Pigoli takes pole ahead of Larini in close qualifying
Max Pigoli has taken pole at the inaugural International Superstars Series race in Monza, as the first four places were taken by four different makes. The Italian’s Jaguar proved unbeatable for Andrea Larini’s Mercedes, who went up to second just under the chequered flag. Tomas Biagi took third for BMW, after having occupied second place for most of the last part of the session.
Rookie and former Grand Prix driver Mika Salo came fourth in his Maserati Quattroporte, only 0.007s behind Biagi. Stefano Gabellini will start from fifth position after improving just on his last effort, demoting last-minute entry Andrea Boffo down to sixth. Boffo’s team-mate at Roma Racing Team, Nico Caldarola, came seventh ahead of Gianmaria Gabbiani’s Jaguar. Francesco Sini, who had topped this morning’s first practice session, and Max Mugelli rounded off the top ten.
Just minutes into the session a large puff of smoke came out of Johan Kristofferson’s Audi RS5; The Swede managed to get back to the pits and later went back out on track, but only managed a lap which placed him fourteenth before having to stop the car at the first corner.
Disappointment for Audi continued as Gianni Morbidelli’s car failed to start; the former Superstars Champion didn’t even make it out of the garage and will have to start from the back of the grid. His Audi RS5 had already experienced problems during the second free practice session. Thomas Schlöffer emerged as the best Audi driver, just outside the top ten in eleventh.
Vitantonio Liuzzi endured a tough debut qualifying session, the former Hispania Racing Team driver stopping just before the Ascari bend and not even managing to complete a lap.
Simone Monforte’s car failed to qualify, the Lexus ISF 500 suffering from major engine issues which, according to sources close to the team, meant that the car has around 100hp less than their competitors. Monforte, whose participation was decided at the last minute, failed to meet the 110% requirements by a mere six hundredths. It remains to be seen whether the young Lexus driver will be allowed to take part in the race.
Meanwhile, Pigoli also collected the first point of the season, awarded to the poleman.
The first race will start at 11.15 (CET) and will last 25 minutes plus one lap.
