Italian GT, Vallelunga – Race One Reports
Nothing Decided Yet

With the potential for all the titles being decided at the penultimate round of the Italian GT Championship at Vallelunga, there was the likelihood of plenty of drama unfolding; so let’s begin with a look at qualifying for the first two races (all four of the races taking place on the Sunday.)

GT Cup Qualifying One

As predicted (or maybe not) the huge power advantage of the Gallardo 4wd saw Sanna grabbing the pole for the first race by almost 1.5 seconds (thanks in part to a humid track for the qualifying) from the almost champ Mapelli in his 430 challenge; then another Ferrari for Amaduzzi. The first of the Porsches was only fourth, but not the title contender of Fornaroli, who was only sixth; he was preceded by that of Baccani and Castellaneta.

GT2/GT3 Qualifying One

Pole position for race one went to the wildcard Ferrari of Giammaria in his EdilCris 430 (partnered this weekend by the “old fox” Piero Necchi). Second was Cirò, third and pole in GT3 for the 430 of Gattuso from Roda (a good qualifying for the points leader) in the Autorlando GT3 R, then the other Kessel Racing 430 of Bontempelli. The Audis were only 9th and 10th overall. In a very mixed grid the other Ferrari GT2s were way back in 6th, 7th and 8th with Rangoni (again a new teammate for Garofano this weekend) heading Cioci and Moncini.

The pending time penalties were 30 seconds for Cirò-Rugolo, 20 for Palma-Mugelli and only 5 for Moncini-Montermini in GT2. In GT3 Albuquerque-Bonanomi have the full 30 seconds, with 25 for Roda-Lietz, but only 10 for Lavio-Gattuso.

GT Cup Race One

A good 16 car grid took the green flag on a sunny Sunday, with the track completely dry, but stone cold, after a Saturday marked by intermittent rain and cold. The time penalties were expected to play a big part, as usual, because the title contenders Mancini-Mapelli had 25 seconds, while the Gallardo of Sanna-Stancheris had only 15 seconds. No time penalty this time for the Porsche of Villa-Fornaroli.

At the start (not a clean one with lots of cars off their grid spots) the Gallardo had the upper hand and took the lead, from Mapelli, Castellaneta, Baccani and Amaduzzi; but there was a huge moment for the 430 of Lanci who had a monster 240kmh spin at the ultra-fast first corner. He was somehow able to continue without any damage. Fornaroli was still down in sixth and was being pressed hard by a trio of Ferraris – those of Linossi, Bocellari and Mamè. Amaduzzi got Baccani at the “Rome curve” (the last one in the track), for the fifth spot.

Upfront, Sanna and Mapelli were gradually easing away from the pack - tenth by tenth every lap - while behind this duo, Amaduzzi was on fire; right on the tail of Castellaneta and engaged in a battle at almost every corner, but the position remain the same. Behind the top spots Fornaroli maintained the rhythm of the top four and the second part of the race was looking good for Villa, the only Porsche title contender. Amaduzzi, however, was out of safe control and at the Cimini One curve decided to have a very optimistic launch at Castellaneta, with the result of punching the Porsche into the gravel – a very bad move indeed and race over for Castellaneta, with the car deep in the sand.

The mandatory pit-spot changed the standings a bit with the “guilty” Ferrari of Cerati-(Amaduzzi) now in the lead, from Stancheris-(Sanna) second; but Cerati lost the spot very soon afterwards and the Gallardo took back the lead. Third was the hard charging Villa, then Monfardini-(Linossi), Mancini-(Mapelli) and Bellini-(Baccani). Monfardini was very much on fire and got Villa for the lower spot of the podium, which became soon second because Cerati get a drive-through penalty (thanks to Amaduzzi) for the contact with Castellaneta.

The final part of the race saw Stancheris managing the big lead he had and, despite the huge stint of Monfardini, won the race, thus keeping the title chase open. A close third was Villa, who gained only two points from Mancini who finished fourth.

This had been a good race and a hard battle (sometimes above the limit) and the title race was still on. Race two would take place later that day in the late afternoon.

Result – here

GT2/GT3 Race One 

The start for this race was a much cleaner one than for the GT Cup race; Cirò grabbing the lead from Giammaria, Gattuso (first in GT3) and Roda. Fifth was Rangoni - who got Roda very soon afterwards - and sixth was Cioci. The field was very close, with the top 10 cars nose to tail. Cioci also got by Roda, who let the GT2 Ferrari by without a fight; the GT3 title being much more important for the Autorlando team.

The wildcard Giammaria got Cirò in the second lap - escaping from the pack and gradually gaining ground - while Cirò maintained second from Gattuso, Rangoni and Cioci. Roda had his hands full trying to stay in front of Bontempelli in the other Kessel Racing 430 GT3. There was no sign of improvement for the Audis, with Albuquerque down in 10th. What about Palma and Moncini? They were just in front of Albuquerque, way off the top spots.

Rangoni got Gattuso, and Cioci squeezed into the gap and took the spot from Gattuso too. The race was a very intense one, with changing of positions on every lap. Moncini shook off Palma and got Roda the lap after, moving up to fifth overall. Gattuso still led the GT3 from Roda and Bontempelli.

Palma got Roda too, but the GT3 points-leader was in trouble, losing time on every lap; and now Albuquerque was on his tail. But Bontempelli suddenly headed for the pit with some mechanical trouble - race over for him (and Caccia).

Upfront, Giammaria had a solid lead, but the battle for second was on fire - Rangoni was pressing Cirò hard and behind him the local man Cioci was looking for a gap too. Speaking of GT3 again, the second Audi of Giraudi was lapping very slowly (mechanical troubles?)

The situation froze itself a little bit just before the mandatory pit stop, which as usual shook-up the standings in both classes. The new overall leader was Perazzini-(Cioci), while Necchi-(Giammaria), without any time penalty to take, remained in second. Garofano-(Rangoni) ruined the fantastic stint of his teammate with a spin, but then Montermini-(Moncini) added insult to injury by - in a very optimistic move - spinning the Garofano car and ending its race deep in the gravel.

But the dramas were still coming; the TV pictures showing a Ferrari stopped at the side of the circuit - Rugolo! Race over for him.

Behind all these dramas, and behind most of the GT2 cars, the GT3 battle was a much cleaner one. Lavio-(Gattuso) was the new leader, while Antinucci-(Giraudi) somehow (thanks to no time-penalty) found himself second; but behind him ‘the Alien’ was coming fast. Richard Lietz was clocking fast lap after fast lap and the move for second spot was a mix of bravery and intelligence - overtaking the Audi on the outside of the fastest corner on the track (some 240+ kmh)! Clearly, the laws of physics are different on Venus, than on Earth.

The top points-standing Audi was only fourth, with Bonanomi clear in tyre troubles. Lietz was soon behind Lavio, but the American was good enough to close all the doors…for the moment at least. The two were clearly slowed by the fight and Antinucci regained the time lost, preparing for a big-time finish in the lower class.

Meantime, in a race without dead moments, the “guilty” Montermini got Necchi for second overall; could he catch Perazzini?

In GT3, Antinucci took Lietz for second and then got the lead from Lavio; but the American was not happy and retook the lead with a very robust move. Back in GT2 for the final lap, Montermini (now under investigation for the Garofano move) was very, very, very close to Perazzini - could he pass the AF Corse 430? Of course; at the second to last corner the move was done and he won the race. Perazzini crossed the line second; third was the wild card Necchi; and fourth Mugelli, who ended a very safe and calm race with good points.

The GT3 final minutes were as exciting as the GT2. Antinucci overtook Lavio again and, like an old fox, Lietz got Lavio too for second; but, for the Alien, second was not enough and the Autorlando Porsche took the lead the lap after and won the race in very spectacular fashion. Lavio and Antinucci engaged in a hard battle for second spot, with pushing and shoving. Lavio pushed and passed Antinucci, but the Audi man was not impressed too much and - perhaps full of steam - at the last corner simply pushed out Lavio for the position, leaving the Ferrari spinning on track; definitely not a fair play move. Antinucci made another mistake, when he failed to let Bonanomi by for the position…Dr. Ullrich won’t be impressed by this management of the race by the team.

The post race saw, as expected, a 25 second penalty for Antinucci, so Bonanomi get the place anyway.

Result - here

Have you got the overall picture? Really? We don’t, or at least we have to check the standing several times to understand who got points, time penalty and advantage. One thing is certain, both titles were still open and the fight was becoming very hard indeed; as always when a Championship is on the line.

Gabriele Tosi