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Trofeo Maserati Middle East: Sbirrazzuoli takes the first win ever of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK at Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain International Circuit witnessed a spectacular weekend of racing with the first two races of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series taking place as the headline act of Speed Weekend.
In the first race, Monaco-based Cedric Sbirrazzuoli lead from the grid and took the chequered flag in style some 16seconds ahead of second placed Patrick Zamparini from Italy. Zamparini had been chasing hard throughout the 30-minute race, but dropped time in the later part of the session as the technical circuit took its toll on the tyres.
Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain International Circuit, took the final step on the podium after a faultless race finishing 30.409secs behind the pace-setter.
Umberto Cini, Managing Director of Maserati Middle East & Africa, was ecstatic at how well the inaugural round of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK had gone. "It was a fantastic weekend of motorsport - we couldn't have asked for anything better. The action on the track was truly heart-stopping and I must congratulate all the drivers for the professional and respectful manner they drove in both races."
The next round of the Maserati Trofeo JBF RAK series takes place at Bahrain International Circuit on January 6th-7th 2012. All the action can be followed on facebook.com/MaseratiME, live at www.maseraticorse.com or on twitter @TrofeoJBFRAK.
Trofeo Maserati Mugello
The prestigious and spectacular Tuscan circuit of Mugello has closed the eighth and final round scheduled of the Trofeo Maserati 2011.
In Race 1, the car No. 30 started from P9 on the grid, as gearbox problems had prevented Cedric Sbirrazzuoli to make a good lap time. But the young Monegasque, immediately started to push hard to catch back the lead, to finally win the first place overall.
In Race 2, however, saw Alessandro Chionna in the car, whom qualified P11 on the grid, but a mechanical problem conditioned the aerodynamics of the Maserati No. 30, and had to stop for an extra pit stop to allow the mechanical to analyze the problem.
The triumph in the Championship and the European title were celebrated in the best way... The ceremony of championship prices delivered many trophies to the young Monegasque, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli, was awarded for the best number of wins (7), pole positions (5), and the overall victory with Alessandro Chionna.
Trofeo Maserati Vallelunga
The seventh round of the Trofeo Maserati championship was taking place at the “Autodromo di Vallelunga” on the 17th and 18th September.
In addition, the two races included an obligatory stop in the pits and a restart, which made it even more exciting and thrilling fight for the title.
Race 1 was held on the afternoon of Saturday 17th and Sbirrazzuoli started from the 4th place overall and the first position of his category. Cedric Sbirrazzuoli starting with a strong and aggressive start to gain the third position before the first corner, making sure to be a protagonist of the race. Under the checkered flag, the young Monegasque gained his fourth overall victory, and sixth class, since the 2 Maserati official drivers: Andrea Bertolini and Alessandro Pierguidi, were transparent in the standings as they use a different car. This victory allowed Sbirrazzuoli to win the 2011 title, three races before the end of the championship.
In Race 2 the Maserati driven by Alessandro Chionna started from a good eighth place overall. At the checkered flag, he gained a second position in his category.
Next round will take place on the 2nd of October, on the marvelous circuit of Mugello, to celebrate the triumph of the team AF Corse with Chionna Sbirrazzuoli.
Trofeo Maserati Valencia
The sixth appointment of Maserati Trofeo 2011, took place at the famous Spanish circuit of Valencia Ricardo Tormo.
Over the weekend the expectations were not once again denied. In fact, the practices sessions and the two races saw once again the No. 30 Maserati on top. In Race 1 was Alessandro Chionna to defend the colors of the AF Corse. After having gained a good place on the grid, came a brilliant second place.
In Race 2, however, was Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, starting from the last position on grid, due to tires problems in qualifying. But the No. 30 car after the first few turns went in search of the impossible comeback, which saw Sbirrazzuoli, half of the race at the first class place.
Now with two racing week-end remained, the Team Sbirrazzuoli
Chionna maintains control of the Championship and now feels winning the European title next.
Trofeo Maserati : Donington
 On the difficult circuit of Donington Park in England, was organized, the fifth race of the Trofeo Maserati 2011.
The typical British weather has affected some of the practices and races, alternating sudden storms, strong winds and sun.
In race 1 Sbirrazzuoli was on overall pole position, after a perfect lap in qualifying. The young Monegasque maintained the lead from the beginning to the end, and thanks to a good pace, he increased his leadership lap after lap on his followers, and won his fourth race of the season.
In race two, the Maserati No. 30 driver by Chionna started in seventh position overall, and second in its category. Alessandro Chionna, succeeded in taking the lead of his class in mid-race and maintaned it until the checkered flag. The win allows the duo Sbirrazzuoli-Chionna to increase the advantage in the Team Championship. The international title of the Trofeo Maserati seems really close. But the goal is already set at the next race in Valencia, scheduled for September 4th.
Trofeo Maserati : Spa
 The legendary Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps hosted the fourth round of the prestigious Trofeo Maserati 2011. After dramatic sessions of free practice and qualifying in the Belgian rain, the sun came out on Sunday for the races.
In race 1, the car No. 30 wasdriven by Alessandro Chionna (Cédric’s team mate) who started from 10th place overall and finished 1st of his category. With a good race Chionna won the race in the category team and ended at a good 7th place of the absolute.
In Race 2, the Maserati No. 30 started from pole position overall, thanks to an amazing lap in qualifying of Cédric. At the green light, the young Monegasque snapped in front of everyone and kept the lead until the end of the 40 minutes, marked the entrance of the safety car because of violent contact between three cars. Even so Sbirrazzuoli climbed on top step of the podium. In the general ranking car No. 30 now has more than 50-point lead on his pursuers. The European title seems really close, even at mid-season. Next race July 17 at Donington, United Kingdom.
Trofeo Maserati : Hungaroring
 In front of 55,000 spectators, Norbert Kiss won the 3rd meeting of the Trofeo Maserati. Good second place, for the young Monegasque, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli.
Norbert Kiss, starting from pole, seemed to be the man to beat as the young Hungarian had set quick times from free practice on. Sbirrazzuoli’s acceleration was the only surprising factor in what was an otherwise even start.. So, Kiss was leading from Vida with Sbirrazzuoli, Bastiaans, Baldi, Durante, Piancastelli, De Castro, Ardagna and Smurra filing behind them. Sbirrazzuoli was attacking Vida with Bastiaans leading a group of five cars bunched within two seconds of each other.
On lap three, the talented Hungarian had built up a lead of more than five seconds over Vida and Sbirrazzuoli, who were close to one another. Kuppens, forced to start from the pits, was setting some interesting lap times and trying to make his way into the positions that count while Sbirrazzuoli snatched second with a fine overtaking move.
Another private battle was going on between Sbirrazzuoli and Vida, just seven tenths apart, with the Monaco driver having a few problems with his brakes. So, Kiss took the chequered flag after 21 faultless laps. Behind him came Sbirrazzuoli ,Vida, Piancastelli, De Castro, Baldi, and Ardagna.
Trofeo Maserati : Monza
 Cedric Sbirrazzuoli came out on top in this second round of the Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC. This weekend’s action took place at Monza and saw nineteen crews from seven countries competing.
The AF Corse driver from Monaco claimed an important win in the special Team classification to go with his overall victory. Behind him came David Baldi, Venezuelan Gaetano Ardagna and twenty year-old Swiss driver Andrina Gugger.
In the event, the drivers chose to go with slick tyres with the track still a bit damp from the rain that had come down during the night. The conditions explained the unusual start with the pack following the Safety Car around for the opening three laps.
Though, the young Monegasque was able to lead during the whole race, after a very nice battle with Baldi. This win allows him and his team mate, Alessandro Chionna, to lead the championship.
Trofeo Maserati : Imola
 The first round of the Trofeo Maserati took place on the famous track “Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari” of Imola, with 20 MC Trofeo cars…
Very good championship start, for the two team mates, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli and Alessandro Chionna. As a matter of fact, the young Monegasque got the second place in qualifying, and overtook the leader, Lorenzo Casè, to win the first race of the championship.
In race two, his team mate, Alessandro Chionna, concluded his race with a nice third position after a 40 minutes race.
Mugello - october 2010
 The young Monegasque, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli was invited for this last race of the Maserati Trofeo in the GT4 class. Unfortunatly the Monegasque didn’t participate to the last race of the GT Sprint championship because he was running out of budget.
Race 1: In GT4, Sbirrazzuoli pushed hard and overtook a Gardel who did not get off to the best of starts.
As usual, things were quite even between the drivers in the middle of the pack. On lap three, Machiels edged past Maggi, who was also hassled by Sbirrazzuoli in his GT4, while Gardel was seven seconds behind the monegasque.
Only a few tenths separated Maggi, Machiels and Sbirrazzuoli in midfield. Things were shaken up when Maggi spun, his mistake also putting off Sbirrazzuoli. The only one to come through unharmed was Machiels. Gardel also made the most of the incident to move back into the GT4 lead. The Monegasque started to do best lap after best lap to finally conclude the race in second position.
Race 2:
Unlike the first race, this one was full of action. Topping the thrill list was the duel between Gardel and Sbirrazzuoli, in GT4, and between Rota and Moccia in the Trofeos. Rota was in an aggressive mood and passed Moccia at Luco but could not extend into a lead over the Autosprint drive. Moccia was appearing as a guest and so would not be picking up any championship points.
Steven Goldstein was feeling the heat with Pietro Zumerle ahead of him and Gabriele Gardel and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli making the most of their less powerful but agile GT4s to put the pressure on from behind him.
Sbirrazzuoli, ended at the second place without taking any risk to touch Goldstein as he was the leader of the championship :
"We were together with Gabriele (Gardel, ed) behind Goldstein but I opted not to attack him as I knew he was going for the title while I was simply contesting a race in this series." "I would not have liked to have clipped him into the sand". "The car was excellent as ever and I really hope this series continues because its format makes it interesting and fun. The races are tough and the level of the drivers is high".
Cadei-Sbirrazzuoli, got a win and a second place in the French racing week-end.
 With just one round to the end of the 2010 season, the SUPERSTARS GTSPRINT is experiencing a top-notch duel for the championship's lead. At the Paul Ricard Circuit, the Ferrari F430 of Cadei-Sbirrazzuoli (AF Corse) and Mediani-Bonetti (Vittoria Competizioni) shared wins on the two races, as the latter kept standing in front in points, with just 1 length over their closest rivals.
Race 1: Maurizio Mediani scored his maiden win in the ROMA FORMULA FUTURO championship, as Cédric Sbirrazzuoli was touched by Daniele Perfetti and span in the first curve. However, after a fantastic come back the young Monegasque managed to finish in second position in front of Glauco Solieri (Ferrari F430). The Edil Cris racer inched in front of Daniele Perfetti's Porsche 997 (Seminole Racing Team).
Race 2: Niki Cadei was off to a commanding lead, as he held off Alessandro Bonetti and Solieri with ease by clocking some extremely fast laps. Cadei's lead got even larger when the two fellow Ferrari racers were called to serve a drive-through penalty. As a consequence, Perfetti was able to climb up to a really positive maiden podium finish, in front of Bonetti.
The next round of the SUPERSTARS GTSPRINT is set to start close to Rome, at Vallelunga, on October 9 to 10.
Race 4 Hockenheim
 After Monza, Imola, and Portimao, the dream cars of the new serie : “Superstar GT Sprint”, did one more time a great show in Germany, on the famous track of Hockenheim for the two races of 25 minutes.
Niki Cadei and Cédric Sbirrazzuoli with their Ferrari F430 GT2 prepared by the Team AF Corse; won race 1, and finished 3rd in race 2. Niki Cadei, pushed hard to maintain Maurizio Mediani at more or less 10 seconds under the finish flag. In race 2, the young Monegasque, Sbirrazzuoli, classified at the third place after leading the first part of the race. Unfortunatly, he was unfairly penalized by the marchals. Indeed Cédric Sbirrazzuoli, finished the race, 6 seconds behind the winner after having lost more or less 20 seconds for the penalty.
After the races of Hockenheim, Mediani-Bonetti are still leading the championship with 134 points, while Sbirrazzuoli-Cadei are second with 129 points.
Race Portimao
 The third racing weekend of the Superstars GT Sprint took place in Portimao. A positive week-end for the duo-Sbirrazzuoli-Cadei, thanks to a win and a third place. Indeed the young Monegasque started from 8th position after the victory in race 1 of Cadei and recovered up to the third position with the AF Corse Ferrari car. So it was a pretty good weekend for both Mediastars drivers on the track of Algarve, which allows them to get closer from the leaders Mediani-Bonetti.
In a race Cadei managed to take the lead, after a superb start of Cruz Martins, who will finally be beaten on arrival by Bonetti and Rugolo. In race 2 Sbirrazzuoli managed to stay out of problems at the first corner and then thanks to a good pace and without error, he managed to finish 3rd.
The next race of Superstars GT Sprint will take place on the Hockenheimring on 12th and 13th of June in Germany.
After the weekend of Portimao, Mediani-Bonetti are still leading with 99 points but Cadei-Sbirrazzuoli are only 5 points behind with 94 units.
Race 2 Imola 18th April
 Sbirrazzuoli and Cadei were the first to race with a 2010 F430 GT2 car in Italy. Unfortunately it was a very hard week-end for the 2 drivers, because of engines problems.
Even with these problems, the 2 drivers managed to finish two times on the podium. Indeed Niki Cadei finished second to the first race of the week-end behind Alessandro Bonetti, and the young Monegasque came third to the second race, after having started from the 7th place because of the invert grid rule.
“It was a very hard week-end for us as we didn’t know the car. We tried to finish on the podium and score points to the championship, to not loose contact with Mediani-Bonetti. We are currently 10 points behind in the championship, but it stills very long and everything can happen.”
Sbirrazzuoli-Cadei win in Monza
 Excellent start for Niki Cadei and Cédric Sbirrazzuoli. In fact Cadei won the first race of the category Superstars Gt Sprint. Niki Cadei won the first race in front of Maurizio Mediani and Michele Rugolo.
Cédric had to start from the 8th place in race 2 after the win of Niki following the reverse grid regulations. The young Monegasque driver is still managed to finish in 3rd place overall.
"For me it was a first experience at the drive of a GT2 car, and I absolutely did not want to make a mistake for the first race of the Sprint GT Championship. Unfortunately today I was not unable to find the right pace of yesterday, so I couldn’t do better than a 3rd place. But this race helped me to understand the car and I will for sure be more competitive for the next meeting in Imola. "
Cedric Sbirrazzuoli with Niki Cadei for the championship Superstars GT Sprint with AF Corse in 2010.
For the 2010 season, the Monegasque driver, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli signed for Amato Ferrari’s Team: AF Corse. He will be sharing the drive of a Ferrari F430 GT2 with Niki Cadei. The two young drivers will probably be fighting for the lead of the GT Sprint’s first edition with the most titled Italian racing Team: 24H of Spa-Francorchamps, 24H of Le Mans, FIA GT2…
The championship will begin on the 28th of March in Monza.
Here is the calendar:
Results of the 2009 season
 The 2009 season just ended, and it's time to resume the situation of Cedric. The Monegasque driver just ended a season full of satisfaction in each category in which he participated. Indeed Cedric attended the Italian GT championship with a Porsche, and the race at Spa-Francorchamps, where him and his team mate Lorenzo Case allowed the Maserati Gran Turismo MC GT4 official to finish to 2nd place in the FIA European GT4 championship race . But Cedric did not stop there since he also participated to 2 races of the FIA World Championship in GT2 in Adria and to the 24h of Spa-Francorchamps.
In the Italian championship, Cedric has done an incredible performance that allowed him to score points for 14 races of the championship. Cedric and his team mate Alberto Brambati, had led the championship for a long part of the season. A very good record for Cédric which has enabled him to mature in his sport, and show his talent as a driver after some magnificent races. In total the 2 drivers of the Team Antonelli Sport have obtained a total of 129 points, only 119 will count for the championship, due to the fact that the 2 lower performance of each driver are cancelled. Finally, a win, 2 second places and 4 third places allowed Cedric to finish 3rd overall in the championship. Cedric is now currently working for his 2010 season where he will obviously be between the protagonists.
Cedric: I'm happy with my 2009 season, in which I gained a lot of experience. The car was well prepared throughout the season by the Team Antonelli Sport, whom was always perfect. Still have some regrets for some races where we could have done better, but I think I have proved to be a consistent driver who always finish races in the first four. I am proud of the beginning of the Maserati GT4 Cup, Lorenzo and I started in the European Championship by finishing in 2nd place in the race at Spa-Francorchamps. I already work on my 2010 season, to be again as much competitive as possible. I would like to thanks my manager and all the sponsors who supported me in 2009, because without them this would not have been possible ...
Please note that Cedric just won the 6H of Vallelunga with a Renault Megane Trophy as an official driver with Valsecchi and Bartyan.
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