Debut win for Sutil in Trofeo Pirelli. Ziemian triumphs in Coppa Shell at Paul Ricard

Day one of racing at Paul Ricard for round two of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe -now in its 30th year - with the on-track presence of the historic F355 Challenge, the second car in the chronology of the Prancing Horse single-marque series also featuring in the celebrations. The Trofeo Pirelli win went to former-Formula 1 driver Adrian Sutil (Gohm Motorsport), making his series debut, while Frenchman Ange Barde (SF Côte d'Azur Cannes -IB FAST) came out on top in Am class. In Coppa Shell, Roman Ziemian (FML - D2P) claimed his maiden win in the European championship, with Joakim Olander (Scuderia Autoropa) first in the Am class.

Trofeo Pirelli. After thirty drama-filled minutes, it was Adrian Sutil who seized the Race 1 win, fending off overtaking attempts in the final stages from a combative John Wartique, who missed out on first place by just 391 milliseconds. The decisive race moment occurred with five minutes to go, when Doriane Pin (Scuderia Niki - Iron Lynx), who had so far been able to withstand the aggressive start from the experienced ex-Formula 1 driver and edge away at the head of the field, was forced to come back to the pit with a puncture. Pin had to settle for the partial consolation of the fastest lap with a 2:05.249 marker. On the third step of the podium was Finn Luka Nurmi (Formula Racing).

Compelling battles also in the Am class, with Christian Brunsborg (Formula Racing) trying to pull a surprise on Ange Barde at the start. However, the transalpine driver held onto the lead to eventually seal the triumph, claiming the fastest lap in the process, for a third win on the spin in an extraordinary season start. The young Danish driver managed to fend off assaults from a bellicose Arno Dahlmeyer (Scuderia Niki - Iron Lynx), who left Italian Nicolò Rosi (Kessel Racing) just 543 milliseconds shy of the podium.

Coppa Shell. After a vibrant, hard-fought race, Roman Ziemian clinched a maiden season victory. The Polish driver, starting from pole position, grittily and skillfully fended off his pursuers’ attacks and, after a white-knuckle final lap, was able to cross the finish line ahead of Franz Engstler (Scuderia GT) by just 258 milliseconds. No less hard-fought was the battle for the third step of the podium which saw Axel Sartingen (Lueg Sportivo - Herter Racing) prevail in the end, able to contain a great comeback from Manuela Gostner (CDP - MP Racing), who produced some spectacular overtakes, first on Johnny Laursen (Formula Racing) and later on Ernst Kirchmayr (Baron Motorsport), also claiming the fastest lap in of 2:07.729.

The other Coppa Shell Am race might have seemed slightly more subdued, witnessing an authoritative performance from victor Joakim Olander. The Scuderia Autoropa flag- bearer – who also notched up the fastest lap – held onto the top position from the start,coming under siege mid-race from Alexander Nussbaumer’s (Gohm Motorsport) attempted pull-back who had to eventually settle for a nonetheless noteworthy second position. With an effort beginning at the race start, Martinus Richter (MERTEL Motorsport Racing) climbed nine positions to post a valuable third place final finish.

Programme. Tomorrow, Sunday 15th May, will see a repeat performance at the Paul Ricard circuit, with timed practice getting underway at 09:00, the start of the second Coppa Shell race scheduled for 13.30 and the Trofeo Pirelli at 16.00.