Weekend notebook: successes in Germany, Italy, and the United States

A very positive weekend for Ferrari, returning to victory in the DTM at the Sachsenring. There were also victories in Italy, at Imola in the Italian Gran Turismo Endurance Championship, and at Mugello in the Ultimate Cup Series. Finally, in the United States, there was another triumph in the GT WC America at Barber Motorsports Park.

DTM. In the sixth round of the DTM championship contested at the Sachsenring, Jack Aitken, driving the number 14 Ferrari 296 GT3, dominated Race-1 after also securing pole position in the 100th race for Emil Frey Racing. His teammate, Thierry Vermeulen, driving the number 69, finished eleventh but quickly redeemed himself in the qualifying session for the second race, setting the fastest lap with a time of 1’17’’311.

At the start, Vermeulen immediately tried to pull away from the competition and managed to stay in the lead. However, a pit stop error resulted in a “long lap” penalty from the Marshals, costing him the lead and relegating him to third place. Nevertheless, this was his first podium of the season. Aitken finished sixth, which placed him fourth in the overall standings with 120 points.

The next race, the penultimate of the season, is scheduled from 27 to 29 September at Spielberg.

CIGT. The race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, the third round of the Endurance season, was eventful and marked by bad weather, which led the race director to start under Safety Car conditions, impose various neutralisations, and bring out the red flag, which stopped the race with the cars in the pit lane. When the race resumed, again under Safety Car, the rain intensified, and the event was definitively called off. Among the GT3 entries, the best Ferrari performance came from the number 27 Scuderia Baldini 296 GT3 driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, Arthur Leclerc, and Tommaso Mosca, who finished fourth. In the GT3 Pro Am class, the number 50 AF Corse 296 GT3, with Riccardo Ponzio, Stefano Gai, and Mikkel Mak, finished in second place, now third in the standings, eight points behind the leaders. In the GT Cup 1 Division Pro Am, it was an all-Ferrari podium, with the number 103 Easy Race Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo driven by Jody Lambrughi, Francesco La Mazza, and Emma Segattini taking the win, ahead of the number 111 Best Lap car with Luca Demarchi, Sabatino Di Mare, and Simone Patrinicola. The final podium place instead went to the number 151 SR&R Ferrari driven by Nicholas Risitano, Lyle Schofield, and Luca Attianese. The final and decisive round of the Italian Gran Turismo Endurance Championship is scheduled from 25 to 27 October at Monza.

Ultimate Cup Series. In the fourth round of the Ultimate Cup Series championship contested at Mugello, the number 1 Visiom team Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 saw its unbeaten run come to an end. After winning the first three rounds of the season, Jean-Paul Pagny, Jean-Bernard Bouvet, and David Hallyday finished third in the four-hour race but remain firmly in command of the overall standings.

In the GT Sprint Cup, Francesco Atzori, driving the number 3 SR&R Ferrari 488 GT3, won two of the four scheduled races, while the final race was won by Lourenço Monteiro, in the 488 Challenge Evo from the same team, ahead of the number 91 Racing Spirit of Leman Ferrari driven by Frédéric Lacore. The penultimate round of the season will take place at Magny Cours from 10 to 13 October.

GT WC America. At Barber Motorsports Park, in the sixth round of the GT World Challenge America, the number 163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri, triumphed in the Am class in the first of the two races scheduled for the weekend. In the same race, the other AF Corse Ferrari entry, number 88, with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini taking turns at the wheel, finished in eighth place in the Pro Am class. In Race-2, Toledo and Agostini improved, finishing fifth in class, getting closer to the podium. Their teammates, however, were unable to complete the race.

The championship resumes from 3 to 6 October, with the final event being the 8 Hours of Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track.