Pergusa hosts Superstars Series title showdown

The Superstars Series title race goes to the wire in Pergusa, Sicily, for the last race of the season as the round in Indonesia was canceled. The Series is currently led by Audi’s Johan Kristoffersson, the Swede claiming both wins in Vallelunga. The newly crowned STCC champion leads by ten points over title rival Vitantonio Liuzzi, who just lost the lead to the Audi after a tough weekend at Vallelunga for the Mercedes driver.

The only other driver in with a chance of winning the title is Thomas Biagi, who goes into the last event in third, 28 points adrift. Although the BMW driver is yet to claim his first win, he could clinch his second title in the series.

Another unlucky weekend for Gianni Morbidelli saw the Audi driver slip down again in the standings. Although the former Grand Prix driver has four wins to his tally this year, the unlucky weekends of Imola, Mugello, Hungaroring and Vallelunga means that the Italian will go into the last round out of contention for the title, now that the series has been cut short by the absence of the Sentul round.

Mercedes are expected to be the quickest in the field due to the particular layout of Pergusa, as the Sicilian track is a very quick track and should favor the high top speed of the Mercedes. With the Audis in strong form, though, the RS5s could well defend themselves in the first sector of the track and use the advantage of a higher speed in the corners.

BMW has struggled all year and things are unlikely to change on this track, which is likely to penalize the low top speed of the relatively small Bavarian engine. However, Biagi’s experience could play a part in the title fight and the fact that all three BMWs race under the same Team Dinamic banner, the Audis are three separate teams working under the same tent in the paddock, and could help slipstreaming during qualifying which will be crucial for the grid.

Christian Fittipaldi is back in his Maserati for the final round and the Brazilian has raced at Pergusa in the past, unlike many of the competitors. The car is still a strong contender and it could pull a surprise on the field.

Liuzzi and the CAAL Racing team are working on the setup of the C63 AMG, as the former F1 driver explains:
“We’re working hard on the set-up configuration of our Mercedes. It should be pretty fast at Pergusa,” said Liuzzi.

Kristoffersson is worried not only for the track layout suiting the Mercedes, but also for the compensation weight his RS5 will carry following the double win at Vallelunga.
“I’ve never driven at Pergusa, but I’m studying every single bit of the track on paper in order to be ready, the Mercedes cars will be the favorites though,” said Kristoffersson.

“My RS5 will also suffer from the compensation weight for the results at Vallelunga and I will struggle to stay in the leading pack. I will try to score as many points as possible in order to keep the lead in both the Italian and International standings. It’s going to be spectacular.”