Fabio Babini dominates "Pirelli Champions Cup" once more

The stars of the track have dominated the action again throughout the second running of the Pirelli Champions Cup, which took place this afternoon at the 32nd Bologna Motor Show. In a repeat of last year's result, Fabio Babini came home ahead of Alex Caffi at the end of a hard-fought final, while rally driver Luca Betti had the measure of bike rider Gianluca Nannelli for the final place on the podium.

Having started off cautiously during the first heat with the Mitsubishi, Babini then beat Caffi in the Maserati during their second encounter. He said: "I'm obviously delighted to have won the Pirelli Champions Cup for the second time running, beating an ex-Formula 1 driver as talented as Alex Caffi. The weather conditions, which were very cold and wet, made life only slightly harder as I was able to rely on the PZero rain tyres when it was necessary. I'm even more happy to have won because it is a fantastic way to celebrate Pirelli's 100 years in motor sport."

Pirelli's Rally Manager Mario Isola underlined the success of the philosophy behind the Pirelli Champions Cup. "Thanks to the knock-out formula that we have chosen, there's a high level of suspense and excitement for everybody involved - also thanks to the presence of some top drivers and riders," he said. "It makes an excellent prelude to next weekend's Memorial Bettega Rally event and to the now imminent 2008 season - which will see Pirelli as the exclusive tyre supplier to the World Rally Championship and the spectacular Grand Am Championship in North America.
Going back to this weekend's Pirelli Champions Cup, I'd like to congratulate in particular the rally driver Luca Betti - who was also very good in the Maserati racing car - and especially Gianluca Nannelli, who quickly adapted to racing on four wheels instead of two."