In the fourth round of the Italian series, held on the Tuscan circuit as part of the ACI Racing Weekend, the Finn scored a double and jumped to the top of the provisional standings. Successes for Ceresoli and Frizza in XGTM
A very hot weekend of emotions characterized the fourth round of the XGT4 Italy championship, held on the Mugello Circuit in the prestigious competitive context of the ACI Racing Weekend. The young Finn Benjamin Sylvestersson prevailed in the double challenge held on the Tuscan circuit, confirming his magic moment at the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4 of the Promodrive team by winning a peremptory double that allowed him to climb to the top of the provisional standings. The remaining podium positions in the two heats were shared by Slovenian Mark Kastelic (Lema Racing) and Manuel Lasagni (CZ Bassano Racing Team), while former championship leader Tomas Guedes (Autorlando Sport) did not go beyond a double fourth place after having to deal with some technical problems during qualifying. The challenge for the top spot in the XGTM division reserved for the BMW M2 Cup saw the first seasonal win by Maurizio Ceresoli (CZ Bassano Racing Team), while thanks to the success achieved in the second race Andrea Frizza managed to consolidate his championship leadership over Macedonian Sashko Atanasovski (Pro.Motorsport), who was able to grab a third place finish in race-2.
The appointment at Mugello has in any case proved to be full of satisfactions for the series signed by FX Racing Weekend and organized by Luca Panizzi, with a line-up composed of cars of great charm that has also christened the presence of several new faces. Among them, it is worth mentioning the positive performance of Mauro Guastamacchia, author of a double fifth place with the Cayman GT4 718 of the Centri Porsche Ticino, while Alberto Naska also stood out, for the first time on the track at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS GT4. A pinch of bad luck characterized the weekend of Max Morelli, stopped by a puncture in race-2 after the ninth place achieved in the first heat, while the very young Polish David Zydlewski appeared to be clearly improving, on the track with the second Mercedes AMG GT4 of Lema Racing. Both races were broadcast live on the championship’s social channels with commentary by Marco Privitera and former GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi, while there was no shortage of the usual in-depth specials from the paddock and the Media Centre, with interviews with the protagonists and post-race analyses.
RACE 1. When the green lights went on, poleman Sylvestersson managed to maintain command of operations by keeping Kastelic and Lasagni at bay, while behind them championship leader Guedes (who started from the back) soon managed to climb back up the order, closing in on the leading trio. While Sylvestersson gradually pulled away from his opponents and Lasagni tried to attack Kastelic several times but without success for second place, in the XGTM division a nice duel took place that first saw Atanasovski exit the scene (ending up against the barriers following a contact with Zydlewski), then the rookie Ceresoli took the lead with Frizza who tried to keep up before spinning at Casanova-Savelli. Sylvestersson then took the win preceding Kastelic and Lasagni with a good margin, while the deb Guastamacchia placed himself immediately behind Guedes preceding Zydlewski and Naska. In the XGTM Ceresoli marked his seasonal debut in the category with a win preceding Frizza.
RACE 2. At the start, Sylvestersson managed to confirm his excellent start, maintaining the lead of the group, while Kastelic with a good attack during the first lap momentarily snatched second place from Lasagni. The latter then tried to overtake the Slovenian on several occasions, having to worry at the same time about Guedes coming back from behind. Towards the middle of the race, the CZ Bassano Racing rider managed to get the better of the Slovenian, although he was unable to close the gap built up in the meantime by the fugitive Sylvestersson. While the fight was not lacking even in the middle of the group, with Guastamacchia, Zydlewski and Naska enclosed in the space of a few seconds, in the XGTM Frizza managed to take the lead, preceding Ongaretto and Atanasovski under the checkered flag. All this while Sylvestersson was able to celebrate his second win of the weekend and the consequent leadership in the championship standings.
Luca Panizzi (Formula X Racing Weekend organizer): “It was exciting to be able to compete on such a prestigious stage, capable of maximizing our championship that once again lined up top-level drivers and teams. We congratulate all the protagonists of this weekend and we hope to be able to enjoy an equally exciting show in the two stages that separate us from the end of the season: the fight for the titles up for grabs promises to be spectacular!”
The FX Racing Weekend championships will be back on track next weekend at the Autodromo Vallelunga, with nine categories on the track ready to challenge each other in the event organized by ESTC Promotion on Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September.