Weekend notebook: class triumphs at Monza

The greatest satisfaction for the Maranello manufacturer came courtesy of the drivers involved in the Sprint series of the Italian GT Championship at Monza this weekend, with triumphs in both the GT Cup races. There were podium finishes and a few regrets too, elsewhere, at both the DTM at Zandvoort and in Britcar at Silverstone.

CIGT. Unlucky weekend on the Monza circuit for the Stuart White and Jean Luc D’Auria pairing in the main GT3 class. In both races the AF Corse drivers suffered collisions in the early stages that forced them to withdraw from Race-1 and stage an important comeback in Race-2, rising from the last position in the group up to seventh place overall, fifth in their category.
Meanwhile, in the Pro Am class, the round at the Monza circuit saw the runner-up spot in the first race claimed by young drivers Rocco Mazzola and Luigi Coluccio of Best Lap, whose Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 climbed the order from seventh position at the start. There was also a fifth place for the two Italians in Race-2. After the difficulties experienced in Saturday’s race, the duo made up of Luka Nurmi and Jules Castro (AF Corse) redeemed themselves by making it onto the third step of the podium in the weekend’s second race. Marco Pulcini (AF Corse), racing alone, finished third in the first race of the Am class, before being forced to retire in Race-2 due to an off into the gravel.

Exciting double-win for Ferrari in the GT Cup, dedicated to single-marque cars, with Leonardo Colavita and Giorgio Maggi of the Double TT Racing team taking the win in Race-1 ahead of Simone Patrinicola and Luca De Marchi (Best Lap). In the same race, fourth place went to Vincenzo Scarpetta and Lorenzo Nicoli of Best Lap, earning the runner-up spot in the Am class, and fifth for Stefano Gai and Fabrizio Fontana of Formula Racing, third in the Pro Am class.
Race-2 also favoured the Prancing Horse, with a triumph for Leonardo Dal Col and Thomas Biagi (Easy Race), the latter producing an awe-inspiring comeback that allows him to return to the top step of the podium after a five-year absence from racing. Behind them, second place went to Colavita and Maggi, thus rounding off a very positive weekend for the pair.

DTM. Bittersweet weekend for the two Emil Frey Racing drivers on the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort. After an excellent qualifying for Race-1, with a fifth best time set right at the end of the session, newcomer Albert Costa, fresh from a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class, was forced to make up for a difficult start, managing to reach eighth final position. Worse came in Race-2, with a withdrawal after having started from eleventh place on the grid. A gloomy day out, however, for young Dutchman Thierry Vermeulen, who was unable to finish either race.

British Endurance Championship. The Ferrari 488 Challenge driven at the Silverstone circuit by John Seale and Jamie Stanley for the RNR Performance Cars team ended after just 10 laps. After starting from seventh on the grid, they were forced to retire early.