Italian GT, Mugello - GT Cup Race Reports
Two Good Races Race One After all the rough-stuff action and penalties of the “bigger brother class”, it was hoped that the GT Cup race would be a cleaner one, despite a full grid of 22 cars - in bright contrast to the GT2/GT3 field. First, the time penalties: Mancini-Mapelli and Sanna-Stancheris 25 seconds and Caffi-Fratti with only 5. Dramas began even before the green flag, as the third of the Gallardos fell out miserably in the gravel trap on the formation lap, so the daughter-father combination (Linossi-Linossi) was a “no go” for the first race. Also a non starter was the GT4 Maserati of Giudici. So, with the field already down to 20, the green flag saw Mastronardi keeping the lead from Sanna and Amaduzzi, but just two corners later Zanardini and Baccani collided; the #103 Ferrari retiring on the spot, but the Porsche able to continue. It was quite a moment with all the cars together, but thankfully nothing major happened….well not quite, because the TV pictures showed a heavily damaged Ferrari - the #127 of the points-leader Mancini-Mapelli. The damage was too heavy (right front radiator gone) and the race lost perhaps the best pair. After all this chaos Mastronardi, Sanna and Amaduzzi were some seconds clear of the group lead by Di Maestri, Merendino, Bocellari and Fornaroli. Slowly but gradually Mastronardi eased away from Sanna and Amaduzzi, with the Ferrari faster in the corners; while the Gallardo was using all of its power-advantage on the straight. As the points-leader was out, what was its main rival doing? Well, Fratti, in the Autorlando Porsche, was doing…not a particularly good job. Perhaps still experiencing the engine problem of Friday, he simply couldn’t gain position and time; and even after the mandatory stop Caffi couldn’t do anything and finished the worst race of the year for the Bergamo team down in eleventh place and out of the points. In the meantime Amaduzzi had finally found a gap and had overtaken Sanna for the second spot. Merendino hade a high-speed spin just before the Arrabbiata 1 curve and lost some spots. Sanna and Amaduzzi exchanged places several times, with the Gallardo systematically overtaking the Amaduzzi Ferrari on every straight, only to lose the spot in the hard braking some curves later. Another Ferrari was on the move, as Bocellari got Maestri for the fourth spot. The top six cars were now well in front of the remaining pack, but the second drivers and the time penalties threatened to change the standings quite a lot. After the pit stop window the new leader is…the old one - Formilli Fendi-(Mastronardi) able to keep the lead from Cerati-(Amaduzzi), Di Fant-(Maestri), Villa-(Fornaroli), Stancheris-(Sanna) and Goldstein-(Bocellari); but lots would change, because now that Villa, Ferraris and Goldstein were driving, their cars should be very, very fast. And the overtaking moves were soon coming. Villa “burned” Cerati (after easily getting Di Fant) on the main straight for the second spot and began the “hunt” to Formilli Fendi, by gaining one second per lap from the other Porsche. Behind the top position, Ferraris was “on fire”; getting Goldstein in a very BTCC-like move and some corners later getting Ferroni too. The “young gun” Zucchi perhaps got a bit too excited and spun his Gallardo deep into the gravel, and we lost the second Gallardo from the race. Another “big” moment for the second Autorlando Porsche as Negroni’s front right tyre exploded in a big way at the end of the main straight, but with a big-time save he was able to park the Porsche without any major damage; a good job indeed. The last three minutes were the best of the race. Villa finally overtook Formilli Fendi and took a well deserved win, while the battle began for the lower spot of the podium with a four cars battle between Cerati, Di Fant, Stancheris and Lasagni; with Goldstein and Ferraris not too much distant. Because “there is no substitute for power” Stancheris blasted past Di Fant in a very assertive move along the main straight, but the Lambo was so fast that Cerati lost the spot too. Behind the Lambo the last metres were quite exciting with Di Fant, Cerati, Ferraris and Goldstein passing each other left, right, center and…on the grass, but finally Cerati crossed the line fourth, from the “new old man in town” (2009 GT Cup Champ) Ferraris. Goldstein finished sixth while Di Fant was the main loser, finishing only eighth. It was quite an exciting race, proving that when the cats are not in the house (see Mancini-Mapelli out and Caffi-Fratti well down the order with engine problems) the mice are dancing! Race Two 21 cars were on the grid for the second GT Cup race (no Giudici’s Maserati), with the time penalties for this one being: Sanna-Stancheris and Villa-Fornaroli 15 seconds, Mapelli-Mancini and Formilli Fendi-Mastronardi 10. After the first corner dramas in race 1, there were obviously some concerns about a similar occurrence this time. Another talking point was whether the points-leaders Mancini-Mapelli strikes back? The start was not a very promising one with a five-cars-wide approach into turn one, with the two front row Ferrari not escaping and with the Stancheris Lambo trying a very inventive approach, half on the grass; but somehow everyone escaped safely and the lead had been grab by Ferraris, followed by Mapelli, Caffi (finally with the car responding well), Villa, Stancheris, Bellini and Formilli Fendi. The first laps saw the two “couples” easing away, with Ferraris and Mapelli constantly faster than the two Porsches of Caffi and Villa. Fifth, and now some seconds behind, was the 4WD Gallardo of Stancheris; but another Gallardo was on the move. Zucchi, who had started well down the grid, was gaining place after place and quickly established himself in seventh spot, leading a big six-car battle involving Di Fant, Trentin, Bocellari, Formilli Fendi and Zanardini. Upfront the Ferraris duo was now some eight seconds clear of the Porsche duo, while in the lower spot Zucchi was “on fire”; catching and passing Bellini for the sixth place. The mandatory stop didn’t mess-up too much the standings. Michela Cerruti-(Ferraris) was still leading but Mancini-(Mapelli), on his home turf, was now very much on a charge. Third was Fornaroli-(Villa), then Goldstein-(Bocellari), Baccani-(Bellini), Fratti-(Caffi) - guilty of a spin that didn’t help too much the Porsche title contender - and Maddalena-(Zucchi) in the Gallardo. The other Gallardo of Sanna-(Stancheris) was way down the order, thanks to the big time penalty. Soon the leader had been “eaten” by Mancini and the points-leader was now strongly in the lead and flying away from Michela Cerruti. Baccani was also a man on fire, overtaking Fornaroli for the fourth spot, while Goldstein was now constantly two to three seconds faster than Cerruti; and a possible huge battle for the podium spots was only some minutes away. The final laps were quite exciting. Upfront, Mancini was safely in the lead and crossed the line first - after the big disappointment of the race 1 crash, this was quite a way to get back to the top - but the main battle was some seconds behind him. Goldstein was gaining time on Cerruti, but Baccani also was gaining time on both the female driver and on Goldstein; but behind them Trentin, Fratti, Mastronardi, Maestri, Sanna, Maddalena and Amaduzzi were nose-to-tail and passing each other corner after corner. As the final lap began, only the top spot was settled. Goldstein overtook Cerruti, who found herself defenceless and lost the spot also to Baccani, and crossed the line second; but a 25 seconds post-race penalty ruined the race of the La Na Ferrari, so Baccani finish second, while Michela Cerruti was third. Amaduzzi lost the fourth spot due to a fast spin at the exit of the “Arrabbiata 2”, with the place taken by Fornaroli. Fifth, due to the 25 second penalty, was Goldstein, then Mastronardi, Trentin and Maestri; then again the two Gallardos, who lost places just at the end. Another exciting race then, especially for the lower spots of the podium. With the win, Mancini-Mapelli are now 20+ points clear of the Porsches in the standings and it seems that only a huge run of bad luck can keep the title away from them. Results: Race one - here Race two - here Gabriele Tosi | 
