Petr Fulín wins in Imola, but Kris Richard takes the title on countback

Petr Fulín won the second race of the day at the Imola circuit in Italy, but his championship rival Kris Richard has won the ETCC Super 2000 Trophy title after the Honda driver tied for points with Fulín after finishing second, with the title decided on countback of the most second place finishes.

Fabio Mota started from pole in the LEMA Racing SEAT León, while Fulín made a good getaway from fifth on the grid and quickly worked his way forward in the Krenek-run SEAT León.

The Czech then overtook the Zengo SEAT of Norbert Nagy at Tamburello on lap two, before passing Mota for the the lead at Villeneuve.

Richard meanwhile had a nightmare start, as he was blocked by Fulín’s team-mate Christjohannes Schrieber and was forced onto the grass, losing several positions.

The Swiss was quickly able to recover, and worked his way through the TCN2 class field to be up to third behind his Rikli Honda team-mate Aku Pellinen by the end of lap three, with both his Rikli Honda team-mates letting him through without challenge.

A crash at Piratella on lap four between the Rikli Honda of Claudio Truffer and the the ASK LEIN Racing SEAT of Race 1 winner Igor Stefanovski meant there was an early safety car.

When the race restarted, Fulín was able to control the pace ahead of Pellinen and Richard.

The two drivers fighting for third in the standings, Norbert Nagy and Peter Rikli, came together at Acque Minerale, with Rikli forced to retire while Nagy dropped to the back. The Hungarian was able to work his way up to eighth by the finish and claim third in the standings by one point over the Swiss.

There was another safety car when the Super 1600 class Ford Fiesta of Daniel Niemann crashed out at Piratella on lap ten, which led to a one-lap dash for victory when the race restarted on lap 13, but there was nothing that either of the Rikli Hondas could do about Fulín, who went on to win the race.

However, in the battle for the Super 2000 Trophy title, Richard would win the crown after his team-mate tactically handed him second place before the chequered flag, giving him one more second-place finish over Fulín over the course of the season, winning the title on countback as both drivers had five wins apiece.

In the Super 1600 class, the victory went to already-crowned champion Niklas Mackschin in the Ford Fiesta.