Danilo Zampaloni and Andrea Palma, at the wheel of the AF Corse-run Maserati Light, claimed the Trofeo CSAI GT3 Class Championship at Vallelunga yesterday. However the Megadrive-Racing Box Maserati MC12, shared by Matteuzzi and Perazzini, saw their GT1 title hopes dashed after becoming involved in an accident during race one.

RACE 1

It was a bitter Saturday for the Megadrive-Racing Box team at the Italian Gran Turismo championship at Vallelunga. Matteuzzi/Perazzini's Maserati MC12 had to retire in race 1 while holding first spot. With the retirement went the chances of contesting the title with Malucelli and Ramos.

At the rolling start Perazzini roared off and held onto his first place. However, at the Roma curve the MC12 had to give up first place to Morbidelli. On lap 4, benefiting from a problem with the Saleen, Perazzini retook the lead. After fifteen minutes of racing, Perazzini's advantage was around one and a half seconds. Rui Aguas in GT3 took command of proceedings, followed by Palma. Ceccato was in fourth position but after a few laps he climbed up to third. On lap 11 came the defining incident: Perazzini spun at Cimini and was run into by Belicchi. The Maserati continued slowly and stopped in the pits. Unfortunately the damage to the rear of the car was too serious for the MC12 to go on and it was pushed from the pits into parco chiuso.

The driver changes over, the situation in GT3 saw Frigerio in the lead after substituting Aguas. Second was Merzario with Zampaloni in third. Twelve laps from the end Merzario was shown the black flag for failing to stop at a stop and go. The commissioners hit him with the penalty when it was his team mate Ceccato who had clashed with La Mazza. Zampaloni thus inherited second place but he gradually lost ground and ended the race in third. Frigerio/Aguas ran out winners with the Portuguese driver collecting his sixth win of the season. He was still in with a chance of winning the Trofeo CSAI GT3 title as he had 172 points compared to the 188 of Zampolini/Palma.

RACE 2

Gabriele Matteuzzi and Piergiuseppe Perazzini finished the season on a high by claiming third place. This result put the MC12 crew on the podium overall. Zampaloni and Palma, at the wheel of the AF Corse Maserati Light, claimed the Trofeo CSAI GT3 class championship.
 

After the accident in race 1, the MC12 got off to a clean start this time. The mechanics had worked through the night to ensure the MC12 was on the grid. At the green light, Matteuzzi did not make any errors and led the pack from the very beginning. In GT3, the best of the Maserati Lights was driven by Luca Frigerio in second. He was followed by that of Merzario, who soon overtook the AF Corse driver. Benefiting from a sound strategy, Zampaloni was in fourth. After ten minutes of racing, Matteuzzi had built a 1” lead over his close pursuer while the chasing field was some seven seconds down. The race proceeded without incident until lap 10 when the safety car was called for. The yellow flag was only flown for a couple of laps and, when it went off, the duel between the MC12s at the front of the field continued.

At the halfway stage, Matteuzzi stopped in the pits to hand over to Perazzini. Unfortunately, the stop cost the Maserati crew two places. The driver change did not affect the GT3 standings. Aguas came onto the track in the AF Corse Light in second, followed by Ceccato and Palma. The Portuguese driver made up ground over the next few laps and took the lead from Caligaris. Ceccato, in the meantime, had slipped to fourth with Palma in third. Palma was intent on not committing any errors that would compromise his championship chances. Eleven minutes from the end, Palma closed in on Aguas. The race order was unchanged at the finish: Matteuzzi/Perazzini crossed the line behind Lancelotti/Cappellari and Malucelli/Ramos. With today’s results, Megadrive took second spot in the team championship. Aguas and Frigerio claimed victory in GT3 in front of the newly-crowned champions Zampaloni/Palma. Fourth were Ceccato and Merzario in the Megadrive Light.

Piergiuseppe Perazzini: "The team mechanics did an amazing job in repairing the car after yesterday’s accident. The parts arrived straight from Modena during the night and so we were able to line up on the grid. Obviously, the car was not at its very best."

Gabriele Matteuzzi: "The pit stop took longer than that of our adversaries and we slipped to third. However, we are pleased to have come second in the final team classification."