Team Petrie Corse drivers' Fabio Babini and Claudio Rossetto secured the first ever win of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series, the world's fastest one-make series, which made its debut at the Adria International Raceway, Italy, on Saturday.

Team Petrie Corse drivers' Fabio Babini and Claudio Rossetto secured the first ever win of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series, the world's fastest one-make series, which made its debut at the Adria International Raceway, Italy, on Saturday.

The Team Petri Corse drivers' started their weekend perfectly by securing pole position. Babini and Rossette set a time of 1:16.621 on Lap 4 of the 30-minute qualifying session. The Italian duo had been strong in free practice, but improved their time by nine-tenths of a second to take the first spot on the grid. “The car was really good,” said Babini after the qualifying run. “We changed the set-up slightly after free practice and it worked well. Everything was good, the car was really fast, and I am happy that we set our fastest lap so early in the first outing. It has been a fantastic day for the team and for Lamborghini.”

Team-mate Rossette said: “It’s my first time back in a race car for three years, so it was a great opportunity to get back onto the track. I am very happy with the result, and tomorrow we will just have to push to stay ahead.”

Taking their place alongside Petri Corse would be Bonaldi Racing’s Gianluigi Picciolo and Davide Amaduzzi. The Italian theme continued with Giorgio Sanna securing third position for team Automobili Lamborghini, with Lamborghini München Team Holzer’s Uwe Alzen and Achim Winter completing the second row of the grid, posting their fastest lap with less the four minutes left on the clock. Blancpain President and CEO, Marc A. Hayek, and team-mate Peter Kox improved their times throughout the session to post a lap of 1:17.149, whilst Marco Apicella and Carlo Basetti completed the top six.

“It has been an outstanding day for Lamborghini,” said Director of Brand and Design, Manfred Fitzgerald. “We have a fantastic array of talented drivers on the grid, demonstrating the speed and style of the Super Trofeo; we expect a very hotly contested first race meeting.”

At the green light for the first race of the series Babini and Rossetto were were passed by Sanna on the second lap. Having secured 12th on the grid, Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe’s Albert von Thurn und Taxis had a strong start, improving his position to third place by the end of the second lap, before passing Rossetto for second place. After the mandatory pit-stop for driver changes, Sanna continued to lead the field, with Babini/Rossetto in second place. Erik Janiš of Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe, currently in fourth closed in on brother Jarek Janiš in the #77, passing him on Lap 19 for third place. On the penultimate lap, Babini overtook Sanna for the lead, followed by E. Janiš and J. Janiš, who secured second and third places respectively.

“The car was really quick and we started from a great position,” said Babini. “It’s a hard track, and our victory came from the strength of Claudio’s first stint.” Team-mate Rossetto said: “Not having competed in three years, the race was very emotional for me. We were in a fantastic situation, and think the team did a great job.”

“I extremely happy to see the series come to fruition,” said Stephan Winkelmann, Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO. “The team at Lamborghini has done a terrific job, and I’m very pleased that the competing teams have chosen to support the Super Trofeo project. I’m looking forward to a very exciting season!”

Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo - Race 1, Adria

1. Babini/Rossetto (#22), Petri Corse
2. Janiš/Scheublein (#88), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
3. Thurn und Taxis/Janiš (#77), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
4. Giorgio Sanna (#1), Automobili Lamborghini
5. Piccioli/Amaduzzi (#69), Bonaldi Racing
6. Ferruccio Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Racing
7. Frei/Cochet (#11), Autovitesse
8. Hayek/Kox (#24), Reiter Engineering