Maserati Series Racing at the Virginia International Raceway: A win for Giuseppe Fascicolo

Fascicolo's first Maserati Trofeo World Series win
Monti stretches his lead

Alton (Us), 22 August 2015 – Giuseppe Fascicolo has secured his first ever victory in the Maserati Trofeo World Series. The Treviso-born driver claimed the second race in the fourth round of the Maserati-run series being held at the Virginia International Raceway in the USA.

Fascicolo eventually came out on top in a race full of incident with cars often careering off the track; the safety car was called for three times. Second across the line was Romain Monti who, thanks to his win in Friday's Race 1 and despite carrying 50kg extra weight, increased his overall lead over Riccardo Ragazzi (who finished sixth). The advantage is now 46 points. Taking third was another Italian, Alessandro Iazzetti, as he claimed his best ever Maserati Trofeo finish. He made the most of his starting second spot, given that the Race 1 finishing order had been inverted for the second event. Iazzetti even held the lead for a few laps before being caught by Fascicolo on lap 13.

Carlo Curti slid to fourth after a lap 11 clash with Tom Long. The American came off worse and his puncture saw him pull out after lining up on pole. Fifth went to Patrick Byrne, who finished just ahead of Ragazzi. The Italian was in the running for a podium slot until a tussle with Long saw him edge onto the grass. In seventh came Andreas Segler, ahead of Jeffrey Courtney, Barrie Baxter and Gianmarco Raimondo (with Chase livery, sponsored by Chase Auto Finance). Freddie Hunt, son of 1976 F1 world champion, James, came in eleventh. The Englishman got off to a fine start and was in fourth by lap 2 before being overtaken by Long. He lost more ground when he shot off the track and, in trying to climb back through the field, collided with Adrien De Leener, forcing the Belgian out and resulting in the officials summoning the safety car for the second time. Hunt was slapped with a drive-through.

The third time the race was suspended was on lap 9 so that Mauro Trentin's car could be towed away after contact with Richard Denny that cost the Australian 25 seconds.

Round 5 in the Maserati Trofeo World Series will be on 25 October at Suzuka, Japan. Before leaving America, a few GTS-spec GranTurismo MCs will compete in the closing Pirelli World Challenge event. This will be held at Laguna Seca, USA, on 13 September.

”It's incredible”, declared Giuseppe Fascicolo. ”I have finally crossed the line first. It is a win that comes at the end of a marvellous race with lots of attacks. I just missed out on the podium in Race 1 and so I really wanted this victory. There was a lot going on out there today and I did well to steer clear of it. When I was in second I attacked at the right time, making the most of my rival's indecision to strike. I was quick over the final laps and was conscious that my first Maserati Trofeo win was there for the taking...”

Highlights of the VIR races can be seen on Motors TV across Europe from 5 September. In Italy, they can be viewed on Odeon 24, channel 177, and on Rete Economy, Sky channel 512, from 13 September. In North America, www.torque.com will broadcast the race package.

Race 2 result:
1 Giuseppe Fascicolo – 42:19.900
2 Romain Monti – 42:20.743
3 Alessandro Iazzetti – 42:21.316

Overall classification
1 Romain Monti p. 121
2 Riccardo Ragazzi p. 75
3 Lino Curti p. 54