03.08.2020 – Imperiale Racing put in a strong performance in the opener of the Italian GT Sprint 2020 Championship this weekend at the Misano World Circuit.
The Italian team fielded the #32 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo driven by Kikko Galbiati (ITA) and Giovanni Venturini (ITA). The weekend was one of the toughest due to the very high track and air temperatures that forced drivers to a careful management of tyres since free practice.
Venturini and Galbiati displayed a great shape for the whole weekend. In qualifying, Galbiati posted his best time in 1’33.439s in the first session, which earned him P7 on the starting grid. In Q2 Venturini’s best time was a 1’32.885s that earned him P6.
The race held on Saturday afternoon has been quite hard-fought. Galbiati and Venturini managed wisely tyres wear and got a great timing for the pit-stop, which allowed the #32 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo to cross the finish line in sixth place.
Resolute to improve the end result in race two, Imperiale Racing’s drivers completed a remarkable performance. The safety car voided the advantage of not having to serve some handicap time due to the result of the first race, but despite this Venturini and Galbiati climbed all the way up to P2. In the closing stages, Galbiati completed the decisive overtaking move on the #71 Ferrari 488 GT3 allowing Imperiale’s pairing to cross the finish line on top. At the end of the race, Stewards decided to penalize this move relegating Imperiale Racing’s drivers lineup to the seventh place.
Luca Del Grosso (Imperiale Racing – Team Manager):
“I cannot hide some disappointment for the conclusion of this weekend, but we have to be proud of what we proved on track. Drivers and team worked with great motivation, we remarkably improved our pace and this allowed us to run a splendid race two, despite the safety car voiding the advantage we thought we had. As I often say, one either wins or learns and this weekend just adds some motivation to bounce back as soon as possible”.
The Italian GT Sprint Championship will resume on October 2-4th from the International Circuit of Mugello.
