The fourth round in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series is underway at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France. This is a significant weekend in Maserati’s single-make series as it is the last European round and will see the European title awarded. Three crews and six drivers are still in with a shout: Renaud Kuppens (Konvex Motorsport), Sernagiotto /Fascicolo, Simoni/Ragazzi and Andrea Dromedari (Swiss Team – racing with Max Pigoli, but with fewer points than his team mate).
The championship’s top drivers starred in today’s qualifying as overall leader Kuppens responded with pole for Race 2 (2:15.744) after Sernagiotto’s 2:15.501 had sealed session one. The Belgian is still favourite for the title thanks to his holding a 20 point lead over the Sernagiotto/Fascicolo crew and having taken second in the first qualifying session.
In Race 1 qualifying, the other grid spots were taken by Max Pigoli (third in 2:15.717), and Frenchman Ange Barde (2:15.877); Barde took the European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli four years running, from 2003 to 2006. On row three will be Monaco-based driver Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, from AF Corse and teamed with Alessandro Chionna, just ahead of another title pretender, Alan Simoni.
The second session saw Kuppens top the timesheet, beating Riccardo Romagnoli (2:16.391) and Dromedari (Swiss Team, 2:16.594) into second and third. Dromedari is still in with a mathematical chance even though he is 35 points down. Ange Barde (2:16.827) picked up another fourth spot, Riccardo Ragazzi finished fifth and Giuseppe Fascicolo (Sernagiotto’s partner) came home eighth (2:17.969) after opting to drive with a temperature.
In the No. 33 – a no points-scoring car reserved to guests – will be Christian Gebhardt, the German journalist from Auto Sport magazine who posted ninth in 2:18.445. His team mate, Japanese journalist Shinichi Katsura, writes for Genroq and stopped the clock at 2:19.665 to finish seventeenth.
Race 1 is timed for tomorrow morning, Sunday 22 July, from 12.35 to 12.55. Race 2 will be held 16.55-17.35.
Giorgio Sernagiotto: “Three pole positions out of four is pretty good going. This time my fast lap was a bit harder to pull off. I honestly thought I would have had a bigger lead after the twenty-minute session but this can’t take the shine off it. I think that tomorrow it will be tough. I will have to keep an eye on the tyres and drive intelligently, keeping cool in the early stages. I think Kuppens, with his lead, has the edge in the race for the European title. Having said this, we will be doing all we can to make life difficult for him”.
Renaud Kuppens (Konvex Motorsport): “I settled into a rhythm right from free practice and, thanks to the second spot in this morning’s qualifying, I will start on the front row in Race 1. Paul Ricard is a fascinating circuit where the ‘European Trofeo’ winner will be crowned. As things stand, I am the favourite as I am leading the overall classification and hold a big lead over the rest of the field. Still, anything can happen in racing and so I will be trying to do my best”.
Tomorrow, Sunday 22 July, Radio Monte Carlo will broadcast the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series results from Paul Ricard as part of its Music & Sports programme.
Qualifying 1
1. Giorgio Sernagiotto/Giuseppe Fascicolo 2:15.501
2. Konvex Motorsport – Renaud Kuppens 2:15.606*
3. Swiss Team – Andrea Dromedari/Max Pigoli 2:15.717 *
Qualifying 2
1. Konvex Motorsport – Renaud Kuppens 2:15.744 *
2. Riccardo Romagnoli 2:16.391
3. Swiss Team – Andrea Dromedari/Max Pigoli 2:16.594 *