a007apl Lamborghini News: 2009

Italian race team Petri Corse secured three victories at the inaugural race weekend of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series at Adria International Raceway, Italy, on 16 May 2009. Fifteen Super Trofeo race cars took to the track to contest in the world’s fastest one-make series.

Qualifying
Friday’s 30-minute qualifying session saw Fabio Babini and Claudio Rossetto secure pole position for the first race of the season with a fastest lap of 1:16.621. Alongside them on the front row of the grid was Bonaldi Racing’s Gianluigi Piccioli and Davide Amaduzzi, having qualified with a time of 1:16.768. Lamborghini München Team Holzer completed the top three with drivers Uwe Alzen and Achim Winter, who set a fastest lap of 1:17.075 in the closing minutes of the session.

Round One
Team Automobili Lamborghini’s Giorgio Sanna passed Babini and Rossetto’s car for the lead on the second lap, creating a gap from the pursuing drivers. Albert von Thurn und Taxis of Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe had a strong start to move him up to third from 12th on the grid.

After the driver change, Babini passed von Thurn und Taxis’ team-mate Jarek Janiš for second place before closing the gap between himself and leader Sanna. On the penultimate lap, Sanna fell back to fourth place. Babini passed Sanna for the win, Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe’s Erik Janiš and Michael Scheublein claimed second place, with Jerek Janiš and von Thurn und Taxis completing the top three.

Round Two
Having won the first race, Babini started from pole for Round Two, creating a good lead in the first stint and allowing his team-mate Rossetto to focus on consistency and maintain their position in the second half of the race. Autovitesse’s Alexander Frei and Jonathan Cochet claimed second place, having started seventh, whilst Peter Kox and team-mate Marc A. Hayek finished third.

Round Three
Babini and Rossetto completed their weekend with a third victory, despite several lead changes during the course of the 35-minute race. A late safety car period, deployed for Lechner Racing’s spinning Maximillian Werndel, brought together the field, allowing Babini to climb from third place to the lead. Erik Janiš and Michael Schaublein crossed the finish line in second place, with von Thurn und Taxis and Jerek Janiš completing the top three.

“It has been a really fantastic weekend for us,” said Babini. “We have a great set-up and the car is very quick. The safety car restart in Round Three was very exciting; any of the top four drivers could have won. I know the track well, so I had an advantage at the start of the day, but all the other drivers have got faster very quickly, so it was a very exciting weekend!”

Team-mate Claudio Rossetto said, “This is my first race for a few years, so am very pleased with the result. The team did a fantastic job to put us in such a good position throughout the weekend.”

The next Super Trofeo race weekend takes place at Norisring, Germany, on 26-28 June 2009, supporting Europe’s most popular touring car series, DTM.

Qualifying Results
1. Babini/Rossetto (#22), Petri Corse, 1:16.621
2. Piccioli/Amaduzzi (#69), Bonaldi Racing, 1:16.768
3. Sanna (#1), Automobili Lamborghini, 1:17.075
4. Alzen/Winter (#9), Lamborghini München Team Holzer, 1:17.091
5. Hayek/Kox (#24), Reiter Engineering, 1:17.149
6. Apicella/Basetti (#12), Petri Corse, 1:17.396
7. Frei/Cochet (#11), Autovitesse, 1:17.580
8. Fasanetto/Moccia (#2), Automobili Lamborghini, 1:17.707
9. Janiš/Scheublein (#88 ), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe, 1:17.821
10. Dijkstra/van de Zwaan (#16), Schoolmaster, 1:17.910
11. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Racing, 1:17.994
12. Von Thurn Und Taxis/Janiš (#77), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe, 1:18.307
= Morley/Werndel (#55), Lechner Racing, 1:18.307
14. Leimer/Leimer (#63), Autovitesse, 1:19.181

Race One Results
1. Babini/Rossetto (#22), Petri Corse
2. Janiš/Scheublein (#88 ), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
3. Von Thurn und Taxis/Janiš (#77), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
4. Sanna (#1), Automobili Lamborghini
5. Piccioli/Amaduzzi (#69), Bonaldi Racing
6. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Racing
7. Frei/Cochet (#11), Autovitesse
8. Hayek/Kox (#24), Reiter Engineering
9. Leimer/Leimer (#63), Autovitesse
10. Grassi/Gardelli (#111), Petri Corse
11. Apicella/Basetti (#12), Petri Corse
12. Alzen/Winter (#9), Lamborghini München Team Holzer
Not classified
Morley/Werndel (#55), Lechner Racing
Dijkstra/van de Zwaan (#16), Schoolmaster

Race Two Results
1. Babini/Rossetto (#22), Petri Corse
2. Frei/Cochet (#11), Autovitesse
3. Hayek/Kox (#24), Reiter Engineering
4. Von Thurn und Taxis/Janiš (#77), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
5. Sanna (#1), Automobili Lamborghini
6. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Racing
7. Piccioli/Amaduzzi (#69), Bonaldi Racing
8. Fasanetto/Moccia (#2), Automobili Lamborghini
9. Janiš/Scheublein (#88 ), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
10. Alzen/Winter (#9), Lamborghini München Team Holzer
11. Morley/Werndel (#55), Lechner Racing
12. Dijkstra/van de Zwaan (#16), Schoolmaster
13. Apicella/Basetti (#12), Petri Corse
14. Leimer/Leimer (#63), Autovitesse
15. Grassi/Gardelli (#111), Petri Corse

Race Three Results
1. Babini/Rossetto (#22), Petri Corse
2. Janiš/Scheublein (#88 ), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
3. Von Thurn und Taxis/Janiš (#77), Lamborghini Racing Eastern Europe
4. Hayek/Kox (#24), Reiter Engineering
5. Frei/Cochet (#11), Autovitesse
6. Fasanetto/Moccia (#2), Automobili Lamborghini
7. Bellini (#3), Bonaldi Racing
8. Grassi/Gardelli (#111), Petri Corse
9. Leimer/Leimer (#63), Autovitesse
10. Apicella/Basetti (#12), Petri Corse
11. Alzen/Winter (#9), Lamborghini München Team Holzer
12. Piccioli/Amaduzzi (#69), Bonaldi Racing
13. Sanna (#1), Automobili Lamborghini
14. Morley/Werndel (#55), Lechner Racing
Not classified
Dijkstra/van de Zwaan (#16), Schoolmaster

Notes to editors

The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series began in May 2009 featuring the Lamborghini Super Trofeo: a lightweight version of the Gallardo LP 560-4. The Super Trofeo comes with a reworked chassis and a power output of 419 kW (570 hp) from its V10, ‘Iniezione Diretta Stratificata’ engine. The race car features Lamborghini’s permanent four-wheel drive, making the Super Trofeo the only one-make, all-wheel-drive motorsport series.

Formed in 1735, luxury Swiss watchmaker Blancpain is the series’ title sponsor. The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo will run over six European race weekends, alongside other prestigious series such as the FIA GT Championship, DTM and the British F3 and GT Championships. Either one or two drivers per car can register for the series, comprising of free practice and a qualifying session, and three 40-minute races during the race weekend.

A Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. anunciou que o Grupo Via Itália será a loja franqueada da marca no Brasil, sendo a primeira da América do Sul, a inalguração será em agosto deste ano,onde o Grupo Via Itália vai abrir oficialmente as portas do novo showroom na avenida Europa, juntando-se às outras 122 concessionárias ao redor do mundo.

“A inclusão da América do Sul dá continuidade à estratégia de expansão da Lamborghini no sentido de ampliar ainda mais a rede internacional da marca,” afirma Stephan Winkelmann, Presidente e CEO da empresa. A Lamborghini e o Grupo Via Itália continuarão desenvolvendo as especificações técnicas necessárias com o objetivo de adaptar os carros à diferente composição do combustível brasileiro. O espaço projeta a venda de 12 unidades até o final de 2009 e antecipa um crescimento para 20 unidades em 2010.

A Lamborghini São Paulo terá equipe de vendas e de serviços dedicados exclusivamente à marca e a estrutura de pós-vendas, serviço técnico e estoque de peças originais estará localizado nas imediações da Vila Leopoldina.