Photo: CSAI-ACI
Alessio Rovera converted his seventh pole position into a commanding victory in the first Formula Abarth race of the Imola weekend.
The 18-year-old rookie was consistently quicker than the rest of the field and, unchallenged for the duration of the race, ended up beating second-placed Dario Orsini by 19 seconds to the finish line.
Rovera’s victory became one of his most important wins of this season, as his main rivals, Simone Iaquinta and Michele Beretta, endured races to forget. Beretta stalled on the grid and then ended up in the gravel during his recovery drive, while Iaquinta collided with Giorgio Roda.
National Trophy leader Sergey Trofimov celebrated his second podium in Formula Abarth, as well as his fifth National race victory with his overall third-place finish.
Brazilian Lukas Moraes finished fourth, while Vitaly Larionov passed Sabino De Castro in the late stages of the race for fifth place. Iaquinta and Roda managed to finish the race in seventh and eighth respectively.
Race results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Alessio Rovera | Cram Motorsport | 30:00.759 |
| 2 | Dario Orsini | NBC Group | +19.149 |
| 3 | Sergey Trofimov | Euronova by Fortec | +31.338 |
| 4 | Lukas Moraes | Facondini | +36.575 |
| 5 | Vitaly Larionov | Euronova by Fortec | +58.108 |
| 6 | Sabino de Castro | AB Motorsport | +58.937 |
| 7 | Simone Iaquinta | GSK | +1:00.275 |
| 8 | Giorgio Roda | Cram Motorsport | +1:08.690 |
| Not classified | |||
| Michele Beretta | Euronova by Fortec | 11 Laps | |