Italian GT Imola: Harry King storms to Race 2 pole as Simone Riccitelli leads Race 1 grid

The 2026 Italian GT Sprint Championship (CIGT) got underway at Imola on Saturday morning with two qualifying sessions setting the grids for this afternoon and Sunday’s races, although the outcome was shaped as much by penalties and format as outright pace.

Under the Sprint format, each driver pairing runs separately, with the slower driver determining the Race 1 grid and the faster driver setting the order for Race 2.

Riccitelli and King on pole after disrupted Imola qualifying

Qualifying 1 was interrupted twice by red flags, limiting running and leaving little room for improvement after the opening laps. When the session ended, it was David Perel who set the fastest overall time with a 1m40.411sec in the #50 Spirit of Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.

Behind him, Simone Riccitelli was second quickest in the #63 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3, followed by Giuseppe Forenzi and Jens Klingmann.

However, for Race 1, pole position goes to Riccitelli, who is the highest-placed of the relevant drivers from the session. He will be joined on the front row by Klingmann, with Franck Perera, Pedro Ebrahim and Ian Rodriguez completing the top five on the grid.

Qualifying 2 unfolded as a tighter and more competitive session. Raffaele Marciello set the early benchmark in the #7 BMW Italia-Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3, before Mattia Michelotto moved to the top in the #66 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3 during the closing stages.

In the end, Harry King delivered the decisive lap, setting a 1m40.390sec in the #57 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R to go fastest overall, just ahead of Michelotto, and Paul Levet in the #19 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

For Race 2, King starts from pole, with Michelotto alongside him on the front row. Levet lines up third, followed by Marciello in the Ceccato BMW, and Lorenzo Ferrari in the #62 Double TT Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, with the grid determined by the fastest driver from each pairing across both sessions.

Both sessions were also impacted by post-session decisions, with the #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Alberto Clementi Pisani and the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Andrea Frassineti having all their times deleted.

GT Cup: Alessi and Pollini take poles in contrasting sessions

GT Cup qualifying at Imola delivered two very different sessions, with a disrupted opening segment followed by a cleaner second outing, while the final grids were ultimately shaped by how each driver pairing combined their performances.

Qualifying 1 was interrupted multiple times by red flags, limiting running and placing the emphasis on early laps. Pietro Alessi set the fastest overall time with a 1m41.280sec in the #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracan ST, ahead of Matteo Pollini in the #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini Huracan ST and Leonardo Megna in the #151 Spirit of Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge.

However, with the Race 1 grid determined by the slower drivers of each pairing, it is Mattia Lancellotti who starts from pole in the #184 Lamborghini, ahead of Megna and Matteo Pollini.

Qualifying 2 ran more cleanly and produced the fastest laps of the weekend. Giacomo Pollini set the benchmark with a 1m40.907sec in the #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini Huracan ST, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in the #123 Double TT Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge and Andrea Fontana in the #109 Zanasi Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge.

For Race 2, where the fastest driver from each pairing determines the grid, Pollini starts from pole, with Fisichella alongside him on the front row. Pietro Alessi lines up third in the #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracan ST, ahead of Fontana, with Filippo Croccolino completing the top five in the #112 MRNC12 Ferrari 296 Challenge.

On track today

Race 1 for both classes gets underway this afternoon at Imola, with the GT3 field taking to the circuit at 15:00 followed by the GT Cup at 17:30. Both races run over 50 minutes plus one lap.

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