Audi Sport Italia Press Release
At Imola Audi drivers forced to shelf Italian
Gran Turismo hopes after woeful Sunday
Tussles hinder Capello-Sonvico in 4th GT3 meeting; Kristoffersson-Frassineti felled by gearbox electronics gremlins
In late July, Imola had staged Audi Sport Italia's
maiden season win, courtesy of Dindo Capello and Andrea Sonvico who had
squeezed everything from their N. 4 R8 LMS ultra on a weekend that
was otherwise friendly to Ferraris. This time out-- after the domestic
body had clipped wings to Ferrari's engines--it was BMW turn to shine, posting
a 1-2 in race one and Michela Cerruti's second career win in race two. As the
female driver was celebrating, though, Sonvico was heading for race
control to talk about his close encounters with Giuseppe Ciro's Ferrari --
which triggered a black-and-white flag -- and a late-race dice with race
one winner Stefano Colombo. The second fight wound up with Capello's
team mate being levied a 25-second penalty which was added to his final P5. On
his 29th birthday, Sonvico had also rolled the dice in race one, as in the
opening lap his R8 LMS ultra and Giorgio Sanna's Gallardo went dancing and
spinning in the middle of Turn 1. A broken suspension required a quick part
replacement, therefore Sonvico and Capello had to make do with a lowly
ninth place, 6 laps adrift of Colombo-Comandini's winning Z4.
Unlike N. 4--which had suffered massive
handling problems on Saturday--Audi Sport Italia's N.5 had qualified on a solid
row 2. Johan Kristoffersson and Alex Frassineti were poised to make a statement
today, but the lightining struck them even before the green lights were
flashed, as warming up the car the crew came to realize that the gearbox
electronics management was failing. The staff rushed to put the Swede back
on track, but the best they could do for him was putting him in
the pit lane with a firing engine. Kristoffersson bravely took the
challenge resuming the race, but shifting gears without software support proved
an uphill batte. Moreover, as soon as he handed the wheel to Frassineti,
the Rome-based driver realized that the race was putting a lot of strain on the
unit, which surrendered for good with one minute to go, at least leaving
the R8 LMS ultra pair safe in their P7. The crew replaced the gearbox between
races, but the electronics trouble did not give any hint of improvement, and in
order to avoid further damage to another gearbox and possibly to the engine the
N.5 car did not start race two.
Imola's lowly outcome means that the 2013
Italian Gran Turismo "war" is all but lost for the Audi line-up,
as the leading Porsche drivers Vito Postiglione and Luigi Lucchini can now
boast nearly twice as much points as the best Audi pair Capello-Sonvico--
currently 12th in the tables--; therefore in the remaining four
rounds the R8 LMS ultra drivers will be able to focus on winning...
"battles".
Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo
Imola, September 1
race one
1. Stefano Colombo-Stefano Comandini (BMW) 28 laps
50'35.060 avg speed 163.037 kph
2. Michela Cerruti (BMW) +3.025s
3. Giuseppe Ciro'-Gabriele Lancieri (Ferrari)
+18.194s
../..
7. JOHAN KRISTOFFERSSON/ALEX FRASSINETI (AUDI R8
LMS ULTRA) - 1 lap
../..
9. ANDREA SONVICO-DINDO CAPELLO (AUDI R8 LMS ULTRA)
- 6 laps
Imola, September 1
race two
1. Michela Cerruti (BMW) 28 laps 50'57.666 avg
speed 161.832 kph
2. Tommaso Maino-Mirko Venturi (Ferrari) +13.402s
3. Luigi Lucchini-Vito Postiglione (Porsche)
+14.311s
../..
5. ANDREA SONVICO-DINDO CAPELLO (AUDI R8 LMS ULTRA)
+54.240s
../..
DNS
JOHAN KRISTOFFERSSON/ALEX FRASSINETI (AUDI R8 LMS ULTRA)Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia
