The charm of an international event characterized the third seasonal stage of the XGT4 Italy and Supersport Series GT championships, staged in the prestigious context of the European Le Mans Series on the ‘Enzo e Dino Ferrari’ circuit in Imola. The two “queen” series in the covered wheel panorama of the FX Racing Weekend competitions gave life to a double challenge full of entertainment, in front of a splendid audience and during a weekend characterized by a summer climate which contributed to further “inflame” an atmosphere already made incandescent by the rich array of cars present at the start.
The Portuguese Tomas Guedes and the Finnish Benjamin Sylvestersson also confirmed their role as great protagonists of the of Autorlando Sport won race 1, consolidating his leadership in the championship, while the second took prompt revenge in the second race by preceding his rival on board the BMW M4 GT4 fielded by Promodrive. Manuel Lasagni also performed excellently, finishing third on both occasions in the Mercedes AMG GT4 of the CZ Bassano Racing Team, while in the XGTM division Andrea Frizza (V-Action Racing Team) and the Macedonian Sashko Atanasovski (Pro .Motorsport).
RACE-1. Both races featured a heated brawl and numerous twists and turns, with the single grid registering the presence of as many as twenty-five cars at the start. The fight soon became heated for the leadership of the Atanasovski’s attacks in the XGTM are difficult. The finale was heart-pounding: the last lap reserved a splendid three-way duel in the Polish Dawid Zydlewski and the Panamanian rookie Valentino Mini. The XGTM division instead saw Andrea Frizza from Brescia stand out, who in this way consolidated his leadership in the standings ahead of Atanasovski and teammate Eugenio Mannarino.
RACE-2. The second race, held on the afternoon of Saturday 6 July, saw a fight at the top between Sylvestersson and Guedes in the XGT4 Italy group who exchanged first position several times, while in the XGTM a technical problem slowed down Frizza allowing Mannarino to initially take command. A contact that occurred shortly after half-way through the race between Bortolato and Turzo at the Variante del Tamburello made it necessary to intervene by the Safety Car, which eliminated the gaps that had arisen up to that point. Once the damaged cars had been recovered and the neutralization phase was concluded, the final laps saw the Finnish Sylvestersson win the first seasonal victory in the XGT4 Italy ahead of Guedes and Lasagni, while in the XGTM Atanasovski won ahead of Mannarino and Frizza.
Luca Panizzi (Formula X Racing Weekend organizer): “For us it was a great source of pride to be able to compete this weekend in Imola alongside the European Le Mans Series, in a highly prestigious context which saw our categories deliver two exciting and spectacular races. We had nine nationalities present at the start, confirming how our format is able to attract the attention of teams and drivers from all over Europe and beyond. Our live streams were, as always, followed by thousands of fans, thanks also to the splendid work of Davide Valsecchi and our communications staff who make our events truly unique and capable of describing the event at 360°. Now we will face the summer break preparing the next events at Mugello, with the aim of giving life to a second part of the season which will see the rest of our championships protagonists on the main Italian racetracks: it will be a great show!”