Drudi-Ferrari-Agostini (Audi R8 LMS) win the 3rd round of the Italian GT Endurance Championship in Vallelunga

Second win of the season and championship lead for Audi Sport Italia's drivers that proceeded Schreiner-Roda-Fuoco and Di Amato-Vezzoni. The victory in the other classes went to Fischbaum-Vairani-Pavlovic (GT Cup) and Fascicolo-Neri-Nilsson (GT4).
Image

Mattia Drudi, Lorenzo Ferrari and Riccardo Agostini (Audi R8 LMS) secured the victory in the third round of the Endurance series of the Italian GT Championship that has been run this weekend at the circuit of Vallelunga. The Audi Sport Italia’s drivers proceeded the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo of Schreiner-Roda-Fuoco (AF Corse), which were the first of GT3 PRO-AM, and Di Amato-Vezzoni (RS Racing) at the end of the three-hour-long race. The victory in GT3 AM went to Magnoni-Guidetti-Zanotti (Honda NSX). The second win of the season allowed Drudi-Ferrari-Agostini to regain the classification lead as they totalled 3 points more than Fisichella-Gai-Zampieri and 5 more than Di Folco-Amici-Middleton. The victory of the other classes went to Fischbaum-Vairani-Pavlovic (GT Cup), in the Lamborghini Huracan ST, and Fascicolo-Neri-Nilsson (GT4) in the BMW M4.

RACE CLASSIFICATION

GT3: A solid and well-deserved win was claimed by Drudi-Ferrari-Agostini after three perfect stints by the Audi Sport Italia’s drivers. Agostini started the race from the second row of the starting grid, he kept contact with the front runners throughout and climbed up to P2 behind Zampieri towards the end of the stint. He handed the car over to Ferrari, who got the lead thanks to the handicap time that Scuderia Baldini’s drivers had to serve. The young Italian driver did not get anything wrong and drove wisely despite a safety car he kept the lead allowing Mattia Drudi to stay on top with a 10s gap to the BMW of Spengler. The young Italian driver kept the lead of the race easily, despite the neutralization in the third stint with a Full Course Yellow and a safety car that compacted the group. He crossed the finish line 4s ahead of AF Corse’s Schreiner-Roda-Fuoco, that were the first of GT3 PRO-AM. The Italian driver put in a great comeback finale after the two stints of the German Schreiner and the reigning champion Giorgio Roda, crossing the finish line ahead of the 488 GT3 Evo of Di Amato-Vezzoni. The RS Racing drivers were second in GT3 PRO-AM and completed a full-attack race thanks to the exceptional driving skills of Di Amato, but the gentleman Vezzoni came to the fore this time around putting in a great second stint.

Another Ferrari ended at the feet of the podium: Fischella-Gai-Zampieri were on top at the end of the first stint, but then were handed a 40s time penalty that Gai and Fisichella had to serve at the pit stop. At the flag, Scuderia Baldini’s car proceeded that driven by Mann-Vilander (AF Corse), that were third in GT3 PRO-AM, and Comandini-Zug-Spengler (BMW M6 GT3). The latter were particularly unlucky during the last lap due to some brake issues that prevented them to defend the third place that seemed to be at reach. Zug was great to take the lead in the first stint, Comandini managed the race well in the second stint, while Spengler tried it all to break the bad-luck loop for the BMW in the Endurance series.

Behind the Ceccato Racing’s drivers, Earle-Schirò (Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo-Kessel Racing) were fourth in GT3 PRO-AM, which allowed the American driver to take the lead of the category. Amici-Di Folco-Middleton (Lamborghini Huracan) ended eighth. The classification leaders at the eve of the race in Vallelunga were in fact slowed down by a contact early on when the British driver was at the wheel, and then Di Folco was handed a 10s time penalty following the contact with Mancinelli. The Italian driver put in an extraordinary stint fighting a long battle with the Easy Race’s driver, but also with Di Amato and Fisichella. Things are not settled yet in the title hunt and the Imperiale Racing’s drivers are still in the fight.

The top ten was rounded off by Magnoni-Guidetti-Zanotti that were ninth in the Honda NSX GT3 run by Nova Race and led GT3 AM. This allowed Magnoni and Zanotti to take the lead of this classification. Greco-Mancinelli-Hoffer (Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo-Easy Race) ended tenth as they were penalized by the contact with Di Folco in the closing stages.

Salaquarda-Basz-Postiglione (Audi R8 LMS) had a lot of bad luck as they went off at the first lap, while Perolini-Negro-Veglia (Lamborghini Huracan-LP Racing) experienced brake issues.

GT Cup-GT4: Fischbaum-Vairani-Pavlovic secured an easy win in the Lamborghini Huracan ST after the retirement of Demarchi-Risitano-Barbolini (Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo). This was a real shame for SR&R’s drivers as Demarchi kept the lead in the first stint and then left it due to the off of Barbolini following a puncture. This cleared the way to Bonaldi Motorsport. The team led by Ravetto and Ruberti secured a good result with the other Ferrari, the 458 Challenge driven by Becagli-“Aramis”-Laureti, that ended second in their class, while the victory in GT4 went to Fascicolo-Neri-Nilsson in the BMW M4 GT4 run by Ceccato Racing.

On Twitter

@CIGranTurismo

@GTavoni

www.acisport.it/CIGT

www.facebook.com/CIGranTurismo

www.instagram.com/cigranturismo

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-QsHUuslO4iZekAeBoskgg/featured

Image

THE START OF THE RACE

Image

FISCHBAUM-VAIRANI-PAVLOVIC (LAMBORGHINI HURACAN ST-BONALDI MOTORSPORT)