With the final five races completed, the first round of the ACI Racing Weekend has come to a close, marking the end of the first part of the racing season at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit. On track were the categories: Italian GT Endurance Championship, Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, Italian F4 Championship, and TCR Italy.
40 cars on the grid, five different manufacturers in the top six positions. This was the triumph of the Italian GT Endurance Championship, on track for the 3 Hours of Imola. Fulfilling expectations after setting the fastest time in qualifying, victory went to the Mercedes AMG of the Iron Lynx team, driven by Swiss Jean Luc D’Auria and Dutchman Lin Hodenius. Second place, after a focused and consistent performance, went to the BMW G82 M4 of the Ceccato Racing team, driven by American Anthony Mcintosh and New Zealander Brendon Leicht, finishing 30.262 seconds behind. Third place went to the crew of the Ferrari 296 Challenge from the AF Corse team, composed of Danish drivers Andreas Bogh-Sorensen and Mikkel Mac.
In the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, Race 2 featured the same drivers who had stood on the podium in Race 1, although in a different order. This time, the winner was Indian driver Akshay Bohra who, starting from pole position, controlled the British driver Freddie Slater’s attack attempts without ever really giving him a chance. French driver Enzo Deligny, the winner of Race 1, crossed the finish line in third position.
A victory of heart and determination for Oleksandr Bondarev in Sunday’s race of the Italian F4 Championship. Having immediately overtaken Kean Nakamura-Berta after starting from pole position, the Ukrainian driver did not give an inch to his Japanese rival. A relentless pressure that paid off for Bondarev when he made the decisive counter-overtake with three laps to go. Chinese driver Newman Chi took the third step on the podium after a very solid performance, while Brazilian Gabriel Gomez, winner of Saturday’s race, finished in fourth place.
Race 2 of the TCR Italy Sequential, marked by two safety car periods and a pink flag, was decided on the first lap when Nicolas Taylor (Audi RS3 LMS), starting from third position, took the lead thanks to two decisive overtakes. After the final restart, the Canadian, who finished second on Saturday, immediately pulled away to claim a well-deserved victory. Second place alone went to Nicola Baldan (Audi RS3 LMS), while there was a battle for the final podium spot, which was claimed by Denis Babuin (Audi RS3 LMS). Only sixth was the winner of Race 1, the British driver Alex Ley (Hyundai Elantra N).
A family battle to claim victory in Race 2 of the TCR Italy DSG. Matteo Maria Roccadelli (Cupra Leon) settled the battle in his favor, managing to hold off Eric Brigliadori (Cupra Leon) despite a mistake at Piratella that caused him to lose the lead, which he quickly regained. Towards the end, the two leaders slowed down enough to allow Mattia Lancellotti (Audi RS3 LMS) to catch up on the final lap, though it was too late to attempt an attack.
