28/10/14

ESTORIL AUTOGP: KISS WINS RACE 1, MICHIMI TAKES DEBUT WIN IN RACE 2

Race 1: Tamas Pal Kiss (Virtuosi UK) wins and clinches runner-up spot.
Tamas Pal Kiss, driving for Virtuosi UK, cruised to a flag-to-flag win today at Estoril, in Race 1 of the Auto GP 2014 finale. The Hungarian racer, who had also scored two points yesterday by taking the pole, mathematically clinched second place in standings. In addition to that, Virtuosi UK was able to reduce its gap from Super Nova in the team's standings to just 7 points also thanks to a 5th place by Andrea Roda. Anyway, the operation managed by the Sears family brought two cars onto the podium with 2013 Auto GP champion Vittorio Ghirelli and with Markus Pommer, who was slowed by gear selection issues right from the first laps. Antonio Pizzonia (Zele Racing) ended up in fourth place after clocking the fastest lap of the race and holding second place with a nice attack.

The race was interrupted right after the start due to a service car entering the track and requiring an immediate stop. Then after the re-start, a contact between Luis Sa Silva (Zele Racing) and Francesco Dracone (Super Nova) forced the Italian to retire. No more drama happened later except for a drive-through assessed to Shinya Michimi (Euronova Racing) for speeding in pit-lane.

Race 2: Shinya Michimi (Euronova) takes maiden Auto GP win. Super Nova secures Teams' title.
The 2014 Auto GP championship provided its last few verdicts today at Estoril. Super Nova managed to secure the Teams' championship as they eventually succeeded in keeping Virtuosi UK at bay in Race 2. At the end of the day, victory went to Shinya Michimi (Euronova Racing). The Japanese racer, at his third appearance of the year, cruised to his first win in front of rookie Luis Sa Silva (Zele Racing). Running under the Angolan banner, Sa Silva had never raced on a powerful and tricky car like the Auto GP one before but ended up in front of his team-mate Antonio Pizzonia.

Race 1 winner Tamas Pal Kiss, running for Virtuosi UK, fought back to fourth place after taking-off from the 8th spot on the grid and was followed by Super Nova's Markus Pommer. The German clinched third place in standings in front of Andrea Roda, who ended the race in 8th place behind Michele La Rosa (MLR71) also Francesco Dracone (Super Nova). Salvatore De Plano (FMS) entered the points zone in 9th, while Vittorio Ghirelli (Super Nova) had to retire after losing his front wing on the track. With 399 points, Super Nova has scored their third straight title.

All Photos Auto GP.