Great comebacks for Imperiale Racing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup and in the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Sprint

26.08.2024 – It was a weekend of great comebacks for Imperiale Racing, busy at Mugello in the third round of the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Sprint and at Magny Cours for the third race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup.

At the Mugello International Circuit, the Mirandola-based team had two Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 EVO2 cars at the start: the #85 was driven by Philippe Denes (USA) and Jack Bartholomew (UK), while the #54 was driven by Robin Rogalski (POL) and Giuseppe Fascicolo (IT).

During the two scheduled free practice sessions, the drivers and pit crew of the #85 Lamborghini used those minutes to constantly check the best possible set-up ahead of the race. That work, conducted by the drivers, technicians and mechanics without a break during both sessions, resulted in Bartholomew finishing the first qualifying session with a time of 1’47″654, the 13th best time of the lot. The second session, on the other hand, allowed Denes to close his lap in 1’46″930, the tenth best time.

During race one, the Imperiale Racing team drivers did not let up and tried everything at themselves to move up the rankings. Denes and Bartholomew did it, recovering four positions from the starting grid and finishing ninth overall and fifth in the PRO class in a race made up of many overtakes and many duels on the track with their rivals. The good performance in race one was repeated in race two, where the Anglo-Saxon crew managed to make up three more positions over the course of the race to finish seventh overall and sixth in class.

The drivers of the #54 Lamborghini also carried out a long list of tests during free practice, supported in this by the pit crew. The results were evident from qualifying, when in the first session Rogalski stopped the clock at 1’47″849, which earned him fifth place among the crews competing for the PRO-AM class. In the second session, Fascicolo had managed to take ninth on the grid with a time of 1’50″150.

In race one, Rogalski and Fascicolo tried to close the gap on the lead but, despite the efforts of both drivers, of the pit crew and the whole team, the two had to give up two positions to their rivals. Despite the great competitive aggression they put in, they finished in seventh place in their class. That same combativeness was the key to the great comeback staged in race two: starting eighth, they both held their rivals’ noses until they came close to the podium, which they missed by less than a second. They finished fourth in class.

At Magny Cours the team from Mirandola (MO) looked after the weekend of the Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 EVO2 #85 entrusted to drivers Ugo De Wilde (BEL) and Dmitry Gvazava (KGZ), competing in the Bronze Cup.

The two, who had started their weekend with the eighth fastest time in free practice (1’38″801), used that session to fine-tune their car. The result of the work carried out by the drivers and the entire pit crew bore fruit in pre-qualifying, which the Italian team crew finished in first place overall thanks to a time of 1’36″840.

The first qualifying session was completed by De Wilde, who set a time of 1’37″430, which earned the #85 Lamborghini crew fifth place in class, while for the second session it was Gvazava who took the wheel. The Kyrgyz driver managed to complete the lap around the Burgundy track in 1’37″863, a time that earned the pair third place in class on the grid.

In race one, De Wilde and Gvazava put all their talent on the tarmac, managing to maintain an excellent pace throughout the entire hour-long race. This allowed them first to recover one position from their starting point, and then to continue to put pressure on their rivals: this allowed them to finish in fourth position, just a step away from the podium. Even before the start of race two, the expectations of the #85 box were high. De Wilde and Gvazava immediately went on the attack, in an attempt to maintain and even improve their third position on the grid by taking very important points in view of the championship. Unfortunately, a contact forced De Wilde into a spin that irreparably compromised his race: he and Gvazava finished ninth in the Bronze category.

Elena Pignatti (Team Owner):
‘We come home from this double round at Mugello and Magny Cours a little with a bitter taste in our mouths. In both scenarios, our drivers put in some excellent comebacks that helped a lot in the overall picture, but we really narrowly missed out on the podium both at Magny Cours and Mugello in the PRO-AM class. Let’s not lose sight of the good things we have shown in these four races and come back even more charged up!’.

Standings Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup – Bronze Class | Round 3 of 4
1. Harper-Leung pti. 65
2. Collard-Mitchell pti. 55,5
3. Hui-Cheever pti. 53
4. Blattner-Marschall pti. 44
5. De Wilde-Gvazava pti. 39,5

Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup 2024 Calendar
Round 1: 17-19 May > Misano
Round 2: 19-21 July > Hockenheim
Round 3: 23-25 August > Magny-Cours
Round 4: 11-13 October > Barcelona

Drivers’ classification Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Sprint | Round 3 of 4
1. Delli Guanti-Mazzola pti. 73
2. Kligmann pti. 72
3. Michelotto-Stadsbader pti. 58
4. Hesse pti. 57
5. Cazzaniga pti. 48
6. Denes-Bartholomew pti. 38

Drivers’ classification PRO-AM Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Sprint | Round 3 of 4
1. Ebrahim-Malvestiti pti. 98
2. Berto-Jelmini pti. 71
3. Moulin pti. 69
2. Fabi pti. 47
5. Alatalo-Di Giusto pti. 44
11. Fascicolo-Rogalski pti. 27

Calendar Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Sprint 2024
3-5 May > Misano
31 May-2 June > Imola
23-25 August > Mugello
4-6 October > Monza