Imola set the stage for another tense weekend in the Italian GT Sprint Championship as the leading contenders exchanged heavy blows in the fight for the title. Rocco Mazzola and Fabio Rauer gave Tresor Attempto a breakthrough win in Saturday’s opener, but Andrea Frassineti and Sandy Mitchell answered back for VSR with a dominant drive on Sunday, ensuring the battle remains wide open heading into the Monza finale.

Race 1 (GT3)

Rocco Mazzola and Fabio Rauer delivered a statement win for Tresor Attempto in the #99 Audi R8 LMS. Starting seventh, Mazzola picked off two cars in the opening stint before handing the Audi to Rauer, who emerged third after the stops. When AF Corse’s #51 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Lorenzo Ferrari and Mahaveer Raghunathan served a drive-through for a jump start, Rauer moved to second and, on lap 21, made the decisive pass on Ignazio Zanon’s #66 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 to take the lead and control the run to the flag.

Felice Jelmini and Daniele Di Amato pushed hard in the #55 Nova Race Honda NSX GT3 and finished 1.257 seconds back in second. Zanon and Mattia Michelotto completed the podium for VSR and sealed the Pro-Am win, ahead of William Alatalo and Leonardo Caglioni in the #2 Ceccato BMW M4 GT3 and Leonardo Colavita and Ibrahim Badawi in the #62 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Alessio Deledda and Yuki Nemoto brought the second #19 VSR Huracán home sixth.

Championship leaders Jens Klingmann and Jesse Krohn were seventh in the #1 Ceccato BMW, one place clear of Andrea Frassineti and Sandy Mitchell in the #63 VSR Lamborghini. That result keeps Frassineti on top of the standings, but only by a single point over the BMW crew, with Edoardo Liberati third on 58 points. In GT3 Am, Florian Scholze and Guy Albag won for Antonelli Motorsport in the #64 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Race 1 (GT Cup)

Lorenzo Pegoraro and Filippo Croccolino charged from eighth on the grid to win for Best Lap in the #111 Ferrari 296 Challenge. Pegoraro worked his way into contention during the opening stint before Croccolino emerged from the pit stops in second and quickly took the lead, resisting late pressure from Stefano Gai.

Gai and Francesco Fontana finished second in the #169 AF Corse Ferrari 296 Challenge after a storming comeback drive, with Franco Girolami and Leonardo Arduini completing the podium in the #117 MM Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán ST Evo2.

Race 2 (GT3)

Andrea Frassineti and Sandy Mitchell struck back in style with a dominant victory for VSR in the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Mitchell made the most of pole position at the start, immediately pulling away and handing the car to Frassineti with a comfortable gap. Frassineti managed the pace to the finish, while teammates Franck Perera and Loris Spinelli completed a one-two result for the team in the #6 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2.

Jens Klingmann and Jesse Krohn produced a strong recovery in the #1 Ceccato BMW M4 GT3, climbing from ninth to third and defending the position in the closing laps. Behind them, Lorenzo Ferrari and Mahaveer Raghunathan took fourth in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 and also claimed the Pro-Am win, keeping their title ambitions alive.

Leonardo Colavita and Ibrahim Badawi added more points for AF Corse in fifth with the #62 Ferrari 296 GT3, finishing ahead of William Alatalo and Leonardo Caglioni in the #2 Ceccato BMW M4 GT3. The #55 Nova Race Honda NSX GT3 of Felice Jelmini and Daniele Di Amato crossed the line in seventh, just ahead of Ignazio Zanon and Mattia Michelotto in the #66 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, who remain Pro-Am leaders despite finishing eighth.

Imperiale Racing’s Philippe Denes and Alexander Bowen secured ninth place in the #85 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, while Race 1 winners Rocco Mazzola and Fabio Rauer rounded out the top ten in the #99 Tresor Attempto Audi R8 LMS. In GT3 Am, Alberto Clementi Pisani and Marco Cassarà prevailed in the #88 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, after a close battle with Florian Scholze and Guy Albag in the #64 Antonelli Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The result strengthens Frassineti’s grip on the championship, now leading Klingmann and Krohn by nine points.

Race 2 (GT Cup)

Marco Zanasi and Andrea Belicchi made their championship debut unforgettable with a commanding win for Pinetti Motorsport in the #171 Ferrari 296 Challenge. Starting from pole, the duo led every lap despite three safety car interruptions, keeping control through each restart to take a clear victory.

Jean-Luc D’Auria and Giuseppe Forenzi finished second in the #127 Invictus Corse Lamborghini Huracán ST Evo2 after an early duel with Riccardo Ianniello, while Lorenzo Pegoraro and Filippo Croccolino recovered from their Race 1 success handicap to secure third in the #111 Best Lap Ferrari 296 Challenge.

Title fight wide open as Monza finale looms

Imola kept the Italian GT Sprint title battle on a knife edge as Ceccato’s BMW crew of Jens Klingmann and Jesse Krohn edged Frassineti in Race 1 before VSR hit back in Race 2, leaving just nine points between them. With Pro-Am and Am honours also undecided, all eyes now turn to Monza in one month’s time for the championship decider.

Photo gallery.