BABINI AND ROSSETTO LEAD THE WAY AT SPA
Team Petri Corse’s Fabio Babini and Claudio Rossetto will start round seven of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series from pole position following a dominant display at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on 23 July 2009. On a drying circuit after heavy rain this morning, Babini set a fastest time of 2:28.437 on his fourth lap.
Peter Kox and Marc A. Hayek will start alongside in the #24 Reiter Engineering Super Trofeo despite having their early fastest laps disallowed for taking to the run-off area at the exit of Raidillon. Following the penalty, Kox charged and set a clean lap in the final minutes of his session to secure second place.
Lamborghini München Team Holzer’s Maximilian Götz and Achim Winter, second fastest in this morning’s wet practice session, were less than two tenths of a second behind Kox and Hayek, and will start from third.
Having set pole, Babini is confident that he and Rossetto will be celebrating success: “I like Spa a lot, as it is long with many different corners, some fast, some slow. I know it very well as I have competed here many times. The Super Trofeo race car is very fast and we set a good time.
“We have different drivers to race against this weekend, and some are running really well. With a complex track like this, the gap between me and Claudio [Rossetto] is bigger, so tomorrow’s strategy is very important,” added Babini.
Lamborghini’s Director of Brand and Design, Manfred Fitzgerald, said
“Spa-Francorchamps is definitely a very challenging track, both for amateurs and for professionals who haven’t raced here before, which makes for interesting racing.
“With the four-wheel drive, the Super Trofeo is prepared for the unpredictable weather conditions at Spa, and as we saw in free practice this morning, the car is able to cope well.”
Qualifying results – provisional
1. Babini/Rossetto (#22), Petri Corse
2:28.437
2. Kox/Hayek (#24), Reiter Engineering
2:28.785
3. Götz/Winter (#9), Lamborghini München Team Holzer
2:28.957
4. Frei/Cochet (#11), Autovitesse
2:29.750
5. Dijkstra/Van de Zwaan (#16), Schoolmaster
2:30.529
6. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport
2:31.450
7. Janiš/Charouz (#77), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
2:31.987
8. Amaduzzi/Amos (#69), Bonaldi Motorsport
2:32.361
9. Sanna/Eckhardt (#1), Automobili Lamborghini
2:32.757
10. Galand/Schrick (#2), Automobili Lamborghini
2:33.200
11. Bartocci/Maddalena (#6), Petri Corse
2:33.697
12. Hommerson/Machiels (#88), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
2:34.416
13. C. Leimer/H. Leimer (#63), Autovitesse
2:35.466
14. Bassetti/De Plano (#66), Petri Corse
2:43.772
Source: Lamborghini Super Trofeo
