Former Formula 1 driver Oscar Larrauri overcame series leader Oscar Fineschi to claim his first Super Touring victory in almost two years in the South American Touring car Championship round at Buenos Aires, Brazil last weekend. The Alfa Romeo 156 driver took pole but lost out to teammate Osvaldo Lopez at the first corner, but was able to regain the lead when pit stops and tire changes were made. Coming out in the lead, he was then able hold off the Honda of series point leader Oscar Fineschi and take the checkered flag.

Larrauri’s win allowed him to take over second place in the point standings with 29 points, one point ahead of his Alfa teammate Lopez. He now trails Fineschi and the Honda in the series championship by 6-points, with the next round scheduled for Londrina on May 28th.

Fabrizio Giovanardi loves racing at Enna-Pergusa, for not only did his two wins this past Sunday make him the points leader of the European Super Touring Car Championship, they also extended his personal winning streak at the track to eight-straight.

Giovanardi put his Nordauto Alfa 156 into the lead in the first race ahead of first-round double winner Peter Kox’s JAS Engineering Honda Accord, with teammate Nicola Larini in third. Suffering from clutch problems, Emanuele Naspetti’s CiBiEmme BMW slipped back into sixth behind Gianluca de Lorenzi in the second Nordauto Alfa 156 and Massimo Pigoli’s privately-entered BMW. Teammate Gianni Morbidelli was faring even less well, as engine gremlins set in and he was relegated to the back of the pack.

Out front, Giovanardi pushed to build up a margin, while Naspetti soon worked his way up to fourth, leaving Pigoli embroiled in a fierce battle for sixth with Stefano Sardelli and Roberto Colciago that ended in tears when Colciago dived down the inside of Sardelli, pitching him into a spin that took Pigoli to the sidelines. Naspetti continued to progress and caught Larini on the final lap. They ran through the chicanes side by each, but Larini held onto third place by just 0.2s, with Giovanardi having just beaten Kox to victory by almost 20-times that margin.

Giovanardi then dominated the second race, helped by fighting in his wake. Kox ran second initially ahead of Colciago and Naspetti. Then, on lap 3, Naspetti dived inside Kox’s Honda at the chicane, and moved past into second place. Trying to resist the move, Kox jumped over the kerbs and put his Honda off into the tire barrier. He was able to rejoin, but had to pit for a replacement wheel, dropping him out of the points. De Lorenzi passed Colciago’s Audi for third, while Larini worked hard to get his Alfa up to sixth, having been forced to start the race from the pits.

Peter Kox has reasserted his authority on the European Super Touring Car Championship by taking pole position in qualifying at the A1 Ring. It was the JAS Honda team’s second pole of the day, Gabriele Tarquini having been fastest in qualifying for the British series round at Knockhill in the squad’s second Honda Accord.

The Nordauto Alfa 156s of Fabrizio Giovanardi and Nicola Larini were next up, while unsurprisingly the tight and twisty Austrian circuit is proving a happy hunting ground for the 4WD Audi of Roberto Colciago, who was fourth quickest.

Fabrizio Giovanardi has extended his lead in the European Super Touring Cup Championship after two extremely thrilling races around Austria’s A1 Ring. The Alfa Romeo star shared the Zeltweg victories with main title rival Peter Kox, but the Dutchman was forced out of the points in race two with clutch problems and first-lap crash damage. Kox’s clutch dramas set in at the start of race one, having taken pole the day before (see above) in his JAS Engineering Honda Accord by 0.6s. He got away fourth behind the Nordauto Alfa 156’s of Giovanardi and Nicola Larini and Roberto Colciago’s Audi A4 Quattro.

Colciago and Kox collided on the first lap at the Remus bend in an incident that sent the former down in the field before he finally retired with engine problems. Kox then jumped ahead of Larini before setting off in pursuit of Giovanardi. When he finally caught him, the two fought, allowing Larini and the BMW twins Gianni Morbidelli and Emanuele Naspetti to close the gap. Eventually, Kox took the lead on lap five, pulling away to the finish. Giovanardi, who was carrying 40kg of excess ballast, had to fight off Morbidelli and Larini to the line, while the third Alfa of Gianluca de Lorenzi passed Naspetti (carrying 30kg) for fifth.

With his clutch problems growing ever worse, Kox stuttered away at the back in race two, then clashed with Stefano Bonello in a first corner mix-up and lost six laps while having the damage repaired. Meanwhile, Giovanardi, Larini, Morbidelli and de Lorenzi formed the lead-pack with only 0.7s separating them at the start of the final lap!

Morbidelli passed Giovanardi, a collision pushing the Alfista down to third. Then Larini attacked the BMW. He dived inside but went wide, allowing Giovanardi to duck in ahead of both cars and snatch the win.

"When I clashed with Giovanardi, it damaged my car and I had to reduce my pace," said Morbidelli. "Otherwise, it was my race!"