Morbidelli leads Audi one-two in rain

Gianni Morbidelli was unstoppable in a rain-affected first International Superstars Series race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Thanks to his Audi Sport Italia RS5′s four-wheel-drive system, Morbidelli was able to pull a gap over the field in the opening corners of the race, quickly leaving the spray of the pack behind and building an unassailable lead.

His Audi team-mate Johan Kristoffersson was able to shadow Morbidelli throughout the race, however he never looked like challenging for the win, the pair instead opting for a measured one-two.

With heavy rain falling throughout the race, overtaking was near impossible, resulting in the top six finishing as they started – the CAAL Racing pair of Tonio Liuzzi and Luigi Ferrara in third and fourth respectively, ahead of Mika Salo (Swiss Team Maserati) and Camilo Zurcher (Romeo Ferraris Mercedes).

But while most of the top six had a pretty easy ride, Zurcher had to work for his sixth place. Starting from 10th on the grid, Thomas Schoffler quickly made in-roads on the two-wheel-drive cars in the third Audi, and found himself stalking Zurcher late in the race. However, Zurcher held his nerve, forcing Schoffler to settle for seventh.

Zurcher’s team-mate Andrea Larini finished a lonely eighth, ahead of the Dinamic BMW pair of Stefano Gabellini and Thomas Biagi. For Biagi, it should have been a better result, the Italian spinning out of seventh place on lap four.

Biagi was not the only Dinamic BMW driver to have a moment in the wet. British Touring Car Championship regular and Superstars debutant Jeff Smith also spun on the fourth lap, lightly clipping the wall. Like Biagi, Smith was able to continue, finishing 13th.

Results – 9 laps:
 
Pos  Driver                Team/Car              Time/Gap
  1.  Gianni Morbidelli     Audi Italia         28m12.795s
  2.  Johan Kristoffersson  KMS Audi              + 1.269s
  3.  Tonio Liuzzi          CAAL Mercedes        + 13.938s
  4.  Luigi Ferrara         CAAL Mercedes        + 15.725s
  5.  Mika Salo             Swiss Maserati       + 17.248s
  6.  Camilo Zurcher        Romeo Mercedes       + 23.843s
  7.  Thomas Schoffler      MTM Audi             + 26.241s
  8.  Andrea Larini         Romeo Mercedes       + 36.874s
  9.  Stefano Gabellini     Dinamic BMW          + 39.064s
 10.  Thomas Biagi          Dinamic BMW          + 44.571s
 11.  Francesco Sini        Solaris Chevrolet    + 59.828s
 12.  Luca Rangoni          Romeo Mercedes     + 1m00.525s
 13.  Jeff Smith            Dinamic BMW        + 1m14.378s
 14.  Nico Caldarola        Roma Mercedes      + 1m17.121s
 15.  Domenico Ferlito      Ferlito Jaguar     + 1m34.314s
 16.  Paolo Meloni          W&D BMW            + 1m42.575s
 17.  Mauro Cesari          Swiss Maserati     + 2m03.695s
 18.  Walter Meloni         W&D BMW            + 2m31.548s
 19.  Max Pigoli            Ferlito Jaguar        + 2 laps
 

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/morbidelli-leads-audi-one-two-in-rain

Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot Patrick Gaillard Divina Galica