100 FA WORLD CUP
The podium is all Birel

Victory goes to the Belgian D’Ambrosio, who finishes ahead of Italians Davide Gaggianesi and Salvatore Gatto

For the first time, the prestigious Formula A World Cup was assigned to a track other than the Japanese courses in Suzuka and Motegi. Over 100 drivers competed for this coveted title in Muro Leccese. Some of the favorites included the expert driver Horstmann, Vilander, Guignet, Lammers, Spinozzi, Allemann and Wassermann. The primary protagonists from Birel were Salvatore Gatto from Birel Motorsport, who raced with a TM engine and Bridgestone tires, the Japanese Umegaki, Gatto's teammate, who used Dunlop tires, Davide Gaggianesi (Parilla engine and Vega tires), Jérôme D’Ambrosio (TM engine and Bridgestone tires) and Marco Ronner (Parilla engine and Vega tires).

As the race got underway, Davide Gaggianesi took off from the pole very well and took command, while Gatto, who pulled out at his side, was followed by D’Ambrosio, Vilander, Guignet and Wassermann. During the first few laps, Gaggianesi seemed to have the edge and pulled out ahead of D’Ambrosio, while Gatto came up behind Vilander in 4th place. During the final laps, D’Ambrosio gained on Gaggianesi, and took the lead just before the end. Right behind them, Salvatore Gatto was hot on Vilander's heels, managing to pull past him two laps before the end. So the podium was all Birel; a resounding success using different engines and tires.