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Andrea Larini wins action packed second race at Vallelunga

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Andrea Larini took his second Superstars Series career win in Vallelunga, on his debut with the Audi Sport Italia RS 5. The Italian was able to fend off a late attack from Race 1 winner Giovanni Berton’s BMW, while Francesco Sini was able to score a podium finish, putting his Chevrolet Camaro in third at the finish line.

At the start the Chevrolets led the way, with Sini and Domenico Schiattarella ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Romeo Ferraris Mercedes and Andrea Larini. The Audi driver was quick to move up to second behind Sini, whilst pole sitter Mauro Trentin slipped down the order.

Gianni Morbidelli’s RS 5 entertained the crowd as he made his way to the lead from seventh on the grid. The newly-crowned 2013 Superstars Series champion, now free from any championship pressure, was able to get up to third in just four laps, with dramatic passes on Schiattarella and Liuzzi.

By the sixth lap, Sini, Larini and Morbidelli were in the top three positions. Larini pulled off a spectacular and rather aggressive move on Sini, locking his wheels under braking at the Tornantino and eventually managing to jump into the lead without even scratching his rival’s Camaro. Morbidelli was close behind, however, and able to overtake the pair in the same corner.

The former Formula One driver then slowed with a mechanical problem and dropped down the order. This left the way open for Andrea Larini, followed by Sini, still challenging Larini to try and grab the first win for the Camaro.

The closing stage of the race saw Race 1 winner Giovanni Berton coming up the order due to his BMW’s better tyre management. The Italian exploited a mistake from Liuzzi to claim third, and later passed Sini under braking on the outside at Cimini. The BMW driver had a brief shot at passing Larini, but ran out of time.

Larini won the race ahead of Berton and Sini, and a struggling Liuzzi. Max Mugelli’s BMW was fifth with Thomas Biagi’s Mercedes sixth.

Morbidelli finished in seventh despite his technical issue, which forced him to stop his RS 5 right after the finish line. Pole sitter Mauro Trentin finished in eighth, with Francesco Ascani’s BMW M3 E92 and Mario Buscemi’s ageing BMW 550i completing the top ten.

Morbidelli has won the championship with 232 points to his name. Berton’s strong showing in Vallelunga meant he finished a surprise second in the championship, just one point ahead of Liuzzi and a further point ahead of Biagi.

Morbidelli collected his 2013 Superstars Series Champion trophy on the podium at the end of Race 2.