Imola report and results

Porsche-Pirelli-SuperCup - 1st Round at the GP of San Marino, Imola (I) -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Fight for Victory Decided in the Last Corner

Imola. The fight for victory in the first round of the Porsche-Pirelli- SuperCup 1997 was only decided in the ninth and last lap, when Patrick Huisman (Manthey Racing) from the Netherlands fought off an attack from Patrick Simon (D, Oberbayern Motorsport) in the last corner before the finish. Huisman, however, was meted out a ten second penalty by the race director for his asservative manoeuvre, relegating the Dutchman to third behind winner Patrick Simon and Dominique Dupuy (DDO) from France. The veteran and double champion of the French Carrera Cup (1992, 1993) performed perfectly under difficult race conditions. At the start the circuit was wet but dried out during the race.

Oliver Mathai (D, Walker Gillet - Manthey Racing) was less lucky. The pole-setter led the race in the opening laps but dropped back after a spin and finished seventh. Jean-Pierre Malcher (F,Oberbayern Motorsport), who also started from the front row, retired in the first lap after pirouetting.

Horst Farnbacher (D, Zepter Racing - Farnbacher Racing) and his

compatriot Harald Grohs (D, Manthey Racing) gave spectators a stunning show with Farnbacher finally finishing fourth ahead of Grohs. Bruno Corradi (I, MAC Racing) achieved sixth in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Loris Capirossi, double motorcycle world champion, came out on top in a duel with the second RTL-VIP driver, Gianni Giudici, triple Italian touring car champion. Capirossi came home 14th, shadowed by Giudici in 15th place.

Race result (top 15)

Pos     Driver/Nat              Team                            Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1      P. Simon/D              Oberbayern Motorsport      20:48.059
 2      D. Dupuy/F              DDO                          + 1.027
 3      P. Huisman/NL           Manthey Racing                 3.568
 4      H. Farnbacher/D         Zepter Racing - Farnbacher     5.578
 5      H. Grohs/D              Manthey Racing                 7.816
 6      B. Corradi/I            MAC Racing                     8.018
 7      O. Mathai/D             Walker Gillet - Manthey Racing 8.555
 8      A. Kulundzic/D          Zepter Racing - Farnbacher    10.464
 9      L. Rozentvaig/NL        BL Sports                     15.167
10      P. Belmondo/F           Gosselin Competition          18.904
11      M. Schoonbro/NL         Oberbayern Motorsport         20.601
12      T. Oosterbosch/NL       Farnbacher Motorsport         28.030
13      G. Muller/D             Farnbacher Motorsport         29.342
14      L. Capirossi/I          Porsche AG                    40.487
15      G. Giudici/I            Porsche AG                    44.474

Drivers' standings (top 10)

Pos     Driver          Pts
---------------------------
 1      Simon            24
 2      Dupuy            18
 3      Huisman          16
 4      Farnbacher       14
 5      Grohs            12
 6      Corradi          10
        Mathai           10
 8      Kulundzic         8
 9      Rozentvaig        7
10      Belmondo          6