Expectation is rising ahead of the Hankook 12H Mugello, the second round of the 2021 24H Series, scheduled for Friday and Saturday on the Ferrari-owned circuit. After the 24H Dubai with no Maranello entrants, the series - organized by Creventic - returns to Europe where the next six events will be hosted, the first of which is set to take place on Italian soil.
Am trio. Three Prancing Horse cars will be in action on the tricky Tuscan track, fielded by Scuderia Praha, Racing One and Kessel Racing. For the Czech team, the return to the series after a year’s absence, having dominated the category in the most recent editions, will bring both a new challenge and a new line-up, with Miroslav and Matúš Výboh alternating alongside Josef Kral. The Výboh father and son pairing will feature among the protagonists of the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell in the Ferrari Challenge Europe and, after having taken part in some warm-up tests last year, can be expected to make their presence felt behind the wheel of the 488 GT3.
Racing One, after regaining the title in SP9 Am class with Christian Kohlhaas in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, will this time entrust their 488 GT3 to a newcomer quartet made up of Axel Sartingen, Daniel Schwerfeld, Francesco Lopez and Daniele Di Amato. Similarly, in the case of the German team, drivers such as Sartingen and Di Amato come from a Ferrari Challenge background, with the Italian a two-time champion (2014 and 2017) as well as a protagonist in the Italian GT Championship with Alessandro Vezzoni.
Elsewhere, Kessel Racing, will field part of the quartet that competed in the Gulf 12 Hours. Taking the track next to L.M.D.V. will be Alessandro Cutrera, Marco Talarico and Marco Frezza. The Swiss team will be making its debut in the series organized by Creventic, which will see 50 crews line up for the event.
Tradition. The 12H Mugello is a race that has seen Maranello machinery among the top protagonists in every edition, with three triumphs to their credit thus far. The first race, held back in 2014, was won by AF Corse’s 458 Italia GT3, while it was the 488 GT3 belonging to Scuderia Praha that took the top honours in 2017 and 2019.
Schedule. The on-track action gets underway on Friday with qualifying scheduled from 11:30 to 12:00 to determine the pole position for the main race which, as usual, will be divided into two parts. The first is set for Friday, with the green light at 14:00 and the chequered flag at 18:00. On Saturday, the competitors will again take up the challenge at 10:00, with the race scheduled to conclude at 18:00.