NEWS
ITALIAN GT SPRINT - MUGELLO RACE REPORT:
ZANON AND TRIBAUDINI WIN IN GT CUP, PODIUMS AND POINTS FOR THE GT3 CARS
Aug 25, 2024
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Italian GT Sprint Championship, Round 3 – Mugello, Italy
Tribaudini and Zanon win at Mugello
Pro-Am podium for Moulin and Zanon
Points finishes for the VSR Pro Lamborghinis
The Italian GT Sprint Championship continued this weekend at Mugello after a lengthy break. Drivers changes in the VSR Lamborghinis included Andrea Frassineti, making his GT3 debut, joining Cazzaniga in the 19 Pro car and Ignazio Zanon pairing up with Moulin in the 63 Pro-Am entry. Michelotto and Stadsbader continued in the 66 Pro car and Zanon was on double-duty, competing also in the GT Cup sharing the 163 Super Trofeo with Tribaudini.
The qualifying sessions were disrupted by multiple red flags and for the first GT3 race Cazzaniga lined up on row three with Michelotto one row further back and Zanon eighth in Pro-Am. A multi-car crash at the start eliminated Championship leaders Michelotto and Stadsbader from the race. At the second start Cazzaniga moved up to fifth and was quickly past Fulgenzi for fourth. A Safety Car to retrieve McGee from the gravel briefly halted racing and at the restart leader Nurmi slowed unexpectedly causing Cazzaniga to touch the rear of Jelmini’s Honda. The VSR Lamborghini lost its front bonnet after the contact but Cazzaniga was still able to pass Jelmini for third. When the pit window opened Zanon boxed for Moulin and then Cazzaniga came in for Frassineti. Time was lost as a new bonnet was secured and when the pit window closed the remaining two VSR Lambos were running together with Frassineti one place ahead of Moulin. A Safety Car for Berto’s off followed and the race restarted with just seven minutes to run. When leader Ferati spun off the track both the VSR cars gained a place and Frassineti took the flag in seventh with Moulin eighth, narrowly missing out on a Pro-Am podium.
Zanon started the first of the weekend’s GT Cup races from the sixth row of the grid. He was up to eleventh by the end of the first lap and held station until on lap seven the gearbox of Renmans Ferrari exploded leaving oil all over the track which caught out five of the front runners. Zanon managed to stay on track and found himself in fifth as the Safety Car came out followed by the red flag. Racing resumed just before the pit window opened and Zanon boxed on lap twelve for Tribaudini, discounting a twelve second success penalty from the previous round. The fastest man on track, Tribaudini was able to catch and pass the cars ahead of him, wresting the lead of the race from Borelli on the penultimate tour.
Stadsbader was the quickest of the VSR drivers in the second qualifying session and started Sunday’s race from row three. Frassineti lined up on row five with Moulin just behind him, third fastest in Pro-Am. At the start Moulin rocketed up to seventh to take the Pro-Am lead before the Safety Car came out for Giraudi who finished in the gravel at the first corner. At the restart Stadsbader and Moulin began to attack Moncini in fifth as Frassineti battled with Berto and Malvestiti. Past them both he then set about catching Fulgenzi in ninth. On lap ten he overtook the Porsche just before the pit window opened. Stadsbader and Frassineti stopped immediately and Michelotto and Cazzaniga took over. Moulin waited until the end of the window to stop and handover to Zanon. Cazzaniga ran fourth as the race entered the second half with Michelotto sixth and Zanon eighth. Michelotto was quick to put Bartholomew behind him and then the Safety Car came out for Boguslavsky who had run into the gravel. The race restarted with ten minutes left on the clock but there were no further changes of position and the top six crossed the line separated by just three seconds. Cazzaniga finished fourth, Michelotto fifth and Zanon took third in Pro-Am.
Tribaudini took a convincing pole position for Sunday’s GT Cup race but slipped down to fourth at the start. He was soon moving up the field, passing Pisani before the Safety Car temporarily stopped racing. The track went green again on lap six but the Safety Car was back on track before a full lap had been completed. The race restarted just before the pit window opened. Tribaudini passed D’Auria for second place and then snatched the lead from Renmans pulling out a seven second gap and then pitting to handover to Zanon. With a fifteen second success penalty to discount Zanon fell back to fifth. Ten minutes before the flag Zanon caught Renmans and got involved in a fierce four car battle before claiming third in class.
The Sprint Championship will conclude in October with a final double header at Monza but the VSR cars will be back in action in a fortnight’s time for the penultimate round of the Endurance Championship at Imola.
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