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The
third round of the Trofeo Abarth 500 took place
this weekend at on Imola's newly renovated "Autodromo
Enzo e Dino Ferrari". A total of 26 drivers
entered, all challenging for honours at the
wheel of identical-specification Abarth 500
Assetto Corse racers.
After the first
four races – two held at Monza and two at Mugello – Sicily's
Salvatore Tavano led the standings thanks to his two
outstanding wins obtained at the demanding track of Tuscany.
Liguria's Manuel Villa stood second after winning the first
race at Monza and always achieving high finishing positions
in the other races. Only one point adrift of Villa, Emilia's
Andrea Rizzoli was third, just one point ahead of Venitian
Nicola Baldan, winner of the second race at Monza.
The first four
races had definitely been spectacular thanks to the
performances of the Abarth 500 Assetto Corse racers which
are fitted with a 190bhp engine combined to racing brakes
and the settings of a real racing car, allowing a top speed
of 220kph. Thanks to its driveability and its performance
attributes, the car has proven to be an excellent training
tool for the young - some very young - drivers who have
chosen this one-make championship open to 15-year old
drivers who spent time at the Scuola Federale (Federal
School). Among the ones to emerge are Friuli's Simone
Monforte and Venitian Patrick Gobbo while Trentino's Tobias
Tauber leads the standings in the Under-23 category.
Qualifying saw
the Trofeo Abarth 500 points leader, Tavano, continue to
lead the way as he raced his way to pole position, just
0.006 seconds ahead of Baldan. The second row was equally as
close: Alan Simomi qualified 0.054 seconds off the pole time
while Francesco Iorio was just 0.319 seconds adrift. Alex
Campani led out the Under-23 runners in seventh place while
emphasising the equality of the series the fastest nine
drivers were all covered by less than one second.
Come race day
and Tavano was never headed. Able to control proceedings
from the front he dashed to two race victories and was
joined on the podium in both races by Iorio and Baldan, with
the pair swapping positions in the second race after a lot
of tussling for advantage. Tavano,
who drove for the factory supported N.Technology Alfa
Romeo team in the FIA World Touring Car Championship
three years ago, had already claimed to wins in the last
round of the Trofeo Abarth 500 at Mugello earlier this month
as well as a second place finish behind the wheel of his 190 bhp
Abarth 500 Assetto Corse racer during the opening round of
the series, held at Monza back in March. Sunday's result
means he has four wins and one runner up finish from the six
races held so far, and has won the last four races consecutively.
It all means that Tavano (120 points) has opened up a very
comfortable 26 point advantage over Nicola Baldan (94
points) who has consistently finished on the podium,
including one win in Monza, to keep Tavano in sight. Third
goes to another solid finisher, Manuel Villa (79 points) who
is the only other driver apart from Tavano and Baldan to
have won a race so far this year. Meanwhile, with two eighth
place finishes to his name at Imola this weekend, Campagni
has wrested back the lead in the Under-23 category.
Trofeo Abarth
500, Rd 3 Imola - Race 1: 1. Salvatore Tavano, 9 lpas in
19’31”258 at an average speed of 135,796 km; 2. Francesco
Iorio +1”280; 3. Nicola Baldan +4”050; 4. Alan Simoni
+7”769; 5. Emanuele Moncini +8”115; 6. Denis Babuin +14”145;
7. Manuel Villa +18”766; 8. Alex Campani +29”236; 9. Andrea
Rizzoli +32”742; 10. Tobias Tauber +33”290; 11. Alberto
Sabbatini +34”337; 12. Gianpiero Cristoni +34”564; 13.
Simone Monforte +35”906; 14. Franco Cimarelli +36”342; 15.
Gabriele Larini +44”175; 16. Severino Nardozzi +46”794; 17.
Patrich Gobbo +51”984; 18. “Jolly” +53”861; 19. Alessandro
Frigerio +1’05”350; 20. Giovanni Ciraso +1’10”504; 21. Paolo
Scudieri +1’15”097; 22. Andrea Carboni +1’53”536.
Trofeo Abarth
500, Rd 3 Imola - Race 2: 1. Salvatore Tavano, 9 laps in
10’35”594 at an average speed of 135,295 km; 2. Nicola
Baldan +3”067; 3. Francesco Iorio +3”564; 4. Emanuele
Moncini +8”907; 5. Alan Simoni +8”466; 6. Manuel Villa
+8”968; 7. Denis Babuin +10”481; 8. Alex Campani +11”110; 9.
Andrea Rizzoli +19”329; 10. Enrico Fulgenzi +19”845; 11.
Davide Uboldi +20”271; 12. Franco Cimarelli +25”758; 13.
Alessandro Frigerio +29”272; 14. Alberto Sabbatini +35”219;
15. Carlo Casillo +36”318; 16. Simone Monforte +41”365; 17.
Patrich Gobbo +45”624; 18. Gabriele Larini +46”494; 19.
Gianpiero Cristoni +51”949; 20. Andrea Carboni +54”847; 21.
Severino Nardozi +55”427; 22. Paolo Scudieri +1’11”931; 23.
Giovanni Ciraso +1’11”931; 24. Tobias Tauber a 1 giro.
Trofeo Abarth
500 Championship Positions (after 3 rounds and 6 races):
1. Salvatore Tavano punti 120; 2. Nicola Baldan 94; 3.
Manuel Villa 79; 4. Andrea Rizzoli 68; 5. Raffaele Giammaria
56; 6. Emanuele Moncini 44; 7. Denis Babuin 39; 8. Francesco
Iorio 38; 9. Alex Campani 28; 10. Alan Simoni 26.
Trofeo Abarth
500 Championship Under-23 Positions (after 3 rounds and 6
races):
1. Alex Campani 116; 2. Tobias Tauber 103; 3. Simone
Monforte 92; 4. Gabriele Larini 56; 5. Patrich Gobbo 52;
Enrico Fulgenzi 39.
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