Diego Alessi claimed the sixth round of the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa, his first win in the single-make series.

Maurizio Fabris came second and the Swiss pairing of Notter-Cattori third, opening up the race for the title. The Roman driver is teamed this year with Francesco Ravasio (though he was absent for this race) after being paired with Edi Gay last year.

After the rain that fell during free practice, and the variable weather of qualifying, the race began in glorious sunshine. There were no problems at the start and Alessi held on to his top spot though Alliot was right on his tail after leaping a couple of places.

Behind them, Maurizio Fabris started in determined mood and overtook Jabouille, now tracked by Cerrai and Thurn Und Taxis. The German driver could express himself fully on this circuit, one on which he had performed splendidly last year in finishing third. On lap four he swept past Cerrai to take fourth.

Hans Notter, after a difficult start, found himself in eighth behind Andrea DeMegni. Up front, Fabris had taken second spot from Alliot.

On lap six, Alessi was maintaining his high tempo. His fastest lap during the race was 1:55.629, only a tenth down on his qualifying time. His speed had him 5.9 up on Fabris, 7.1 up on Alliot, 8.0 up on Jabouille and 18.2 up on Thurn Und Taxis.

After the series of obligatory pit stops, Alessi retook first place and held a slight advantage over Fabris. On the thirteenth lap race officials slapped a stop-go penalty on Alberto Cerrai after he cut across a chicane; slipped down to seventeenth after serving it.

The classification was looking good for Notter/Cattori with Cattori mounting a fine comeback to third position, tucked in behind Alessi and Fabris.

This was a phase of the race in which the VIP cars occupied the leading positions. Yvan Lebon, who had substituted Philippe Alliot, and Thierry Soave, in place of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, fought for fourth spot. Behind them came Thurn Und Taxis, Rota, Vescovi, Wilson, who had taken the place of Mountain, and DeMegni.

Cattori was trying hard to catch Fabris in the number 46 car. However, he misjudged a corner, putting paid to his chances of second. At the chequered flag the race order was unchanged and victory went to Diego Alessi.

The Roman won from Maurizio Fabris, 9.209 down, and the Notter/Cattori crew, 26:516 down. The VIP guest drivers drove brilliantly with the Alliot/Lebon pairing finishing fourth and Jabouille/Soave, fifth.

The Ermenegildo Zegna VIP car, driven by René Arnoux and Yves Bey-Rozet, had a great start but crossed the line in fourteenth place. Alberto Thurn Und Taxis, sixth, and Alberto Vescovi, eighth, also performed well.

Andrea Palma was absent on this occasion, meaning that the championship is now wide open. The final race, at Monza and the Ferrari-Maserati world finals, will decide the title. Palma still leads on 104 points with Notter/Cattori are now seven points back, and Maurizio Fabris on 79.