Fifth place at Monza for Imperiale Racing in the final race of the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance

28.10.2024 – It was with fifth place overall that Imperiale Racing closed its commitment in the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance: the race weekend, marked by bad weather, was staged at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

The team from Mirandola (MO) lined up two Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 EVO2 at the start: the #85, in the PRO class, was driven by Alessio Deledda (ITA), Kevin Gilardoni (CH) and Ugo de Wilde (BEL), while the #54 was driven by Giuseppe Fascicolo (ITA), Alexander Bowen (BLZ) and Dmitry Gvazava (KGZ), competing in the AM class.

The weekend for the #85 Lamborghini began with the third fastest lap time in the first free practice session: in the wet Deledda, Gilardoni and de Wilde set a time of 1’52″607. In the second session, still marked by rain, the crew finished second with a time of 1’53‘082, while the third and final free practice session saw them close in 1’58’274. First on track for qualifying, also characterised by rainy weather, was Gilardoni, who opened the session with a time of 1’56″798, the eleventh best. If de Wilde finished fifth thanks to his 1’57’829, it was Deledda’s time (sixth with a 1’57’050) that closed the gap for the #85 Lamborghini which allowed the crew to start from seventh on the grid.

The three drivers put in a very good race, in the name of concreteness. They managed to stay out of trouble in the chaotic early stages of the race, put in an excellent race pace that allowed them to progressively climb the leaderboard. Without being misled by the track that was gradually drying out, Deledda, Gilardoni and de Wilde managed to close out their championship with fifth place overall after making up two positions on the track.

The weekend for the #54 Lamborghini, which came to Monza still in contention for the AM class title, saw Fascicolo, Bowen and Gvazava set the fastest time in class in the first free practice session, which ended in 1’55″274. The result was repeated in the second session (1’54‘217), while in the final session the three drivers managed to set the third fastest time in class with a 1’58’830. The Lamborghini #54‘s excellent weekend continued in Saturday’s qualifying session, with the combined times of Bowen (1’56’310, sixth overall in the first session), Gvazava (1’59‘447) and Fascicolo (1’59’360) earning the crew the right to start from pole position in the AM class ahead of the decisive race for the title.
Setting off to try and hold top spot from there until the end of the race, Gvazava used his skills in the close fight to avoid any contact at the Prima Variante. Having overcome the first hurdle, the braking at the Variante della Roggia was fatal: it was at that point of the track that a rival hit him on the rear, causing too much damage for the car to continue. He therefore retired on the first lap of the race, through no fault of his own.

Elena Pignatti (Team Owner):
‘The retirement on the first lap of our #54 Lamborghini was a real shame: we had shown throughout the weekend that we had the pace to stay in front, and we could have made the most of an excellent qualifying session to play our title hopes all the way. Unfortunately that contact at the Roggia forced us to stop, because the damage was so extensive that it couldn’t be repaired in the pits and it would have heavily compromised our result anyway. We can’t hide a bit of disappointment, but neither can we hide the big smile left by the fifth place taken by Deledda, Gilardoni and de Wilde. Theirs was perhaps a difficult season, but their excellent performance once again demonstrates the professionalism of all our drivers and every single member of the team. We have worked hard throughout the season!’.

Standings Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance | Round 4 of 4
1. Fisichella-Leclerc-Mosca pti. 79
2. Cazzaniga-Di Folco-Liberati pti. 64
3. Comandini-Denes-Guerra pti. 54,5
4. Aka-Delli Guanti-Mazzola pti. 43
5. Ponzo-Gai-Mac pti. 42,5
12. Deledda-Gilardoni-de Wilde pti. 15

Classification Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance AM | Round 4 of 4
1. Colavita-Riccitelli-Ulrich pti. 78
2. Marchetti-Ferri-Bodellini pti. 74
3. Magnoni-Ciglia-Massaro pti. 65
4. Pavlovic-Splengler-Sanporn pti. 55
5. Bowen-Fascicolo pti. 50,5
7. Gvazava pti. 32,5

Calendar Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance 2024
14-16 June > Vallelunga
12-14 July > Mugello
6-8 September > Imola
25-27 October > Monza