Superstars Donington: Morbidelli defeats title rival Biagi
Gianni Morbidelli and Thomas Biagi are now tied on points in the Superstars International Series, after the pair finished first and second respectively in race two at Donington Park
Biagi (Romeo Ferraris Mercedes) and Morbidelli (Audi Sport Italia RS5) started the race on the third row, both making flying starts to be first and second, Biagi leading Morbidelli, by halfway through the first lap.
While Biagi was able to hold off Morbidelli in the early stages of the race, the ex-Formula 1 driver upped the ante with 15 minutes to go.
A couple of minutes later Biagi finally caved under the pressure, running wide at the Melbourne hairpin, and giving Morbidelli a chance to get alongside down the front straight.
Despite the Audi carrying more weight than the Mercedes, Morbidelli was able to make his move stick into Redgate, and immediately set about opening a gap. Within a lap it was 0.8 seconds, and by the end of the race it was a whopping 8.5s between first and second.
While Biagi was not able to win, he was able to set the fastest lap, earning a crucial point that leaves he and Morbidelli tied on 173 points apiece with four races left.
Behind the front two, Max Mugelli led home a Dinamic BMW 3-4-5 from Giovanni Berton and Mauro Trentin.
Briton Colin Turkington made it four BMWs in a row, finishing a fine sixth in the Scuderia Giudici entry.
Tonio Liuzzi did not even make the start of the race, the ex-Red Bull Racing driver peeling into the pitlane at the end of the formation lap, his Romeo Ferraris Mercedes suffering from what the team believes to be a gearbox problem.
And he was not the only Mercedes driver to have troubles. Race one winner Luigi Ferrara looked on for another top four result, only to retire just after half-race distance with his second water pump failure of the weekend.
Results - 17 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Gianni Morbidelli Audi Italia 27m13.077s 2. Thomas Biagi Ferraris Mercedes +8.544s 3. Max Mugelli Dinamic BMW +9.322s 4. Giovanni Berton Dinamic BMW +10.916s 5. Mauro Trentin Dinamic BMW +39.145s 6. Colin Turkington Giudici BMW +49.167s 7. Roberto Papini CAAL Mercedes +49.993s 8. Domenico Schiattarella Solaris Chevrolet +1m03.231s 9. Francesco Ascani Todi BMW +1m13.322s 10. Gianni Giudici Giudici BMW +1m42.490s Retirements: Andrea Bacci CAAL Mercedes 9 laps Luigi Ferrara Roma Mercedes 7 laps Tonio Liuzzi Ferraris Mercedes 0 laps Francesco Sini Solaris Chevrolet DNS Diego Romanini MRT Lexus DNS
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