Mattia “The Flash” Bucci chooses a historic facility for his first podium in the Italian Gran Turismo Championship: that of Imola [FOTO]

Now there are no longer any doubts: the ace from Catignano is predestined. And it continues to forge ahead, even if in a physiological see-saw pattern. But on The Flash, aka Mattia Bucci, the experts are starting to really bet, and they are right, given what he manages to do aboard a racing car like the one he has the fortune (and merit) of driving. I debut at “Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack in Imola” In the Italian GT Sprint Championship Of Mattia Bucci it was definitely memorable. The young Abruzzo talent of the team Best Laptogether with his crewmate Filippo Croccolino, managed to climb to the lowest step of the podium at the end of a weekend characterized by ups and downs.

Friday’s Free Practice was immediately ruined by both mechanical anomalies and difficult weather conditions, which brought the work program to a sudden halt. On Saturday, however, the high frequency of interruptions forced by red flags and Full Course Yellows prevented thecrew n.178 to improve their times, relegating Croccolino to 21st place respectively Bucci to the 19th at the end of Q1 and Q2. Race 1 continued the negative trend, marking the second retirement in the championship due to technical problems. In Race 2 the tune was decidedly different: at the start Bucci immediately became the protagonist with five positions recovered before the safety car came in, a neutralization that was necessary to dispose of some cars involved in an accident. The comeback then continued as the laps went by thanks to some overtaking carried out before the pit stop, the latter being decisive for the climb: the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo it has been parked on the pit lane lot sinceCatignano standard bearer in tenth position and was taken over by Croccolino in fifth, demonstrating the excellent work done by the drivers in the laps before and after the stop. The top five was subsequently confirmed under the checkered flag and then transformed into a podium finish thanks to some penalties imposed by the Stewards’ Panel. It is worth underlining this extraordinary race conduct: sixteen cars overtook to win the bronze medal, especially if we consider the high level of difficulty of the Imola circuit in terms of overtaking.

These are the statements of Mattia Bucci: “I am really very happy with the result achieved in Imola, we deserved it after the technical problems we experienced. Despite everything I always remained positive and I never stopped believing in it, my partner and I strengthened each other and I think this was the winning key that allowed all this. I’m truly speechless, I expected everything except the podium! I hope it’s just the first of a series, now let’s get back to work to try to progress and improve the result further. I thank Giovanni Minardi and Minardi Management, the Best Lap team, my partner Filippo Croccolino, my family, my staff, my trainer Walter Marini and his team and all my sponsors for their incredible support.”