Emil Hellberg claimed race-1’s victory at the Autodromo di Vallelunga: the Swede turned the pole position - conquered on Friday - into a well deserved win to try and challenge Matteo Roccadelli for the title. The twists and turns arrived even before the start, with Pietro Ferri (Emotion Motorsport) forced to start from the pit-lane as he failed to leave his box before the starting grid procedure ended, nullifying the fourth place gained in qualifying. At the start Emil Hellberg managed to keep his position defending from Davide Uboldi’s attacks; less lucky was his brother Linus, who spun at turn 4 during the first lap due to a contact with Jesse Menczer. Roccadelli also had a great start, who managed to gain the fourth position after starting seventh, to try and follow his contenders.

Emil always remained first despite Uboldi’s attempts to overtake him, while Ferri and Linus Hellberg gained back some time to get closer and closer to the top-5. Uboldi tried to increase his rhythm to take the lead: at the end of the seventh lap, the Italian multi-champion touched the gravel while exiting the Roma turn, while at the exit of the Cimini 1 he lost his Wolf GB08 Thunder’s rear. During the same lap, Roccadelli overtook Alister Yoong for the second place; however, the Malaysian did not waste any time and got it back by the end of the eleventh lap. Roccadelli tried to limit his damages in the end, but lost the podium to Jesse Menczer’s speed.

In the final laps Yoong tried to attack Emil Hellberg for the win, but the Swede managed to defend himself and won for the third time of the season. The Malaysian had to settle for second, a result that confirms his growth in the second half of the season of the son of former Formula 1 driver Alex. Third was Jesse Menczer, who returned to the podium after a difficult weekend in Mugello; fourth was Matteo Roccadelli, who saw his lead over Emil Hellberg reduced to just eight points. Fifth place for Pietro Ferri, who was good at recovering after starting from the pit lane, while Linus Hellberg finished sixth.

Seventh was Donald Milokanovic, the winner of the ACI Sport Rookie Cup, while the rookie Arduino Giretti and ACI Sport Master Cup champion Giovanni Mazza (Emotion Motorsport) finished eighth and ninth respectively. After the podium celebrations, the second Belotti Trophy was also awarded, a prize named after the former Italian Sport Prototypes Championship driver, Guglielmo Belotti, and given to the person who showed the most fair play during the season. The trophy was won by Linus Hellberg.

The Italian Sport Prototype Championship will take to the track for the last time this season on Sunday, Oct. 15, with race-2 scheduled at 10:00. The race, which will crown the series champion at the end of a long and emotionally charged season, will be broadcasted live on ACI Sport TV, Sky Italia channel 228 and Tivùsat channel 52, as well as on CISP's Facebook and Youtube social platforms, with Antonio Caruccio’s commentary.