ETCC race 2: Larini takes second win

With the top six from race one lining up in reverse order for the start, BMW's Tom Coronel had pole position, but clutch problems on the startline meant the Dutchman instantly slipped down the field and he retired at the end of the lap.

Coronel's misfortune handed the lead to Alfa's Paolo Ruberti who started to eke out a slender lead over the BMW of Dirk Muller. On lap three Larini moved into third position despite strong resistance from Jorg Muller and the Italian was quickly up to second, passing Dirk Muller before the end of the lap.

Giovanardi followed Larini's lead on the next lap, using the superior power of the Alfa to force his way in front of the BMWs. At the head of the field Larini quickly gained on Ruberti and a determined move into Bugatti on lap six gave the former F1 driver the lead.

Giovanardi took Ruberti at Nuvolari a lap later, and the ETCC's main protagonists assumed their usual positions at the front, with Larini holding enough of an advantage to hold position to the flag.

"Today Fabrizio and I drove very carefully," Larini admitted. "We wanted to obtain the best results and to respect the team's work. Thus we challenged each other but we never risked having a collision and spoiling everything. It would have been nonsense. I enjoyed the fight I had with the Mullers and I would like to say that they were extremely correct."

Ruberti slipped back into the clutches of the Mullers and lost a potential podium place when both 320is found a way by on lap 11. The Alfa driver still looked good for a couple of points, but a differential problem on the last lap caused him to slow, allowing Fredrik Ekblom and Peter Kox to claim their best results of the season in fifth and sixth respectively.


Nicola Larini Alfa Romeo 156 Gta 22m44.195s
Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 156 Gta +1.838s
Dirk Muller BMW 320i +2.999s
Jorg Muller BMW 320i +4.850s
Fredrik Ekblom BMW 320i +11.622s
Peter Cox BMW 320i +11.909s