by Tom Letourneau
European and Racing Correspondent
Audi Nips Alfa In Both Races At Imola
Roberto Colciago and his trusty old AGS Motorsport Audi A4 Quattro won both races at Imola recently from Fabrizio Giovanardi’s Alfa 156. Colciago passed Nicola Larini shortly from the start, then went on to pass Peter Kox to take over first place to the finish in the day’s first event. Giovanardi’s NordAuto Alfa 156 followed him home in the order, taking second place from Kox, whose JAS Honda Accord had a broken anti-roll bar and came in third place. Larini’s Alfa was passed by Emanuele Naspetti’s BMW for fourth place when Larini got involved in a crash at TOSA that put him out of the event.
In the second race of the day, Naspetti gave chase and pressed Colciago hard for first place in the early stages. He tried a maneuver to pass Colciago at TOSA on the third lap, but there was a collision and the CiBiEmme BMW spun down in the order and out of the points. Giovanardi then moved up to take second spot, while Kox then passed Larini in the battle for third.
Alfas Continue To Dominate In South American Touring Car Series
Former Formula One driver Oscar Larrauri took his third win in five starts in his Quadrifoglio Corse Alfa Romeo 156 in the fifth-round event of the South American Touring Car Championship held at Santa Rosa in Argentina. Larrauri passed early leader Gustavo der Ohanessian’s Alfa 155 and then was able to hold onto to his lead through the mandatory pit stops as Ohanessian finally had to retire with a broken rear suspension. Osvaldo Lopez finished second in his Alfa, giving the Alfa duo the top two spots on the winner’s podium.
Honda's Czech Alfa at Brno and
Take over 1st!
Honda's man "Kox" has retaken a slim advantage (1-point) in the European
Super Touring Car Championship points race, thanks to his fifth victory of the season!
The fight for the European Super Touring Cup hotted up further in the Czech Republic with Dutchman Peter Kox taking a one-point advantage over Alfa Ace Fabrizio Giovanardi, with two rounds to go. Kox took his sixth pole position out of eight with his JAS Engineering Honda Accord, then led the first race from start to finish on a very damp track with everyone on wet-weather tires.
Roberto Colciago's AGS Motorsport Audi A4 Quattro took second at the start from Giovanardi's Alfa Romeo 156, which had a clash at the first corner with Slovak Andrej Studenic's Audi. Giovanardi then passed Colciago for second on lap two. Gianni Morbidelli, the outsider in the title battle, tried to follow the Alfa through, only for his CiBiEmme BMW 320i to be dumped into the gravel trap by the Audi man.
Colciago, who was given a driver warning flag (sounds like a soccer match), lost further places to Nicola Larini (Alfa) and Emanuele Naspetti (BMW). Naspetti's tires started going off, and he was overtaken by Colciago and Alfa young gun Gianluca de Lorenzi, who had qualified second but wound up slipping back in the field. De Lorenzi completed his recovery by passing Colciago for fourth position on the final lap.
The second race was much drier; however, most of the drivers opted
out to start the race on wet tires, although Kox, Giovanardi and Larini chose to fit
slicks at the front. Those three took the advantage at the start, and on the second
lap Giovanardi's Alfa passed Kox's Honda for the lead, but did so under yellow
flags. Then those that had gambled on their tire choice started to suffer. Kox
and Giovanardi slipped on down the order, while Larini twice went off onto the grass.
Colciago took the lead, but came under sustained pressure from de Lorenzi, who was seeking
his first Super Touring Car Series win. It didn't work out for the young Alfa lion,
but at least he kept the BMWs of Morbidelli and Naspetti behind him to the finish.
Kox wound up losing a further two positions on the final lap, dropping to ninth place. Then Giovanardi, fifth on the road, was given a time penalty for his yellow flag indiscretion which left him behind the Honda man in the final results and wound up costing him his lead in the Championship points battle. Morbidelli is now 34 points adrift of the series leader in the standings, and is becoming increasingly unlikely to further challenge for the series' crown.