16/05/2009: Abarth 500 Trophy at Imola: Tavano in pole position

Sicilian Salvatore Tavano grabbed pole position during qualifying for the third round of the Abarth 500 Trophy at the Circuit Enzo and Dino Ferrari at Imola.  Tavano recorded a lap time of 2'09"032 and an average speed of 136.819 km/h, just six thousandths of a second ahead of Nicola Baldan.

In the second row are Alan Simoni and Francesco Iorio.

Tavano, who is currently leading the general classification of the Abarth 500 Trophy, has reaffirmed his superiority, even though the other participants in the championship are now closer than ever: the first nine drivers are enclosed in less than a second.

In the Under-23 category, the best time was obtained by Alex Campani, followed by Tobias Tauber and Simone Monforte.

The new layout of the Circuit Enzo and Dino Ferrari proved to be very spectacular for the 500 Abarth Assetto Corse, and allowed the 26 drivers in the race to express themselves on an equal footing.

On Sunday May 17, two races are scheduled: the first at 9:00 am, the second at 2:40 pm. There will be nine laps for each competition.   

Qualification Results:
1. Salvatore Tavano 2'09 "032 with an average speed of 140.826 km/h
2. Nicola Baldan +0 "006
3. Alan Simoni +0 "054
4. Francesco Iorio +0 "319
5. Emanuele Moncini +0 "668
6. Manuel Villa +0 "741
7. Alex Campani +0 "893
8. Enrico Fulgenzi +0 "927
9. Denis Babuin +0 "981
10. Andrea Rizzoli +1 "247

Loosely translated from the Italian original.