From fourth on the grid, Cedric Leimer and Nicolas Navarro secured their first Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo victory as the series travelled to the Hungaroring, Hungary, on 21 August 2010. Two strong drives from the team-mates helped to put the Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter Suisse team on the top step of the series’ podium for the first time.
During this morning’s qualifying session it was Black Bull Swiss Racing’s Mirko Venturi who secured pole position: the Italian Pro driver set a fastest lap time of 1:50.878 to put team-mate Tommaso Maino in the #46 on the front row. Hungarian FIA World Touring Car Championship pilot Norbert Michelisz, guest driver in the #1 Automobili Lamborghini VIP entry, secured the second fastest lap time of 1:51.592.
Italian gentleman driver Ferruccio Bellini, who is currently second in the Pro-Am standings, set the third fastest lap time of 1:52.255 to line up on the second row of the grid, while Leimer was slotted alongside after team-mate Navarro set a fastest lap of 1:52.345.
As the lights went green the pack charged towards the first corner: Maino in the #46 went wide and spun, putting him back to sixth place. From eighth on the grid it was Fabio Babini in the #22 MIK Corse entry who found his way through at the start to take the lead from Michelisz’s team-mate Giorgio Sanna in the #1 Automobili Lamborghini.
As the pitlane opened Sanna and Leimer entered to hand over to Michelisz and Navarro respectively. Babini continued to lead the field, establishing a respectable gap before pitting at the last available moment. However, he was not able to get back on-track before Navarro, who passed the pit exit first to claim the lead. Navarro continued to lead for the remainder of the race with Bellini second and Venturi chasing hard in third. On the final lap Venturi passed Bellini for second, but he was unable to catch Navarro ahead in the #63, who crossed the finish line first. Venturi had to settle for second place, with Piccioli third in the #22, as he also managed to pass Bellini on the final lap.
“This is the first time we raced with this car and we have already secured a victory, so this is fantastic,” said Navarro. “The car performed perfectly. During the race we tried to push as much as we could. I would like to say thanks to Cedric and the Autovitesse team for doing a great job. I dedicate this victory to Lionel Régal, who died last week during a race in Switzerland.”
After Michelisz handed over to his team-mate Sanna, the pair were forced to retire with a technical issue.
Qualifying results
1. Venturi/Maino (#46), Black Bull Swiss Racing, 1:50.878
2. Sanna/Michelisz (#1), Automobili Lamborghini, 1:51.592
3. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport, 1:52.255
4. Leimer C./Navarro (#63), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter Suisse, 1:52.345
5. Hayek/Kox (#24), Blancpain Reiter Engineering, 1:52.361
6. Amos (#69), Touringauto, 1:52.384
7. Š?oví?ek/Charouz J. (#88), Charouz-Gravity Racing, 1:54.012
8. Babini/Piccioli (#22), MIK Corse, 1:54.374
9. Leimer H./Saurenmann (#19), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter Suisse, 1:55.212
10. Urban J./Urban M.(#77), Charouz-Gravity Racing, 1:57.058
11. Pronk (#76), Blancpain Reiter Engineering, 1:58.279
Round 13 results
1. Leimer C./Navarro (#63), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter Suisse, 41:39.350
2. Venturi/Maino (#46), Black Bull Swiss Racing, + 20.186
3. Babini/Piccioli (#22), MIK Corse, + 30.551
4. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Motorsport, + 35.898
5. Amos (#69), Touringauto, + 41.196
6. Š?oví?ek/Charouz J. (#88), Charouz-Gravity Racing, + 1:44.690
7. Pronk (#76), Blancpain Reiter Engineering, + 1 lap
Not classified
Sanna/Michelisz (#1), Automobili Lamborghini, + 5 laps
Leimer H./Saurenmann (#19), Autovitesse Garage R. Affolter Suisse, + 8 laps
Urban J./Urban M.(#77), Charouz-Gravity Racing, + 14 laps
Source: Lamborghini Super Trofeo
