Brno Superstars: Berton secures first win as Liuzzi crashes
Giovanni Berton took his first Superstars International Series race win in the second encounter in Brno, a race in which title contender Tonio Liuzzi crashed out in dramatic fashion
Berton took BMW's first win in more than a season in commanding style, charging his way from sixth on the grid to the lead within half a lap.
Once in front, he made sure he stayed there, even surviving a mid-race safety car - sparked by a crash between 'Diabolik' and Max Mugelli - to take a 2.3-second win.
Berton's winning margin was somewhat flattered by a potentially title-changing shunt in the last 10 minutes of the race.
While squabbling over second place immediately following the restart, Francesco Sini and championship favourite Liuzzi tangled, the contact ending their races on the spot.
With Liuzzi and Sini out of the way, Gianni Morbidelli and Thomas Biagi were free to stage a huge battle for second place.
The scrap went down to the last corner, Morbidelli managing to hold on to second, while Biagi extended his championship lead with third.
With a host of high-profile retirements, which included Fabrizio Giovanardi with damage and Luigi Ferrara with mechanical problems, Andrea Bacci was a surprising fourth place in the CAAL Racing Mercedes.
Even more surprising was debutant Edoardo Piscopo, who finished fifth in his RGA Sportmanship BMW.
Christian Klien was sixth, a fine recovery after he was forced to start on the seventh row of the grid after retiring from race one.
Results - 12 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Giovanni Berton Dinamic BMW 27m55.360s 2. Gianni Morbidelli Audi Italia + 2.323s 3. Thomas Biagi Ferraris Mercedes + 3.089s 4. Andrea Bacci CAAL Mercedes + 16.864 5. Edoardo Piscopo RGA BMW + 17.202s 6. Christian Klien Giudici BMW + 18.614s 7. Mauro Trentin Dinamic BMW + 26.492s 8. Roberto Benedetti RC Cadillac + 28.737s 9. Andrea Larini Ferlito Jaguar + 3 laps 10. Luigi Ferrara Roma Mercedes + 6 laps 11. Francesco Sini Solaris Chevrolet + 6 laps Retirements: Tonio Liuzzi Ferraris Mercedes 5 laps 'Diabolik' Ferlito Jaguar 2 laps Max Mugelli Dinamic BMW 2 laps Fabrizio Giovanardi Petri Porsche 2 laps Ferdinando Geri Audi Italia 2 laps
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