29/07/2006 - Spa

Chasing the win that would set him up for the final two races, Cerrai made no mistake as he claimed the highest spot on the podium.

The Roman had to show his strength of character and he did just that, confirming along the way that he is one of the best drivers in this category. Cerrai had no option but to get into the leaders’ slipstream quickly and this is precisely what he did. The resulting race was intense and he did well to take the win.

“Yesterday I stated that my only strategy would be to attack from the first to the last lap and this is what I did. I overtook Andolfato at the end of the Kemmel straight and got the better of Demegni at Bus Stop. I was third by the end of lap one. I also decided to attack Ricci in the same spot that I got past Andolfato, this time on the outside. I then got into Fabris’ slipstream and studied him a little to see what the best point to attack him would be. I think that my overtaking him on the downhill into Pouhon would have been a surprise. From that moment on it was easy to see out the race”.

When in the lead, Cerrai had a shock when “I saw a yellow car (Van den Plas’) in my rear view mirrors that I thought was Demegni’s. I thought that I had lost the race. In order to go all out for the win, I decided to change my plans and make an early stop. It was during my stop that my brother and my mechanic told me that the driver behind me was not Andrea”.

Buoyed by this news, the way to the finish line was clear for Cerrai. Even before he pitted, he benefited when the rapid Goossens left the track. After the stops, the race went as the reigning champion hoped that it would and he cruised to the chequered flag.

“Today I wanted to win on the track, not thanks to the time I had to work off compared to Fabris and the others. I managed to do this even though there were some slight hiccups. However, I believe that today, with all respect to the other drivers, I was not an easy man to beat”.

Fabris has been warned: Cerrai is back.

L.Gi.