08.11.2020 – A very tight weekend closed edition 2020 of the Italian GT Endurance Championship and Imperiale Racing secured the third place of the drivers’ classification with Kikko Galbiati (ITA) and Giovanni Venturini (ITA).
The Italian team fielded the #32 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo on which Giacomo Altoè (ITA) filled in at the last minute to take over from Alex Frassineti, who tested positive for the Covid-19 just before the weekend. The team completed a good weekend despite the big handicap time to serve after the victory claimed in Vallelunga, which affected the end result in this occasion.
The drivers got a great feeling with the car and worked to refine the setup during the three free practice sessions. This intense and precise work allowed Imperiale Racing to be the great protagonist of qualifying. In Q1 Altoè posted a great 1’47.162s, that was the second-fastest time, while Venturini completed his best loop in Q2 after 1’47.339s, which was the best time of the session, while Galbiati was third in 1’48.034s. The drivers qualified therefore in fourth place with the overall time of 5’22.535s.
Altoè put in a furious first stint and engaged in a good battle with Nemoto (JAP) finding his way past him on lap 19. At the end of his stint, the safety car compacted the group voiding the gaps and at the restart, a contact with Comandini (ITA) made the Imperiale Racing driver lose contact with the leading group.
In the second stint Galbiati displayed a good control of the car, lapping on a great pace that allowed him to keep the position until the driver’s change at the end of the second hour, when Venturini took over from him. The latter also ran a solid stint on very good lap times. Eventually, Imperiale Racing’s car crossed the finish line in fifth place, which earned Galbiati and Venturini the points needed to end third in the drivers’ classification.
Luca Del Grosso (Imperiale Racing – Team Manager):
“We were very close to the big target, but the race has been quite eventful and we paid a bigger fee than what we should have. The drivers ran a great weekend and lapped on very good times, which confirmed the level of the car and we also were not far from setting the fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately, the first safety car reshuffled the cards in the worst possible moment for us as we built a great margin, but overall we are happy about how things went in this race. We had a big handicap time to serve and we reacted with strength and determination. I want to conclude by thanking Luca Pirri and Alessandra Pizzinato of LP Racing that coordinated the team on track, all the staff that gave their heart and soul and I wish Alex a prompt recovery”.
Imperiale Racing’s season in the Italian GT Championship will end on December 4-6 with the closer of the Sprint series in Vallelunga.
Italian Endurance GT Championship | Drivers classification
1. Fuoco-Rovera-Roda pt. 47; 2. Agostini-Mancinelli pt. 39; 3. Galbiati-Venturini pt. 38; 4. Drudi pt. 35; 5. Comandini-Zug pt. 34; 6. Kroes-Schandorff-Tujula pt. 33