidelli took his first Superstars International Series win of the season at Zolder, while Laurens Vanthoor stole the show with a stunning drive from last to second
Starting from pole position on a greasy circuit, Morbidelli's only challenge was holding off the more powerful Mercedes of Tonio Liuzzi on the run down to the first corner.
Having successfully held on to the lead, he then let the four-wheel-drive Audi Sport Italia RS5 do the rest of the work, pulling 2.8 seconds on the field on the first lap alone, before leading all the way to victory.
Vanthoor made it an Audi one-two, but his race was far less straightforward.
With a transmission problem in qualifying leaving him starting off the back row, the Zolder local had it all to do in the 25-minute race, and he wasted little time.
By the end of the first lap, he was 10th. By the end of the second lap, he was sixth. With eight minutes of the race left to run, he was in second and catching Morbidelli.
In the end it was not enough to win, but it was still the most impressive drive of the race.
Luigi Ferrara's Roma Racing Mercedes was the best of the rear-wheel-drive cars, finishing a lonely third, ahead of impressive debutant Renaud Kuppens' Scuderia Giudici BMW.
Liuzzi had a quiet race on his way to fifth, with Raffaele Giammaria and Fabrizio Giovanardi following him home.
Giovanni Berton, Thomas Biagi and Nicola Larini rounded out the top 10.
Results - 16 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Gianni Morbidelli Audi Italia 27m50.559s 2. Laurens Vanthoor Audi Italia +7.422s 3. Luigi Ferrara Roma Mercedes +13.066s 4. Renaud Kuppens Giudici BMW +18.690s 5. Tonio Liuzzi Ferraris Mercedes +19.150s 6. Raffaele Giammaria CAAL Mercedes +27.961s 7. Fabrizio Giovanardi Petri Porsche +36.741s 8. Giovanni Berton Dinamic BMW +37.273s 9. Thomas Biagi Ferraris Mercedes +37.288s 10. Nicola Larini Petri Porsche +40.531s 11. Mimmo Schiattarella Solaris Chevrolet +43.961s 12. Max Mugelli Dinamic BMW +44.480s 13. Andrea Bacci CAAL Mercedes +1m06.848s 14. Mauro Trentin Dinamic BMW +1m07.383s 15. Roberto Benedetti RC Cadillac +1 lap Retirements: Francesco Sini Solaris Chevrolet 7 laps Gianni Giudici Giudici BMW 6 laps Marco Cassara Roma Mercedes 0 laps
Zolder Superstars: Gianni Morbidelli and Audi take pole in Belgium
Zolder Superstars: Laurens Vanthoor hands win to Gianni Morbidelli
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