20.09.2020 – Imperiale Racing completed a stunning performance taking a splendid win in Vallelunga in the occasion of the Italian GT Endurance 2020 Championship. This result launched the team in the classification of the championship when one race is left to go.
Despite some technical difficulties that saw the Mirandola-based team a bit on the back foot in the initial free practice sessions, Giovanni Venturini (ITA), Kikko Galbiati (ITA) and Alex Frassineti (ITA) worked hard in the #32 Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 Evo to define the right setup ahead of qualifying.
The great technical approach paid off in qualifying as Venturini posted the best time of Q1 in 1’31.231s, Galbiati did the same in the second with a 1’31.409s, while Frassineti was second in 1’31.443s in the third session. The Imperiale Racing’s lineup secured therefore the pole position with a combined time of 4’34.083s.
The race was started by Frassineti who kept the lead and built a good margin on his rivals, posting also the fastest lap of the race in 1’31.810s. Such a great performance was not a walk in the park as the team had to put in a lot of efforts to keep the pace for the duration of the three hours race. A little hiccup happened also in the first stint when one of the hydraulic jacks got a bit longer during the stop. This made the team lose some time, but, back on track, Galbiati managed to keep the lead and he handed the car over to Venturini at the end of his great stint still on top. The Italian driver led the race for the whole stint and crossed the finish line as the first.
Thanks to this great result, Imperiale Racing’s lineup reached 32 points and relaunched its position in the title quest that will end at the Autodromo Nazionale of Monza next 6-8 November.
Luca Del Grosso (Imperiale Racing – Team Manager):
“I am really proud of the whole team. We had a difficult task ahead here in Vallelunga, that is to race for the win, and we worked towards this goal, step by step, building a performance that allows us to be positive ahead of the closing round. The drivers on track have been amazing, but credit for this victory has to be shared with all the guys in the pits and the whole staff. We will keep our head down though: we will be in Monza in over a month, but I am certain we will be motivated and resolute to play all our cards for the win”.
Italian GT Endurance Championship | Drivers standings
1. Comandini-Zug pt. 34; 2. Galbiati-Venturini pt. 32; 3. Fuoco-Rovera-Roda pt. 29; 4. Sims pt. 27; 5. Giammaria-Pulcini pt. 25; 6. Agostini-Mancinelli pt. 24; 7. Kroes-Schandorff-Tujula pt. 21; 8. Drudi pt.20; 8. Frassineti pt. 20; 9. Greco-Hudspeth-Michelotto pt. 30; 10. Postiglione pt. 17
