Super Touring race 2: Giovanardi fights back

The circuit was almost completely dry for race two, which featured a reverse grid. Not that it mattered much to the Nordauto Alfa twins which had dominated race one, who surged to the front halfway around lap two, taking the lead from the AGS Audi Quattro of Massimo Pigoli.

Giovanardi got alongside Larini a couple of times during the opening laps, but the race one winner stamped his authority on proceedings in the middle stages to open an advantage. But a misfire then intervened, allowing Giovanardi to fight back.

Fabrizio passed his team mate with a couple of laps remaining, and Nicola then blew his chances of fighting back by understeering on to the grass, which he put down to his misfire problem.

"I had a good car at beginning but lost engine power after a few laps," said Larini. "I tried hard but it was impossible to catch him after he passed me, because he was so much quicker on the straights. The misfire problem then cut the engine and put me off, but I was able to recover."

Giovanardi said: "I feel good to win at last. It was hard to overtake my team mate. OK, Alfa has won three races now, but [Honda's Gabriele] Tarquini has done two mistakes in two races but he's been dangerous in the other two."

Tarquini started from the pit lane, just as he did at Monza where he won, but there would be no repeat of his heroics. He established himself in third by lap four, but was unable to get close to the Alfas.

His first race nemesis Roberto Colciago (Audi) made more entertaining progress to fourth after some good battles along the way, including with Tarquini's team mate Fabrice Walfisch (Honda Accord), who didn't start race one due to engine failure in the warm-up.

Colciago dropped back to seventh by the flag, however, promoting the PRO Motorsport-run Nissan Primera of Sandro Sardelli to fourth. Gianluca De Lorenzi's BMW was fifth, ahead of Walfisch, whose engine held together this time.


1 Fabrizio Giovanardi, Alfa Romeo 156
2 Nicola Larini, Alfa Romeo 156
3 Gabriele Tarquini, Honda Accord
4 Sandro Sardelli, Nissan Primera
5 Gianluca De Lorenzi, BMW 320I
6 Fabrice Walfisch, Honda Accord