Italian GT, Vallelunga - Race Two Reports
Another Cup Classic

Qualifying

Yet again three Ferraris were on top of the second qualifying for the Italian GT at Vallelunga; this time Aguas, Montermini and Mugelli having a private battle through all the 25 minutes duration of the turn, with the very much-Italian Portuguese ending at the top of the timesheet. This time Porsche at least limited the damage by grabbing fourth overall for the GT2 car of DelMonte, but it was more than a second behind the Ferraris.

Fifth overall, and first in GT3, was a marvellous Gianluca Giraudi in the Audi R8, followed by Lavio (not Livio); the Swiss newcomer making now the best of his GT3 car. Third in class, but some places back, was Gianluca Roda in the Autorlando 997 R, then the “old” version of the Gallardo with Berton.

In GT Cup the pole went to the fast young-gun Mapelli (partnered with Mancini); second was Villa in a Porsche and third the “man travelling all round the globe” Amaduzzi (partnered with Benusiglio) in his La Na 430. Behind this trio came Baccini in another Porsche and then the “new” Gallardo 4wd of Stancheris.

Again at the top end of the 35 cars that will enter the split races were the two GT4 cars.

GT Cup Race Two

A good, hot sun welcomed the GT guys for Sunday’s race of the Italian GT Cup. All 19 cars would take the green flag, but first the time penalty: Mapelli-Mancini 25 seconds, Castellaneta-FormilliFendi 15, Cerruti-Linossi 5, Caffi-Fratti 10.

At the start, a very clean one, Mapelli got the jump and flew away from the pack, while behind him Villa held on in second, followed by Baccani, Amaduzzi, Stancheris, Bocellari, the wild card De Amicis and Di Fant. Mapelli, clearly the fastest driver in the class, put his head down and increased his lead by about 1 to 1.5 seconds per lap - he knew that he would have to stop for a further 25 seconds in the mandatory stop, so he had decided that it was better to gain as much ground as possible.

Behind the “little alien”, Villa and Baccani held their places, while Amaduzzi had his hands full with an angry pack; but the La Na Ferrari couldn’t stop the “bull-run” of Stancheris who got the best of the 430. Amaduzzi then engaged in a very good battle with another 430, with Bocellari at the wheel, exchanging places several times in the next few laps; sometimes with very robust, but clean, moves. Behind him the race 1 winner Castellaneta - having suffered a very bad qualifying and a start in the back of the pack - was having trouble gaining places. It was a damage limitation exercise also for the other title contender, Fratti, who was in about tenth place, but his race would change dramatically when his codriver Alex Caffi took over the car. The ladies, this time with Michela Cerruti at the wheel ,were in eighth place.

The race established itself just about as the mandatory pitstop window opened, with Mapelli strongly in the lead by 30 seconds, while behind him Villa, Baccani and Stancheris were very close to each other. Fifth was Bocellari and sixth still Amaduzzi.

The time penalty, thanks to the results from the previous races, shook-up the standing - we still had Mancini-(Mapelli) in the lead, but with a very slim margin from Fornaroli-(Villa), Goldstein-(Bocellari), Bellini-(Baccani)and Caffi-(Fratti); all of them separated by a bunch of seconds from each other. Goldstein was the fastest driver on track and was soon catching Fornaroli; passing him easily and beginning the hunt to Mancini in the lead Ferrari. Caffi, as predicted, was clocking fast laps one after the other and was now already fourth overall.

The race entered its final minutes and once again, in pure “Hollywood style”, we had a quite wonderful finish. Mancini was struggling with tyre wear and his engine temperature was too high, while Fornaroli was just two seconds behind him. Goldstein was a shadow on the Porsche's back, and Caffi was joining the party too, making it a four-way, nose-to-tail, battle to the chequered flag.

Five minutes before the end Goldstein overtook Fornaroli, who was now also in danger of losing another spot to Caffi…the ex-F1 was taking no prisoners and passed the other Porsche. Mancini, with a very sick Ferrari, was still first, but Goldstein was on his back, with Caffi now very nose-to-tail to the other two Ferraris.

The last lap was reminiscent of the French F1 GP of Dijon in 1979…Mancini was trying to keep his Ferrari as wide as possible, but his car wouldn’t respond and he lost the lead just four corners from the end (we discovered later that he had messed-up a gear change). Goldstein was now the new leader, and Caffi got Mancini too; and in the last two corners he tried all the tricks in the book, but Goldstein mantained his calm and crossed the line first by a mere sixth of a second from Caffi. Mancini finished third and parked his Ferrari just after the chequered flag. Fourth was Fornaroli, then Bellini, Maestri and Passuti, all with Porsches. The ladies finished eighth, just in front of the Gallardo.

The Ginetta and the Cayman finished the race once again.

It was a breathtaking race once again, with no bad moves and no crashes; purely motorsport at its best. Mapelli and Mancini lead the standings, with Mapelli clearly the fastest driver overall. Now they have two wins, one second and one third place from four races for 52 points, while Caffi-Fratti are second with 41. At this time it is crucial to finish every race, and Villa-Fornaroli, Castellaneta-FormilliFendi clearly have to work to gain points. Bellini-Baccani perhaps have the most balanced pair, but they have had no luck at all up to this point.

Race result - here.

GT2/GT3 Race Two

The sun was still shining for race two of the Italian GT in the main classes. But first the time penalties: 25 seconds for Aguas-Garofano, 10 for Palma-Mugelli,  and 15 for Montermini-Moncini in GT2. In GT3 Roda-Henzler 15, Albuquerque-Bonanomi 25, and 10 for Giraudi-Antinucci.

You may have noticed the absence in race one of the 430 Ferrari of Cirò-Cerrai, the guilty one who crashed into the Autorlando 997 GT2 at Misano. During qualifying on Saturday, Cerrai had a monster shunt, destroying his car and injuring the Italian driver, thankfully not seriously; so the GT2 class was now down to only seven cars.

Fireworks began even before the green flag, when, on the formation lap, Livio - the 2009 GT3 champion - had a major clutch problem and was not able to start the race; a bad return for the old champion. Despite the huge shunt in race one, the new 997 R of DeLorenzi-Borghi, after an all-nighter, did take the start. The reason for the shunt was a failure in the ABS system (thanks to the “unfair penalty” of 100 kg?).

The start of the race was a clean one, with Aguas leading from Montermini, Mugelli, Del Monte, Lavio (first in GT3), Bonanomi, DalleStelle, Roda and Perazzini.

The first casualty was the wild-card of Broniszewski, who suffered a puncture in the right front and lost almost a lap.

Upfront Aguas was gradually gaining time on Montermini and Mugelli was still near the ex-F1 driver, while the miserable weekend of the Autorlando team finished in a white cloud when the 6 cylinder boxer engine of DelMonte expired just 15 minutes after the start. Perhaps this year is not a Stuttgart one in GT2? With only Porsche in GT2, we were now guaranteed an all-Ferrari podium. Behind the Ferrari trio upfront, the battle was a ferocious one, with a good mix of GT2 and GT3 cars. Lavio, first in GT3 and fourth overall couldn’t escape from Bonanomi in the Audi R8, which was now itself being pressed hard by the GT2 car of DalleStelle, while behind him Roda could easily resist the GT2 car of Perazzini.

DalleStelle finally got the Audi R8, thanks to a little mistake by Bonanomi, and was soon catching and passing the GT3 leader Lavio. Aguas, however, was now in trouble, after gaining some seconds from Montermini; losing all his advantage and becoming in danger of losing the lead (tyre trouble). The pass for the lead was only a few corners away; Aguas missing a gear and losing enough momentum for the ex-F1 driver to gain the lead. Mugelli was ten seconds behind the duo at this point.

The mandatory pitstop shook up  the GT3 class much more than GT2. Gattuso-(Lavio), without any time penalty to worry about, was leading the lower class, from Henzler-(Roda), Bontempelli-(Caccia) and the fast charging Albuquerque-(Bonanomi).

Soon it was clear that Henzler, despite his talent, couldn’t gain time and was losing spot after spot (thanks to the “unfair penalty” of 100kg) and finished his “very ordinary” race eighth overall and fourth in GT3. The only good point in doing so badly is that the Autorlando car will be without any time penalty for the next race.

Despite the TV coverage “losing” the GT3 battle right up until the chequered flag, Lavio won the class easly (finishing fourth overall). Behind him Albuquerque overcame his time penalty to catch and later pass Bontempelli for the second spot.

In GT2 after the pitstop Moncini-(Montermini) was leading with a very safe margin and would cross the line first for another victory, while behind him Garofano-(Aguas) and Palma-(Mugelli) had been engaged in a good hard battle; Palma having the best of Garofano, but losing the place with a spin. Later, in the final stages of the race, he was able to catch and pass Garofano again, who would finish on the lower spot of the podium.

Race result - here.

With another all-Ferrari podium the Championship now has a month off before the next round at Magione, where the hot Italian summer perhaps could give to the Autorlando Porsches (in both classes). In GT3 the battle is a much closer one, with the Audi now full in contention for the class title.

The GT2 standing is Montermini-Moncini 50 points, 40 for Garofano-Aguas and Palma-Mugelli, 34 for Cioci-Perazzini, only 19 for the Porsche pair of Ruberti-DelMonte. In GT3 Roda is leading with 46, Bonanomi-Albuquerque 39, Giraudi 36, Caccia-Bontempelli 35, Gattuso-Lavio 28.

Gabriele Tosi