The second race weekend of the Gran Turismo Sprint GT Cup Championship for HC Racing proved to be more competitive than ever, the home event for the Medicina (BO) team at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. The team took part with its Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 in the second event in the GT Cup calendar, collecting valuable points placings.
The weekend began with the two free practice sessions on Friday characterized by particularly variable weather conditions. Qualifying instead saw Piero Randazzo’s #288 car leading the team’s efforts in the first session, while in qualifying 2 the young prodigy Ferdinando D’Auria repeated one of his excellent performances on the flying lap, scoring 2nd place in the category on the car #202.
Race 1
Race 1 on Saturday was particularly eventful due to a contact at the rear already at the start and one safety cars on lap 8, which however did not prevent the two crews from building a highly consistent race. Car #202 was among the first to take advantage of the pit windows, followed one lap later also by #288. Similar strategies therefore, aiming for an early driver change allowing the comeback to be better managed during the race pit windows. At the end of Race 1 the crews achieved 5th and 6th place in class respectively.
Race 2 on Sunday was once again very dynamic due to an accident with Tamburello at the start and consequent safety cars. Due to a contact on the restart at the Villeneuve chicane, the #202 crew had to build a comeback race by delaying the driver change, a different strategy therefore from the #288 which had instead engaged in a heated battle in the meantime top 10. Unfortunately, 2 minutes from the end a new contact at Tamburello involved Piero Randazzo’s #288 car, denying a possible class victory (6th place the result at the finish line), while crew #202 consolidated a race of great determination in the comeback, finishing on the asphalt with 2nd place in class, which was then lost due to penalties for contacts in the race.
«We still pay a marked amount deficit of top speed due to the current Balance of Performance compared to Ferraris” explains the team principal Alessio Canonico. «In our opinion, the penalty imposed on car #202 in Race 2 was excessive, given that the BoP makes it difficult for us to overtake on the straight, which forces us to be more daring in the corners. The weekend is still positive because the potential of the cars and the team is clear and visible to everyone, despite the performance and final result being limited by balance and from some contacts in the race.”
Race 2
«Game 2 saw us largely redeem ourselves performance yesterday, where we had paid a few seconds too much at the stop. Today, however, despite the collision at the start, the puncture and the final penalty, we demonstrated excellent race pace which allowed us to build a great comeback” declared Gaetano Oliva of crew #202 at the end of the weekend.
«Even with the difficulties in qualifying, the weekend was significant» echoes Ferdinando D’Auria. «Race 2 in particular had a particularly difficult start, however the goodness of the car package allowed me to put together a solid comeback, passing the car to Gaetano in fifth position and allowing him to close the race with an excellent 2nd place on the asphalt »..
«I’m satisfied with mine performance, unfortunately the contact in Race 2 made us lose precious positions, precluding us from victory” declares Piero Randazzo of the #288. «Nonetheless, the team was still superb and allowed us to maintain a very fast race pace, I have high expectations for the rest of the championship».
The calendar of the CIGT Sprint series now includes a competitive hiatus until the race weekend of 23-25 August at Mugello, and then continues on 4-6 October with the Monza event. In the meantime, HC Racing will take part in the events of the parallel Endurance championship, starting with the 14-16 June stage in Vallelunga.
