Maserati Trofeo MC World Series, Silverstone, Races 2-3
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Silverstone (UK), 14 July 2013 – Renaud Kuppens,
from Konvex Motorsport, has collected the first title of the 2013 Maserati
Trofeo MC World Series. Competing at Silverstone, the prize is awarded to
the driver who tops the standings at the end of the three European rounds.
This weekend's meet comes after the rounds at Nuerburgring, Germany, and
Paul Ricard, France.
Kuppens also scooped the Trofeo Europa in 2012
and heads home with a win in the endurance race and a second place in the
Sunday morning event. His haul could have been even bigger if he hadn't
lost a wheel in Race 1, on Saturday afternoon, when in second. The
Belgian's winning margin was six seconds over Frenchman Ange Barde and
twenty-three over third-placed Simoni/Ragazzi. Fourth went to Mikkel Mac
after a certain podium position slipped away because of a drive through for
not respecting the track speed limit. Gobbo/Cola picked up the same penalty
and were also held up with a pit stop; they eventually came home sixth.
Adrien De Leener, another Belgian, did well to finish fifth.
A lot
of drivers were hit with drive throughs this weekend, especially in Race 2
where victory went to Brian Wong. This came after Cola's win was overturned
by officials. Twenty-five seconds were added to Cola's time, as it was to
Kuppens' and Mac's, for not making a drive through; the penalty had been
handed out after the drivers exceeded the track limit. The officials'
decision meant that the final race order read: Brian Wong (Swiss Team),
Cola, Kuppens, Mac, Calamia, Simoni, Bakker, Fascicolo, Waszczinski and
Segler.
Guest drivers, journalists Roberto Giordanelli and Jaime
Hernandez, do not pick up any points and ended the endurance race in
sixteenth spot.
Round 4 will be disputed at Sonoma, USA, on 25
August and will be the first event held outside Europe. From there it will
be on to Shanghai, China, and Abu Dhabi on 14 December.
Renaud
Kuppens: "It was difficult but I pulled it off: I managed to win on a
circuit that was really hard to drive, even though I was in pole. It is not
one of my favourites. For the first time this year victory came in the
endurance race, perhaps because I didn't have to spend any extra time in
the pits. The points I earned here gave me the European title, one I won
last year. I am really pleased but there is still a long way to go. We are
halfway through the season, there are still nine races left and anything
can happen. The important thing now is to stay focused and keep doing what
we are doing. The next round is at Sonoma, close to San Francisco, in the
US, and it is a track I really like".
Race 2 result
1. Wong/Cesari
31'23.050*
2. Cola/Gobbo 31'27.941
3.
Renaud Kuppens 32'28.799*
Race 3 result
1. Renaud Kuppens 50'00.592*
2. Ange
Barde 50'06.806
3. Ragazzi/Simoni 50'23.688
*Enrolled in the
Pirelli Team Cup
Overall standings
1 Renaud Kuppens
139 points
2 Mikkel Mac 99 points
3 Cola/Gobbo 83 points
The
complete standings are available at www.maseraticorse.com together with
in-depth reports, interviews and images from the Nuerburgring round in the
Maserati Trofeo MC World Series.