First seasonal victory for Simone Patrinicola in the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship: the Sicilian pilot soared at the top of the standings in the second race held yesterday on the historic Imola circuitdriving the Ferrari 488 Challenge of the Best Lap team, shared with teammate Lorenzo Pegoraro.
Lightning-fast departure
Started in race 2 from fifth position on the starting grid, the Enna driver (already winner of the PRO-AM class, but in the 2023 Endurance series) he immediately climbed to second place, defending it until the pit stopto hand over the wheel to his teammate, who once he returned to the track he jumped into the lead, end at the end of the race under the safety car regime. Saturday instead race 1 was affected by a penalty for jumping the startwhich nullified the pole position achieved in qualifying, making another possible victory disappear.
A positive weekend
“An overall positive weekend – says Patrinicola – In the end we took home a pole and a fifth place in qualifying, all enhanced by the record in Race 2. We were competitive, keeping pace with our direct opponents. Of course, there’s a bit of a bitter taste left in the mouth about what happened in race 1.” However, the general performance on the Imola track bodes well for the upcoming commitments, both in the Sprint series and in the Endurance series, which will be inaugurated from 15 to 16 June on the Vallelunga circuit in Rome.
