Photo: Superstars

Imola next stop for the Superstars Series

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The Superstars Series heads to Imola, the second-to-last race of the season. Thomas Biagi and Gianni Morbidelli share the lead of the championship, tied on 173 points, and this weekend could decide much of the fate of this title.

Biagi and his Mercedes were the only package which was able to keep up with Gianni Morbidelli, who had a relatively slow start and failed to step on the top of the podium for the the opening three events, leaving the door open to early claims that Mercedes would be dominant this year.

But after that, Audi’s Morbidelli had an impressive run of five wins out of the last six, and pushed himself straight into the battle for the championship. The former Grand Prix driver has never won a race in Imola, his home track, and is determined to break the curse despite 30 kilos of success ballast – the same amount Luigi Ferrara and Biagi will carry – and Liuzzi having a ballast-free car.

With the top two drivers tied up on points, the attention will surely be focused on them, but it would be a mistake to completely rule out of contention the outsiders, BMW’s Giovanni Berton, 37 points shy of the lead, followed closely by Biagi’s team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi, a further four points adrift. Roma Racing Team’s Luigi Ferrara has a 60 points gap to close, but will surely be one of the protagonists in the closing two races of the season.

More ingredients are promising an exciting show for this weekend’s Superstars Series double header. The entry list features several threats to the front runners, especially with the addition of Luca Rangoni in a Roma Racing Team Mercedes C63 AMG Sedan, which will be added to the existing one-car effort for Luigi Ferrara.

BMW may play its part as well, due to the nature of the track, which might not penalize the now aging M3 E92 too much. Giovanni Berton, who will carry a 20-kilo handicap, is determined to get to Vallelunga, the last race of the season, still in with a shot at the title. Max Mugelli, his team-mate, has shown great form in the last few events and could play a role in ‘stealing’ points from Berton’s opponents, despite a 10-kilo success ballast to carry after his podium in Donington.

Qualifying will take place at 17.05 CET on Saturday.