A jubilant Ceccon (second from left) with Crestani, Carroll and Haryanto after the race - Photo Credit: Auto GP
Adam Carroll scored a dominant first win in Auto GP in the final race of the season at Mugello, while seventh place for Kevin Ceccon was enough to give the young Italian the title.
Campos Racing driver Carroll made a good getaway from pole position and remained unchallenged over the 13 lap race. Rio Haryanto took second place at the start as Sergey Afanasiev ruined his title chances by stalling from third, and hampered Ceccon in the process. Ceccon was starting just behind the Russian from fifth, but fell to eighth as he had to avoid Afanasiev's car.
Ceccon's main title rival Luca Filippi meanwhile took advantage to jump from seventh to fifth. He then passed Fabio Onidi for fourth but that would be as far as he would get, unable to pass Fabrizio Crestani.
This meant that eighth would have been enough for Ceccon to take the title, but he made sure by taking seventh from Giovanni Venturini.
“Winning the title was an incredible emotion, I think that I still have to realize what I did,” said Ceccon. “After taking the lead in Oschersleben I dreamed about this moment, but living it is incredible because I had such strong opponents. Today the race was particularly tense, because I knew I had to keep an eye on Luca and Sergei.
“Before the race I asked the team to give info just from the pit wall, and some very basic ones: my championship position, laps remaining, and where Filippi and Afanasiev were placed. So I knew everything about the situation, and at the start it wasn't looking too good. Then I managed to pass Venturini and Crestani kept Luca behind: winning by just three points makes the emotion even bigger, now I just want to celebrate.”
Carroll was pleased with his race victory, as he completed a double win for the Campos squad after Adrien Tambay's win on Saturday.
“It's a great win and it's what I needed at the end of the season,” said the Northern Irishman. “For me it's a great feeling because due to my long period without racing commitments my last time on the high podium step was in 2009.
“The race wasn't easy as it seemed, because Rio was pushing hard behind me, but I had a great car and so I could manage the gap without worrying too much. I have to say thanks to Adrian Campos for giving me this chance, I hope he will be happy after such a weekend.”
Race 2 results – 13 laps:
1 Adam Carroll Campos Racing 20:58.731
2 Rio Haryanto Dams +4.777
3 Fabrizio Crestani Lazarus +7.027
4 Luca Filippi Supernova +8.210
5 Fabio Onidi Lazarus +11.967
6 Adrien Tambay Campos Racing +14.362
7 Kevin Ceccon Ombra Racing +17.903
8 Samuele Buttarelli TP Formula +18.310
9 Giovanni Venturini Griffitz Durango +26.024
10 Pasquale Di Sabatino TP Formula +27.238
11 Francesco Dracone Ombra Racing +45.411
12 Michele La Rosa Ombra Racing +1’19.123
13 Sergei Afanasiev Dams +1 Lap
14 Giuseppe Cipriani Griffitz Durango +12 Laps
Drivers Standings: 1. Ceccon 130; 2. Filippi 127; 3. Afanasiev 117; 4. Tambay 114; 5. Onidi 99; 6. Crestani 92; 7. Haryanto 82; 8. Buttarelli 81; 9. Venturini 76; 10. Carroll 64.
