Pergusa, Fisichella-Mosca (Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo2) win the first round of the Italian GT Endurance Championship 2023

The Scuderia Baldini crew finished ahead of Gilardoni-Guzman-Middleton (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo) and Comandini-Cassarà-Nilsson (BMW M4 GT3) at the end of a race characterized by continuous rain and a suspension of over an hour. Demarchi-Patrinicola-Di Mare (Ferrari 488 Challenge) claimed the win in the GT Cup.

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The first weekend of the Italian GT Endurance Championship at the Pergusa Circuit concluded with Giancarlo Fisichella and Tommaso Mosca taking the win behind the wheel of the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo2. Similar to yesterday, today's race was also marked by bad weather that affected the entire weekend of competition, forcing race direction to interrupt the competition for over an hour. The race had initially started under a safety car regime but was halted after just seven minutes due to heavy rain.

At the end of the two-hour race, the Scuderia Baldini crew finished ahead of Gilardoni-Guzman-Middleton (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo-Imperiale Racing) and Comandini-Cassarà-Nilsson (BMW M4 GT3-BMW Italia/Ceccato Racing Team), who claimed the GT3 PRO-AM victory. In the GT Cup category, Demarchi-Patrinicola-Di Mare (Ferrari 488 Challenge-Best Lap) secured the win, while Atzori-Menichini-La Mazza (Ferrari 488 Challenge-SR&R) stood on the highest step of the podium in the GT Cup AM.

RACE CLASSIFICATION

GT3: It was a true triumph for the Scuderia Baldini drivers, thanks to a stellar performance by Tommaso Mosca in the first stint. Starting from second place, he managed to control the British driver Middleton, who had started from pole position and eventually forced him into an error towards the end of the stint. Once in the lead, the 23-year-old driver from Brescia quickly extended his advantage over his opponents and handed the car over to Fisichella with a lead of over two seconds ahead of Guzman, who took over from the British driver. "Fisico" had a steady and error-free stint, ensuring not to degrade the tires on the gradually drying track. The third stint was smooth sailing for Mosca, and lap after lap, he continued to increase his lead over Gilardoni, ultimately finishing at the front with a lead of over 32s over the representatives of Imperiale Racing. Nonetheless, the latter achieved an excellent second place on the podium, a position they had held since the sole official practice session, where Middleton had showcased great speed, finishing the race ahead of the BMW Italia-Ceccato Racing Team crew, who claimed the top spot in the GT3 Pro-AM category.

In the first stint, a strong performance from Comandini kept him close to the frontrunners, delivering several fast laps. He was then replaced by Cassarà, who had a harmless spin that did not affect their position in the standings. In the third stint, the Swedish driver Nilssson completed the race, allowing the BMW crew to secure the third position ahead of the Ferrari of Gai-Donno-Castro (AF Corse). Starting from the third row of the grid, Gai maintained the sixth position in the first stint before handing over the car to Belgian driver Castro, who managed to gain a couple of positions. In the final stint, Donno concluded the race ahead of Marco Butti's Audi R8 LMS.

The young driver from Como took over the car after the Thai driver Stuvik and the Roman driver Attianese, but during the first pit stop, a GPS issue led to an early exit from the box and subsequently a drive-through penalty, relegating the Audi Sport Italia crew to fifth place ahead of the second Huracan from Imperiale Racing driven by Bartholomew-Garcia-Raghunathan.

Unfortunately, the second BMW of Tavano-Guerra-Tamburini faced misfortune, as they were penalized early on in the race due to electronic problems that forced them into a lengthy pit stop, which prevented them from going beyond seventh place in the final standings.

GT Cup: It was a well-deserved victory for Demarchi-Patrinicola-Di Mare in the single-make category. After Demarchi's second-place stint, Patrinicola took the lead on the 24th lap and then handed the car over to Di Mare, who finished at the top of the podium, ahead of Atzori-Menichini-La Mazza, who claimed the top spot in the GT Cup-AM category.

The SR&R team crew had an amazing race, with Atzori performing well in his stint, and maintaining a podium position. He was followed by the determined La Mazza and finally, Menichini, who crossed the finish line ahead of Fischbaum-Pavlovic (Lamborghini Huracan ST). The latter briefly led the race in the first stint with the Serbian driver, and the second crew from Bonaldi Motorsport composed of Mendez-Lazzaroni. The GT Cup standings were completed by Caiola-Fabi-Ianniello (Lamborghini Huracan ST-DL Racing), who were penalized due to contact with Mendez in the first stint and a tire puncture, and by Di Benedetto-Nicolosi-Pezzucchi (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup-Krypton Motorsport). However, Bontempelli-"Linos"-Deverikos (Lamborghini Huracan ST-DL Racing) retired on the 29th lap due to a broken drive-shaft.

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GILARDONI-GUZMAN-MIDDLETON (LAMBORGHINI HURACAN GT3 EVO-IMPERIALE RACING)

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DEMARCHI-PATRINICOLA-DI MARE (FERRARI 488 CHALLENGE-BEST LAP)