The 1997 Italian Superturismo Championship was the eleventh edition of the Italian Superturismo Championship. The season began in Monza on 20 April and finished in Vallelunga on 12 October, after ten rounds.

Season summary

Emanuele Naspetti and his BMW 320i dominated since the begin of the season achieving an impressive score of 18 podiums (10 victories, 7 seconds and 1 third place) on a total of 20 races.

Naspetti lead the standing since the first round and he won the championship after the first race of 8th round in Varano de Melegari with still 5 races to do; the BMW won the constructors' championship, while Massimo Pigoli took the privateers' trophy in his BMW 320i.

Fabrizio Giovanardi on the wheel of old Alfa Romeo 155 was the main contender with 5 victories but due to a bad start with 4 DNF in the first 8 races, he was not able to fight for the title until the end of the season.

The 1996 Italian Champion Rinaldo Capello and his Audi A4 Quattro were not competitive after FIA decided that Audi had to carry 30kg extra and had to move to FWD from the season 1998.

For these reasons Audi stopped the development of the 4WD and only in wet conditions was Capello able to get a double victory in Varano and one more victory at the slowest track in Binetto.

Beside the top three drivers the championship was animated by the 2 rookies Fabrizio De Simone, Karl Wendlinger, by the return of Antonio Tamburini and by the independent driver Roberto Colciago. Unlike from the previous year, in 1997 it was removed the rules that counted only the 16 best results so all points were valid for the final standing.

Teams and drivers Team Car Drivers Rounds Class Audi Sport Italia Audi A4 Quattro 1 Rinaldo Capello All 2 Karl Wendlinger All CiBiEmme Engineering BMW 320i 3 Emanuele Naspetti All 4 Fabrizio de Simone All Nordauto Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 TS 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi All 6 Gordon de Adamich 1 Antonio Tamburini 2-10 EC Motorsport Honda Accord 21 Roberto Colciago 1-7, 9-10 I Effe Touring Ford Mondeo 22 Maurizio Flammini 4 I Soli Racing Team Alfa Romeo 155 TS 52 Moreno Soli All P Christy's Team BMW 320i 53 Massimo Pigoli All P Varese Corse Alfa Romeo 155 TS 54 Augusto Rossetti 1, 8-10 P Fabio Severino 9-10 P 55 Davide Bernasconi All P Tecnica Racing Team Alfa Romeo 155 TS 56 Felice Tedeschi 1-4 P 57 Sandro Montani 1-5, 8-10 P Tecno Racing BMW 320i 58 Maurizio Lusuardi 1-2, 5, 7-10 P Stefano Gabellini 1-2, 4-5, 7-10 P Promo Racing Alfa Romeo 155 TS 59 Lorenzo Falessi 1-3, 5, 10 P Romano Racing Opel Vectra Gt 61 Emanuele Moncini 6 P Greyhound Motorsport Ford Mondeo 63 Gianluca Roda 1 P Opel Vectra 16v 2-10 P Romano Racing Opel Vectra Gt 64 Sandro Sardelli 1-5, 8-10 P Scuderia Giudici Alfa Romeo 155 TS 65 Gianni Giudici 9 P Capannelle Racing Opel Vectra 67 Sergio Sambataro 10 P Icon Class I Not eligible to score points in the Manufactures Trophy P Private Drivers

Drivers changes Changed Cars Roberto Colciago: Alfa Romeo 155 → Honda Accord

Entering Superturismo 1997 Karl Wendlinger: STW → Audi A4 Quattro Fabrizio De Simone: F1 Test Driver → BMW 320i Antonio Tamburini: No full-time drive → Alfa Romeo 155

Leaving Superturismo 1997 Yvan Muller: → STW Johnny Cecotto: → STW Gianni Morbidelli: → F1

Race calendar and results Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 Autodromo Nazionale Monza 20 April Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering R2 Fabrizio de Simone Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering 2 R1 Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello 4 May Fabrizio Giovanardi Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering R2 Fabrizio Giovanardi Fabrizio Giovanardi Nordauto Engineering 3 R1 Autodromo di Magione 18 May Fabrizio de Simone Fabrizio de Simone Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering R2 Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering 4 R1 Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 8 June Fabrizio Giovanardi Emanuele Naspetti Fabrizio Giovanardi Nordauto Engineering R2 Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering 5 R1 Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 22 June Antonio Tamburini Fabrizio de Simone Antonio Tamburini Nordauto Engineering R2 Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering 6 R1 Autodromo del Levante 6 July Rinaldo Capello Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering R2 Emanuele Naspetti Rinaldo Capello Audi Sport Italia 7 R1 Autodromo di Pergusa 31 August Fabrizio Giovanardi Fabrizio de Simone Fabrizio Giovanardi Nordauto Engineering R2 Fabrizio Giovanardi Fabrizio Giovanardi Nordauto Engineering 8 R1 Autodromo Riccardo Paletti 14 September Antonio Tamburini Fabrizio Giovanardi Rinaldo Capello Audi Sport Italia R2 Fabrizio Giovanardi Rinaldo Capello Audi Sport Italia 9 R1 Circuito Internazionale Misano 28 September Fabrizio Giovanardi Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering R2 Fabrizio de Simone Emanuele Naspetti CiBiEmme Engineering 10 R1 ACI Vallelunga Circuit 12 October Fabrizio Giovanardi Fabrizio Giovanardi Fabrizio Giovanardi Nordauto Engineering R2 Fabrizio Giovanardi Fabrizio de Simone CiBiEmme Engineering

Round 1 Monza Qualifying Pos No Driver Car Lap Time Super Pole 1 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i 1.53.148 SP 2 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i 1.53.264 SP 3 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord 1.53.627 SP 4 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 1.53.665 SP 5 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro 1.54.197 SP 6 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro 1.54.702 SP 7 6 Gordon De Adamich Alfa Romeo 155 1.56.258 SP 8 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i 1.57.203 SP 9 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT 1.59.714 SP1058 Maurizio Lusuardi BMW 320i2.02.275 SP Stefano Gabellini 11 54 Augusto Rossetti Alfa Romeo 155 1.59.477 12 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 1.59.708 13 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 2.01.010 14 63 Gianluca Roda Ford Mondeo 2.01.526 15 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 2.02.912 16 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 2.03.562 17 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 2.02.912

Race 1 Pos No Driver Constructor Time/Retired Points 1 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i 15 laps in 28:53.25620 2 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro +3.786s15 3 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro +19.694s12 4 6 Gordon De Adamich Alfa Romeo 155 +48.513s10 5 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i +54.826s8 6 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT +1.07.149s6 7 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 +1.49.141s4 8 63 Gianluca Roda Ford Mondeo +1.50.754s3 9 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap2 10 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap1 11 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap 12 54 Augusto Rossetti Alfa Romeo 155 +2 laps DNF 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i +11 laps DNF 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord +11 laps DNF 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 +14 laps DNF 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 +14 laps DNF 58 Maurizio Lusuardi BMW 320i +15 laps

Race 2 Pos No Driver Constructor Time/Retired Points 1 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i 15 laps in 28:59.65820 2 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord +3.370s15 3 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i +11.462s12 4 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro +12.103s10 5 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i +1.03.057s8 6 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 +1.35.079s6 7 54 Augusto Rossetti Alfa Romeo 155 +1.50.678s4 8 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 +2.02.288s3 9 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap2 10 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap1 11 DNF 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT +5 laps 12 DNF 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro +6 laps 13 DNF 63 Gianluca Roda Ford Mondeo +7 laps DNF 6 Gordon De Adamich Alfa Romeo 155 +10 laps DNF 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 +15 laps DNS 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 DNS 58 Stefano Gabellini BMW 320i

Championship standings after Round 1

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emanuele Naspetti 40 2 Karl Wendlinger 22 3 Massimo Pigoli 16 4 Roberto Colciago 15 5 Rinaldo Capello 15

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 BMW 73 2 Alfa Romeo 40 3 Audi 39 4 Opel 7 5 Ford 3

Round 2 Mugello Qualifying Pos No Driver Car Lap Time Super Pole 1 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 1.57.137 SP 2 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i 1.57.496 SP 3 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i 1.57.527 SP 4 6 Antonio Tamburini Alfa Romeo 155 1.57.967 SP 5 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord 1.58.235 SP 6 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro 1.58.758 SP 7 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro 1.59.624 SP 8 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT 2.02.479 SP 9 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i 2.02.941 SP 10 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 2.02.991 SP 11 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 2.02.107 12 63 Gianluca Roda Opel Vectra 16v 2.01.5261358 Maurizio Lusuardi BMW 320i2.02.793 Stefano Gabellini 14 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 2.03.495 15 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 2.04.893 16 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 2.09.555

Race 1 Pos No Driver Constructor Time/Retired Points 1 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i 15 laps in 30:16.63320 2 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord +5.219s15 3 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro +6.452s12 4 6 Antonio Tamburini Alfa Romeo 155 +13.744s10 5 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 +1.04.397s8 6 63 Gianluca Roda Opel Vectra 16v +1.21.301s6 7 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 +1.25.636s4 8 58 Stefano Gabellini BMW 320i +1.40.071s3 9 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap2 10 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap1 11 DNF 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 +6 laps 12 DNF 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 +6 lap DNF 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro +9 laps DNF 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i +9 laps DNF 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT +14 laps DNF 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i +15 laps

Race 2 Pos No Driver Constructor Time/Retired Points 1 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 15 laps in 30:11.620 20 2 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i +6.190s15 3 6 Antonio Tamburini Alfa Romeo 155 +9.103s12 4 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro +15.697s10 5 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 +1.23.971s8 6 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 +1.42.240s6 7 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i +1.48.750s4 8 58 Maurizio Lusuardi BMW 320i +1.50.477s3 9 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 +1.50.940s2 10 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 +1.53.791s1 11 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 +1 lap 12 DNF 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro +4 laps 13 DNF 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i +7 laps DNF 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord +13 laps DNF 63 Gianluca Roda Opel Vectra 16v +13 laps DNS 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT +5 laps

Championship standings after Round 2

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emanuele Naspetti 75 2 Karl Wendlinger 44 3 Roberto Colciago 30 4 Fabrizio Giovanardi 28 5 Antonio Tamburini 22

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Alfa Romeo 123 2 BMW 119 3 Audi 64 4 Opel 13 5 Ford 3

Round 3 Magione Qualifying Pos No Driver Car Lap Time Super Pole 1 4 Fabrizio De Simone BMW 320i 1.13.812 SP 2 2 Karl Wendlinger Audi A4 Quattro 1.13.951 SP 3 3 Emanuele Naspetti BMW 320i 1.14.002 SP 4 1 Rinaldo Capello Audi A4 Quattro 1.14.121 SP 5 21 Roberto Colciago Honda Accord 1.14.592 SP 6 6 Antonio Tamburini Alfa Romeo 155 1.14.875 SP 7 5 Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 155 1.15.008 SP 8 64 Sandro Sardelli Opel Vectra GT 1.15.986 SP 9 53 Massimo Pigoli BMW 320i 1.16.763 SP 10 56 Felice Tedeschi Alfa Romeo 155 1.17.718 SP 11 52 Moreno Soli Alfa Romeo 155 1.16.353 12 57 Sandro Montani Alfa Romeo 155 1.16.589 13 63 Gianluca Roda Opel Vectra 16v 1.16.908 14 55 Davide Bernasconi Alfa Romeo 155 1.17.685 15 59 Lorenzo Falessi Alfa Romeo 155 1.19.200

Race 1