The Swiss driver achieves a double success at the wheel of the Porsche Cayman 718RS and takes the lead in the overall classification. Entertainment and emotions in the event staged as part of the ACI Racing Weekend
Another highly prestigious showcase for the GT4 Italy championship, which as usual certainly did not skimp on emotions during the fourth round of the season held at the Vallelunga Autodrome. The penultimate round of the series which enjoys the official SRO Motorsports Group license had a weekend as a protagonist as part of the ACI Racing Weekend held on the circuit named after Piero Taruffi, providing a spectacle in front of a splendid audience.
The satisfaction of climbing to the top step of the podium in both races was the Swiss Nicolas Leutwiler (Centri Porsche Ticino), who achieved impeccable conduct which allowed him to keep the competitors at bay without excessive difficulty. opponents at the wheel of the Porsche Cayman 718RS. Thanks to this double success, the expert Swiss driver has also jumped to the top of the provisional overall ranking, when only the two heats scheduled for the final round in Misano on 10-12 November remain at the end of the season.
Excellent results also for Pierluigi Veronesi (Autorlando Sport) and Tommaso Lovati (Lema Racing), who placed behind the winner in race 1, then giving way to team mates Gian Piero Cristoni and Lorenzo Bontempelli at the end of the second test, with the latter placing respectively in third and second position under the checkered flag. Good performances were also achieved by Andrea Bruno D’Angelo on Porsche Cayman 718RS and Gabriele Bini (Audi R8 GT4), while the dispute was also heated in the Cup B class which saw Lorenzo Semprini stand out on Andrea Zanforlin on both occasions.
After the two free practice sessions, the challenge along the 4085 meters of the Capitoline autodrome came to life with the double challenge for the pole position, which saw the Swiss Leutwiler excel on both occasions, capable of obtaining a best personal lap of 1:40.809. Behind him in Q1 were respectively Tommaso Lovati (Mercedes AMG GT4) and Pierluigi Veronesi (Porsche 997 GT4), while in Q2 Lorenzo Bontempelli grabbed a place in the front row, placing Dario Cerati’s Porsche 714 Cayman behind him.
The first GT4 Italy heat inaugurated the long sequence of races of the ACI Racing Weekend on the afternoon of Saturday 14 October. At the start, the leader Leutwiler had to defend himself from the attacks of an attacking Veronesi, with the latter managing to maintain second position in the second part of the race since Lovati’s return. The first three therefore reached the finish line within the space of just 2″, with Lorenzo Bontempelli who concluded his debut in the series with a positive fourth place, preceding Cerati, D’Angelo and Bini in order, with Semprini who in his once he prevailed against Zanforlin and Capocchi in the Cup B ranking.
The start of race 2 saw an aggressive Bontempelli manage to overtake Leutwiler in the early stages to lead the race, only to then have to surrender to the domineering return of the Swiss, capable of imposing a race pace that was unsustainable for his opponents. While the Swiss achieved another success and the Milanese was satisfied with an excellent second place, Gian Piero Cristoni then reached the third step of the podium, taking over from Veronesi aboard the Porsche from Orlando Redolfi’s team. D’Angelo and Bini then reached the foot of the podium, while Semprini repeated the success of the previous day in Cup B, putting Zanforlin’s Mitjet behind him.
Luca Panizzi (Formula We saw two good and hard-fought races, characterized by the presence of highly performing cars and which confirm the growing interest in our new championship. This is also an excellent way to celebrate the renewal of our partnership for 2024 with SRO Motorsports Group, confirming the quality of the work done so far. I thank ACI Sport and all our partners: we are now focusing on the final event in Misano, where all the titles up for grabs of the FX Racing Weekend will be awarded: it will be an event not to be missed!”
