With his win at Nürburgring yesterday, Alberto Cerrai has almost made the Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa title his own. Hans Notter and Max Cattori are still in with a mathematical chance of the title though after they came home third, behind the VIP crew of Fabio Babini and Sabine Schmitz.

The race was a gripping one right from the start. The man in pole, Alessi, took an early lead but had Cerrai for close company. Also filing behind him was Bartels, followed by Casé, Babini, Zenere and Notter. Unfortunately for Maurizio Fabris, he went into a spin almost straight away and was forced to take up a position at the back of the field. This put paid to his chances of overall victory. Cerrai was driving conservatively and not taking unnecessary risks in attacking Alessi. He was lapping faster but opted to wait until the obligatory pit stops to make his move. Just behind the duels were up between the Vitaphone Racing Team members Bartels and Babini. Casè was also doing his best to break up the personal battle ahead of him. In the end it was Babini to have the edge and move into third spot.

Hoping to climb some placings, the Notter/Cattori pairing made a very early pit stop. It was a strategy that worked as they went on to claim a podium position. Alberto Cerrai and Sabine Schmitz (who had replaced Fabio Babini) left the pit lane simultaneously and only just avoided a collision. Cerrai overtook the tenacious German journalist and driving instructor on the old Nürburgring circuit. However, after a couple of laps he slowed and had to give way with a technical problem. As expected, the driver changes gave the classification a new look. Cattori managed to climb to third. Next came Emmanuele Smurra and Manuel Villa who had got the better of Francesco Ravasio and his model-television presenter partner, the Swiss Christina Surer. They had, in turn, overtaken Diego Alessi and Michael Bartels.

In the last two laps the race got even more exciting with Cerrai raising the tempo and catching Sabine Schmitz. He was able to get past her after she was slowed by a lapped car. Cerrai’s path to the finish line was clear.
 

Babini/Schmitz finished a fine second in the Toora VIP car ahead of Notter and Cattori. After his win, Cerrai now has 127 points in the championship. Notter and Cattori are second on 104. Twenty five points will be up for grabs at Valencia on 2 October and so the title is still undecided. However, Cerrai seems much better placed. Stanislao and Emanuele Smurra did well to come home fourth ahead of Michael Villa. In sixth came the Vitaphone VIP car with the Bartels/Surer crew on board. Then came Vescovi and Ravasio/Alessi who had also performed well.

Tung-Ho Pin, Williams’ Chinese F1 test driver, crossed the line in twelfth with his partner Matthew Marsh. Racing in a GranSport bearing the colours of the Maserati importer from Hong Kong. The crew had held eighth for long periods of the race. They came in just up on Roggero and Casè and the Pirelli VIP car with the young German crew of Kati Droste and Mario Kossmehl in the driving seat.

The occasion was a chance for the Vitaphone Racing Team to celebrate their fine win in the Spa 24 Hour and the Oschersleben race in the MC12. Alongside the driver Bartels and Babini, as well as the promising Kossmehl, three other female prospects appeared here at Nürburgring. Christina Surer, Sabine Schmitz and Kati Droste drew the attention of the paddock with their openness and driving skills in the Trofeo GranSport. Their appearance continues the trend of eleven women driver having competed in the three Trofeo Vodafone Maserati Europa series thus far.

Vitaphone Racing Team and Maserati Corse decided to donate the proceedings of the Nürburgring race to the populations in the United States affected by Hurricane Katrina.