With 27 drivers on the starting grid, the inaugural round of the Trofeo Abarth 500 in Monza on Sunday was marked by a great show and plenty of fierce competition. Both races took place rainy conditions but, far from putting the drivers in any trouble, the conditions emphasized the natural qualities of the new Abarth 500 Assetto Corse racer, with duels to the hundredth of second but carried out with the most absolute correctness.

After the first two races of the inaugual championship, the leader of the Trofeo Abarth 500 classification is Manuel Villa, from Liguria, who took two podiums, winning the first race after leading virtually from the green flag before finishing third in the second race of the double-header. He is followed in the points standings by Sicily's Salvatore Tavano, fourth in the first race and the runner-up in the second. Tavano was also credited with the fastest lap of the latter race at an average speed of almost 144.989 km/h. Third place in the table is occupied by race 1 pole sitter Venetian Nicola Baldan, who had the satisfaction of winning the second race after having finished seventh in the first one.

The Abarth factory's young rally star Umberto Scandola who has had a hand in developing the 500 Abarth Assetto Corse had two busy races, he claimed the final podium slot in the first race and finished one place further down the final order in race two as he quickly got to grips with the different challenge posed by track racing. The two celebrities in action from the popular Italian TV programme Striscia la Notizia, Jimmy Ghione and Luca Cassol (better known as "Capitan Ventosa") had mixed fortunes, the former finished respectably while the latter was out after suffering damage following a collision with another competitor. The next round of the Trofeo Abarth 500 will take place at the Mugello track on May 3rd.

Classification Race 1: 1. Manuel Villa 7 laps in 17min18.987s (average speed: 140.505 kph); 2. Andrea Rizzoli + 2.973s; 3. Umberto Scandola + 3.411s; 4. Enrico Fulgenzi + 4.296s; 5. Salvatore Tavano + 5.795s; 6. Raffaele Giammaria + 8.914s; 7. Nicola Baldan + 9.380s; 8. Gianluca Giraudi + 11.142s; 9. Tobias Tauber + 15.062s; 10. Lorenzo Bontempelli + 17.634s. Fastest lap by Giraudi in 2min26.384s (average speed: 144.934 kph).

Classification Race 2: 1. Nicola Baldan 7 laps in 17min48.525s (average speed: 136.621 kph); 2. Salvatore Tavano + 2.355s; 3. Manuel Villa + 2.839s; 4. Scandola + 2.937s; 5. Andrea Rizzoli + 3.851s; 6. Raffaele Giammaria + 6.621s; 7. Lorenzo Bontempelli + 9.769s; 8. Gianluca Giraudi + 10.169s; 9. Tobias Tauber + 12.779s; 10. Davide Uboldi + 13.681s. Fastest lap by Tavano in 2min25.662s (average speed: 144.989 kph).

Classification of the Abarth 500 Trophy: 1. Manuel Villa 37 points; 2. Salvatore Tavano 33; 3. Andrea Rizzoli 32; 4. Nicola Baldan 31; 5. Raffaele Giammaria 24.