Donno and Kirchmayr also win in wet at Spielberg

Eliseo Donno (Radicci Automobili) won the Trofeo Pirelli and Ernst Kirchmayr (Baron Motorsport) the Coppa Shell in Race-2 of round three of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe at the Spielberg circuit in Austria on a day of heavy rain that put the teams and drivers to the test. Franz Engstler (Charles Pozzi GT Racing) returned to victory in the Trofeo Pirelli Am, while Martinus Richter (MERTEL Motorsport) triumphed in the Coppa Shell Am.

Trofeo Pirelli. Eliseo Donno also emerged triumphant in Race-2 in Austria, thanks to a strong start and careful handling on asphalt wet after a morning of rain. The young Italian, who also picked up an extra point for the fastest lap in the race, edged out Bence Valint (Rossocorsa – Ferrari Budapest), who turned in the quickest time in qualifying, and Adrian Sutil (Gohm - Baron Motorsport), who bagged his first podium of the season. The former Formula 1 driver successfully held off young Thomas Fleming’s (HR Owen - FF Corse) attempts to overtake him down to the final lap. Max Mugelli (CDP - Eureka Competition) finished fifth after a tight and protracted battle with Szymon Ladniak (Gohm - Scuderia GT).

In the Trofeo Pirelli Am, too, the decisive action came at the start, with Franz Engstler taking the class lead at the first turn and holding it down to the line, despite serving a 10-second penalty for overtaking beyond the track limits. As well as his fifth win of the season, the German also claimed an additional point for the fastest lap. David Gostner (CDP – MP Racing) finished runner-up after an extraordinary ten-position comeback from last place on the grid to where he had been relegated for reaching the limit of ten penalties since the start of the season. Behind the Italian, who set the best time in the morning’s qualifying, came yesterday’s winner Hanno Laskowski (Emil Frey).

Coppa Shell. Ernst Kirchmayr repeated yesterday’s victory in a race hampered by the heavy rain that tipped down again shortly before the start, with wet asphalt and poor visibility. After a few laps behind the Safety Car, at the green flag the Austrian of Baron Motorsport maintained the lead, gained courtesy of the best time in qualifying, successfully fending off the comeback attempts of his main challengers. The Safety Car came out again halfway through after Corinna Gostner (CDP – MP Racing) went off the track harmlessly and, immediately afterwards, for a collision among the leading cars in the Am class. It accompanied the drivers to the chequered flag, with Kirchmayr arriving first after posting the fastest lap, followed by Alexander Nussbaumer (Gohm - Scuderia GT) and Willem van der Vorm (Scuderia Monte-Carlo).

In the Coppa Shell Am, Martinus Richter was first over the line, ahead of Tommy Lindroth (Baron Motorsport), who finished a step higher than on Saturday, and Giuseppe Ramelli (Rossocorsa - Pellin Racing), third, who set the best lap time in the race. A collision between Motohiko Isozaki (Cornes Motors Shiba) and leader Kirk Baerwaldt (Kessel Racing) at the restart after a Safety Car cost the Japanese driver a 25-second penalty, demoting him to tenth place overall. Starting from pole, the Singaporean driver finished thirteenth.

Standings. In the Trofeo Pirelli, Eliseo Donno stretched his lead in the overall standings to 31 points over Thomas Fleming and 34 over Max Mugelli. Bence Valint is fourth, 42 points adrift, gaining ground thanks to two second places at Spielberg. In the Trofeo Pirelli Am, Franz Engstler tops the standings ahead of Hanno Laskowski, 27 points behind, and Nicolò Rosi (Kessel Racing) 54 points back, who did not take part in Austria.

In the Coppa Shell, Axel Sartingen (Lueg Sportivo – Herter Racing) still leads the standings with 81 points. Behind him, his rivals are bunched up closely, with Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing) 37 points off the summit, Willem van der Vorm at 38, Manuela Gostner (CDP – MP Racing) at 39 and Alexander Nussbaumer at 41. In the Coppa Shell Am, despite today’s unfortunate outing, Kirk Baerwaldt still tops the overall standings with a 12-point lead over Motohiko Isozaki and 18 over Giuseppe Ramelli.

Next round. Round four of the Prancing Horse one-make series will run over the weekend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race of races, celebrating the centenary of its first edition in 1923. The Ferrari Challenge will take to the Circuit de La Sarthe track from 7 to 10 June: on Saturday morning, the entrants will compete in a race before the start of the famous endurance event.