Scuderia Villorba Corse clinched a spectacular second place in race-1 of the second International GT Open round with Alessandro Balzan and Nicola Benucci on Ferrari 458. At the Estoril circuit Italian crew started from fifth on the grid with Benucci, who, making his debut on the demanding Portuguese track, did a good job in the first part of the race before entering the pits for the mandatory driver change. Balzan got back on track in sixth position starting a great comeback and showing a very good pace which also gave him the fastest lap of the race. Balzan’s storming drive allowed Villorba Corse to recover up to second position, celebrating it on the podium. Racing weekend at Estoril will host the second qualifying session and the race-2 on Sunday at 9.40 and at 12.55 respectively. The race will be broadcasted live on www.gtopen.net (clicking on WEB TV) and, live and deferred, on many TV channels throughout Europe; Motors TV, Fox Sport 2 (in Italy) and Canal+ among others.

Raimondo Amadio, Team Principal, said: “It was a nice comeback. Victory was just a lap away. Our pace and fastest lap prove team’s consistency and also that we are working in the right direction. Championship is long, however, so we must keep on taking valuable points like we did today”.