Superstars: A good, nasty quattro® day at Imola boosts Gianni Morbidelli

Audi Sport Italia Press Release

A good, nasty quattro^® day at Imola boosts Gianni Morbidelli to 6th Superstars win and substantial lead in standings

RACE REPORT

Throughout his long and successful career, Gianni Morbidelli had never posted a tin-top win at Imola: today, he made up for this blank spot in his brilliant resume as on a drenched track he claimed a runner-up finish after a comeback from row four in race one and a clean win in race two. The Pesaro-based driver sixth 2013 Superstars victory also puts him into a comfortable series' lead, as previous co-leader Thomas Biagi is now 33 points adrift with two rounds remaining.

Interestingly, the Audi Sport Italia camp--alongside Morbidelli, Davide Di Benedetto and Giuseppe Cipriani were both making their Superstars debut at Imola--was struggling on Saturday. The quick layout unfolding around the Santerno river took back the clock to the early season rounds, when RS 5s were on the back foot at Monza and Slovakia Ring. At Imola Morbidelli and Co. had to cope with the same kind of framework, only made worse by Balance Of Performance measures that had made the RS 5 car heavier, taller and more feeble in horsepower. At the end of Saturday's qualifying four AMG Mercedes had sweeped the two front rows, whilst Morbidelli nipped team mate Di Benedetto for P8 as Cipriani--a driver with spells in single seaters but learning the ropes of tin-tops at Imola--cantered to P12. However, darks clouds were gathering over Emilia Romagna, and on Sunday morning the venue was drenched: an environment well suited for the RS5s. The 15-car field took the start behind the safety-car, that held the cars in formation for three awfully long laps. Therefore, when the first green flag lap was in place, one third of track time had been chopped from the Noon race. The Audis, shrouded in a mid-field cloud of water, somehow managed to make up ground with Morbidelli in P6, Di Benedetto in P8 and Cipriani in P10. However it wasn't until lap five that Gianni could open the hunt to the AMG Mercedes Top3-bunch, with Vitantonio Liuzzi edging polesitter Gigi Ferrara and series co-leader Thomas Biagi. The former F.1 driver was enjoying a 9-second edge over the Camozzi Audi, which was up to a very tricky comeback race. As Morbidelli was charging, so were Di Benedetto--on his way to have the upper hand on the best BMWs and Andrea Bacci's AMG Mercedes--and Cipriani. The latter broke into the Top10 on lap five and soon moved past Francesco Sini's Camaro, zeroing in on the M3 pair. However, on lap eight he spun seconds after having moved past Max Mugelli's M3. His race one wound up in P9. As Di Benedetto was relishing the quiet of a freshly-won P5, Morbidelli closed the gap from the C63s. Ferrara's Coupe slowed down, though, leaving the  Camozzi Audi alone in pursuit of team Romeo Ferraris' sedans. If Liuzzi's cushion was too much for Morbidelli to overcome Biagi's one wasn't, and on the final lap the RS 5 pressure forced the AMG Mercedes driver to take one risk too much, slip slindig away in the Piratella beach trap. Biagi's blank box score handed Morbidelli sole possession of the points lead, 16 ahead of former co-leader and 47 stones in front of race one winner Liuzzi, with Ferrara and BMW's Giovanni Berton dropping out of contention.

At the start of race two team mates Morbidelli and Di Benedetto shared the spots available on row three, as Cipriani was one row behind alongside Liuzzi. After one lap behind the safety car, Francesco Sini's Camaro skyrocketed into the lead as the green flag was waved. Morbidelli quickly grabbed P3, as team mate Di Benedetto sneaked into P5 and Cipriani wasn't set on being happy for his initial P7, snatching P6 from Andrea Bacci's AMG Mercedes. On lap three Morbidelli was ahead of Berton's BMW, and it took him a couple of laps more to clinch P1 from Sini, after the Tosa corner. He never looked back--only hindered by a spotty radio--whilst the runner-up spot was soon claimed by race one winner Liuzzi, who moved past the Camaro. Di Benedetto challenged  successfully Berton for P4, whilst Sini proved more resilient than the BMW lead driver, as the rivals swapped P3 back and forth until the checker, with the Sicilian in fourth. Cipriani, quietly improving behind the duelling duo, was the man of the closing stages, as at the finish had caugth up with the sister Audi and the Camaro, also posting an outstanding second fastest lap in his first ever touring car meeting. Cipriani was obviously delighted, nearly so as beaming team mate Morbidelli...

INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTARS SERIES

Sunday, September 29 2013.

Round 15 - Imola, I:
1. Vitantonio Liuzzi (AMG Mercedes) 12 laps, 27:58.153s average speed 126.4 kph;

2. GIANNI MORBIDELLI (AUDI RS 5) +2.394s;

3. Gigi Ferrara (AMG Mercedes) +7.695s;
4. DAVIDE DI BENEDETTO (AUDI RS 5) +12.980s;

5. Giovanni Berton (BMW) +30.132s
../..
9. GIUSEPPE CIPRIANI (AUDI RS 5) +1:07.822s.

INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTARS SERIES

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Round 16 - Imola, I:

1. GIANNI MORBIDELLI (AUDI RS 5) 13 laps, 28:21.603s average speed 135.0 kph;

2. Vitantonio Liuzzi (AMG Mercedes) +15.518s;

3. Francesco Sini (Chevrolet) +21.793s;
4. DAVIDE DI BENEDETTO (AUDI RS 5) +22.468s;

5. GIUSEPPE CIPRIANI (AUDI RS 5) +23.352s.

DRIVERS' POINTS STANDINGS (Top5):

1. MORBIDELLI 212 points;

2. Biagi 179 pts.;

3. Liuzzi 169 pts.;

4. Berton 152 pts.;

5. Ferrara 127 pts.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia

Portuguese GT: Victory for Team Novadriver at Boavista

By Johan Laubscher 

The Supercars Portugal Series (Portuguese GT Championship) held round three at Boavista this weekend. Team Novadriver was present with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team. 

Round three of the Portuguese series was held alongside round two of the Supercars International Series. The two cars from Team Novadriver have performed well so far in 2013. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen. The second car was the #10 driven by João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião.

They performed well during the practice sessions, consistently placing within the front runners. During qualifying the top placed Audi was on the front row, with the #1 achieving second place, just 0.024 seconds behind the pole sitting Porsche. Their teammates in the #10 placed fourth.

The race itself saw another great performance from Team Novadriver as they moved forward during the race. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra squad bettered their second place starting position by coming home to win yet another event. Their teammates maintained their positions and finished in fourth.

It was indeed another successful weekend for Team Novadriver in Portugal. The next round of the Supercars Portugal Series will take place at Portimao in August.   

The results from the Portuguese GT weekend can be seen HERE.

Update: Following the race a number of time penalties were given to various competitors. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra received a thirty second penalty due to an irregularity regarding the pit-stop window. The penalty has luckily not affected the outcome, as the #1 had more than a ninety second gap at the finish, thus they are still classified as the race victors. A thirty second penalty was also given to the third placed finisher, thus promoting the second Novadriver Audi into third position, after they had originally finished in fourth.

Photo credit: Team Novadriver

Portuguese GT: 1-2 victory for Novadriver Audi at Estoril

By Johan Laubscher

Team Novadriver has converted their pole position into a 1-2 race victory at Estoril. It has been a brilliant weekend for the Portuguese Audi Sport Customer Racing team, in what was the second round of the Supercars Portugal Series (Portuguese GT championship).

Qualifying provided the team with two top three starting positions. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra crew of Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen took pole position yesterday, followed by their teammates, João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião, taking third on the grid in the #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The race progressed very well for the team. The #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra held the lead after the first set of pitstops and the #1 was holding fifth. An Audi 1-2 was established after the second round of pitstops with the #1 leading the #10.

The Audi 1-2 was maintained to the end of the race as Team Novadriver celebrated a well deserved double triumph with the #1 crew taking victory.

The next round of the Supercars Portugal Series takes place alongside the International Supercars Series at Boavista in Portugal, schedule for June 29-30.

Photo credit: Supercars Series 

Portuguese GT: Pole position for Novadriver Audi R8 LMS ultra at Estoril

By Tarek Ramchani

Estoril is hosting the second round of the Supercars Portugal Series this weekend, formerly known as the Portuguese GT Championship. Team Novadriver is there with two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.

The qualifying session was held this afternoon, with great results for the Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team. The #1 Audi R8 LMS Ultra shared by César Campaniço, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen took a brilliant pole position with a time of 1.39:446. In second was the #7 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of team Sports & You with drivers Miguel Barbosa and José Pedro Fontes. The second Novadriver entry, the #10 car of drivers João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião, was third fastest with a time of 1.40:192.

The race is set for tomorrow, a 2-hour endurance event. We wish the best of luck for Team Novadriver and all their drivers.

Photo credit: Team Nova Driver

Supercars Series: Strong second for Novadriver Audi at Motorland Aragon

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Novadriver had another strong weekend with their Audi R8 LMS ultra. The Portuguese Audi Sport customer racing team took part in the season opener of the brand new Supercars International Series, which included the Supercars Portugal Series (former Portuguese GT Championship), at Motorland Aragon in Spain.

Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars entered the Spanish meeting. The #1 car of Cesar Campaniço, Carlos Viera and Mikko Eskelinen, they started from pole position. The sister #10 car shared by João Ramos, João Pedro Figueiredo and Antti Buri started from eighth place.

On race day the #1 Audi battled hard with the AF Corse Ferrari 458. After a two-hour 57-lap race the #1 R8 LMS ultra finished second behind the winning car from the Italian team. However by finishing second overall, Campaniço, Viera and Eskelinen, were victorious in the Supercars Portugal Series. Unfortunately the sister #10 R8 LMS ultra retired from the race after 17 laps.

The next stop for the Supercars Portugal Series will be at Estoril.

Photo credit: Supercars Series