Toni Vilander
and Giambattista Giannoccaro, at the wheel of the Playteam
Sara Free Maserati MC12, were yesterday crowned champions in
the GT1 class of the Italian Gran Turismo championship with
a race to spare. The team headed by Rocco Verduci scored a
fine one-two in Tuscany. In both races the runners-up were
Luca Cappellari and Piergiuseppe Perazzini in the other
Maserati MC12 entry, this time fielded by Racing Box. With
yesterday's result, Luca Cappellari moves into second place
overall.
RACE 1
At the start, Vilander was quick to stretch into a lead.
Perazzini, starting from third, tried hard to overtake
Casé's Ferrari 575 GTC and he continued to push his Racing
Box MC12 hard over the early laps. Up front Vilander was
setting an exceptional pace and was the fastest on the track
by some two seconds. The duel between Perazzini and Casé was
an exciting one. On lap 5 the Racing Box driver picked his
moment to launch himself into second.
The laps ticked by and Toni Vilander increased his advantage
notably. He also set the fastest lap of 1’50”549 at an
average of 170.802 km/h, one that would remain unbeaten.
After twenty minutes of racing, the Finn held a 23" lead
over Casé. At the halfway point the first Maserati driver to
pit was Perazzini who handed over to Luca Cappellari; a few
minutes later Giambattista Giannoccaro substituted Vilander.
Twenty minutes from the chequered flag, the Maseratis were
coasting up front with the Playteam Sara Free MC12 enjoying
a 40" lead. Cappellari, in turn, had a 15 second cushion
over Loris Kessel. The race concluded without major incident
and Giannoccaro took the win from Luca Cappellari.
Toni
Vilander: "I tried to start well and the only
inconvenience during my stint was the debris on the track. I
raced at a high tempo but didn't want to push too hard. This
is our third win at Mugello and it is one of my favourite
circuits."
Giambattista Giannoccaro: "The car was repaired
brilliantly by the team after the crash in the FIA GT two
weeks ago. Despite having very little time for repairs, the
components proved very reliable."
Piergiuseppe Perazzini: "I was caught behind Casé
early on and this meant that I lost some time. When I
finally managed to get past, Vilander had pulled away. There
was some vibration out there, probably due to the debris
that had stuck to the tyres."
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In both races at Mugello the runners-up were Luca
Cappellari and Piergiuseppe Perazzini in the other
Maserati MC12 entry, this time the car fielded by
Racing Box. With yesterday's race result, Luca
Cappellari moves into second place overall.
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Toni Vilander and Giambattista Giannoccaro, at the
wheel of the Playteam Sara Free Maserati MC12, were
yesterday crowned champions in the GT1 class of the
Italian Gran Turismo championship with a race to
spare. |
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Luca Cappellari: "A positive result. Understeer hindered
my race and we were not able to eliminate it completely in
free practice."
RACE 2
Cappellari was alone on the front row as a technical problem
forced Giannoccaro to start from the pit lane. Cappellari
sped off at the start, pursued by Loris Kessel in the
Ferrari. Kessel managed to get past the Maserati driver on
lap two after the San Donato braking point. Meanwhile,
Giannoccaro was making a fightback and was up to fifth after
six laps and third after ten. Cappellari was forcing the
pace and closed in on Kessel: on lap 11 the Racing Box
Maserati moved into the lead on the main straight. However,
Kessel did not lie down and newly took top spot. Shortly
after, Kessel, Cappellari and Giannoccaro came into the
pits, almost at the same time, for the driver change.
The Racing Box team made the quickest stop and Perazzini
took the lead followed by Casé's Ferrari and the Maserati
from Playteam Sara Free with Toni Vilander on board. The
Finn proved to be quick right away and sneaked past Casé at
San Donato and now had Perazzini's car in his sights. A
first attack on the subsequent lap was unsuccessful but
Vilander tried again at Materassi and this time he claimed
first place. The driver from Finland was focused throughout
and set a fastest lap of 1’51”348 at an average of 169.576
km/h. In the closing stages Vilander increased his lead and
secured the third one-two of the season for Playteam Sara
Free, beating off Perazzini's MC12.
Giambattista
Giannoccaro: "Great satisfaction for the championship
win. I had an uphill race all the way and this makes the
result all the more special."
Toni Vilander: "I would like, first of all, to thank
my team for the hard work they have put in this year.
Winning the Italian title was a group effort. In race two
the car was again spot on and this allowed me to make up
time lost at the start. I had fun battling with Perazzini."
Luca Cappellari: "After a long break, Mugello was a
useful test ahead of the last round at Vallelunga. There I
hope to cement my place in the overall classification."
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