Fabrizio Giovanardi and Alfa Romeo are the European Touring Car Champions, although it was Roberto Colciago and Gianni Morbidelli who won the final races of the season at the Novo Mesto course in Slovenia. Colciago took advantage of the slippery conditions to take his first ESTC pole in his AGS Motorsport Audi A4 Quattro. Teammate Fabrizio de Simone wasn’t so lucky, emerging unscathed from a wrecked car after hitting a concrete wall and landing on his roof.

Title contenders coming into the final event Peter Kox (JAS Honda Accord) and Giovanardi in the Nordauto Alfa Romeo 156 were only eighth and ninth on the starting grid. The slow airfield track didn’t suit the Honda, while the "Alfista" unfortunately went in the wrong direction with the Alfa’s setup.

Giovanardi’s Championship-winning Alfa 156 at Slovenia

As the first race began, Kox was punted into teammate Gabriele Tarquini, the Dutchman claiming that championship rival Giovanardi was the culprit. As Colciago disappeared into the distance on the damp track, the BMWs of Emanuele Naspetti battled for second position. On lap eight, they tangled; Naspetti was hardly delayed, Morbidelli spun, and Alfa’s Larini moved in to take over third. Naspetti slowed in the closing stages with a puncture, promoting Larini to second. Just behind, Gianluca de Lorenzi in the third Nordauto Alfa Romeo moved over to let teammate Giovanardi through into fourth place, thereby allowing the latter to clinch the Championship Title.

Kox was well down the field in ninth position after clashing with Morbidelli. Most drivers switched to dry tires for the day’s second race, although Morbidelli, de Lorenzi, Honda "Ringer" David Leslie (who was brought in just for this event to try to prevent Alfa and Giovanardi from capturing the title) stayed on wet’s as did BMW privateer Massimo Pigoli. Colciago would have been fine on his slicks, but his gearbox gave up the ghost on lap 16 and de Lorenzi inherited the lead, closely followed by Morbidelli. Then, on lap 19, de Lorenzi hit the tires at the chicane and Morbidelli vaulted into the lead. De Lorenzi was able to salvage second, while Pigoli overdid it on the penultimate lap and dropped out of his hard-fought-for third position. Leslie had to brake in avoidance, and that wound up giving the final podium position to Larini’s Alfa. It was just as well that the Championship had already been decided, as Giovanardi was hit by teammate de Lorenzi and had to recover from last place to a tenth place, while Kox struggled home in eighth.

Could this be the beginning of something really good, worldwide, for Alfa in different countries’ Touring car Championships? Just after winning the European Driver’s and Manufacturer’s Touring car Championship (see above) comes word that Alfa is close to nailing down its second major worldwide championship, this time in the South America SUD-AM Super Touring Championship. This news comes as Diego Menendez overcame monsoon conditions at the tricky Rosario Argentina Circuit this past Sunday, scoring a lights-to-flag victory, ahead of renewed series leader, Oscar Larrauri.

Menendez, driving a Proas Motorsport BMW 320i in only his third race this season, started from the pole and led the entire 13-car field into the first corner. Larrauri gave chase, but was unable to ever find a gap to make a pass. Behind the Alfa 156 ace, Gustavo Der Ohanessian and Daniel Belli slugged it out for third place, followed by Caserta and series newcomer (and nephew of Oscar) Leonel Larrauri. Toward the end of the race, he left the track, bringing out the safety car, and promoting Osvaldo Lopez into sixth position. Larrauri senior’s runner-up spot handed him and Alfa the Championship lead, with his teammate Lopez now in second place with two races remaining in the season.