Gostner, fine return. Jansen makes it four

A winning comeback for Thomas Gostner in the Ferrari Challenge Europe. The driver from Bolzano dominated the Coppa Shell thanks to a performance which highlighted a great experience and maturity in the Prancing Horse single-marque series. The Ineco driver – MP Racing crossed the finish-line ahead of Tani Hanna (Formula Racing) and John Farano (Rossocorsa), whose return to the series has been a decidedly positive one. In a race marked by numerous events, which included the entrance of the Safety Car on lap six after Giuseppe Ramelli (Rossocorsa – Pellin Racing) had spun off, Gostner kept his pursuers firmly in check, fending off well the attacks staged by an aggressive Fons Scheltema. The driver in Kessel Racing machinery, after having conquered second spot, saw his chances thwarted after going wide twice consecutively which dropped him down the order to fourth place. The Dutchman capitalised on a fine battle between Hanna and Farano to enter the fray for the podium, but finished just four tenths-of-a-second short of the pair. Christian Kinch (Gohm Motorsport) and Guy Fawe (Scuderia FMA) filled out the top six. The fine return of Andreas Segler (Rossocorsa – Pellin Racing) should be pointed out, who had held sixth for long stretches before being betrayed by a puncture which forced him off track at the Rivazza curve. Despite a race that had been compromised by early contact with Ernst Kirkmayr (Baron Motorsport) - subsequently sanctioned with a drive-through for a jump-start - Corinna Gostner nevertheless claimed the fastest lap at 1:47.279 on the 16^th time around. In the Coppa Shell Am, Henrik Jansen (Formula Racing) made it onto the highest step of the podium for the fourth time this season ahead of Agata Smolka (Rossocorsa) and Alexander Nussbaumer (Scuderia Gohm). The race experienced two distinct phases marked by the deployment of the Safety Car. In the first, Smolka commanded the group ahead of Jansen and Mattsson, while in the second, the driver from Formula Racing took up the baton to cross the line 5”085 ahead of the speedy Pole and 16”4 ahead of Alexander Nussbaumer. A tough race, with a ninth place finish for Laurent De Meeus (HR Owen) who fell foul of a couple of unlucky incidents, including spinning off, which reduced the margin in the standings. The race, which hampered by the added challenge from the scorching heat, saw the top six rounded out by Henrik Kamstrup (Forza Racing), “Alex Fox” (Modena Motors – SLR) and Miroslav Vyboh (Scuderia Praha).