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 tomorrow’s races, with the 34-car GT3 field delivering twists in both sessions.
Qualifying 1: Perel takes pole as red flag cuts session short
David Perel set the pace in the opening session, clocking a 1m40.411sec to claim pole position for Race 1 ahead of defending champion Andrea Frassineti, who showed immediate pace on his debut with Tresor Attempto Racing on the #99 Audi R8 LMS GT3. Simone Riccitelli completed an impressive third in the #63 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3 while Giuseppe Forenzi took a fine fourth in the #77 FAEMS Team BMW M4 GT3. Jens Klingmann will start fifth in the #7 BMW Italia-Ceccato Racing entry.
The session was ended prematurely by a red flag for a stranded car before the chequered flag.
Qualifying 2: King pips Michelotto in dramatic finale
The second session proved even more eventful. Alberto Di Folco led the timing screens for much of the session in the #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 before a mid-session red flag briefly halted proceedings. On the resumption, Raffaele Marciello moved the #7 BMW Italia-Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3 to the top, only for Mattia Michelotto to go quicker after the chequered flag in the #66 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3. When the dust settled however it was Harry King in the #57 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R who had the fastest time of all — a 1m40.390sec — to claim an unexpected but deserved pole for Race 2. Michelotto lines up second ahead of teammate Paul Levet in the #19 VSR Lamborghini, with Alex Aka fourth in the #99 Audi to give Tresor and defending champion Frassineti further encouragement heading into the race weekend. Marciello, like co-driver Klingmann in Race 1, will start fifth in the #7 Ceccato BMW.
GT Cup: Alessi and Pollini take poles in contrasting sessions
The GT Cup qualifying was a tale of two sessions. Q1 was repeatedly interrupted by three red flags, but when the times were counted Pietro Alessi claimed pole for Race 1 in the #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracan ST with a 1m41.280sec, ahead of Matteo Pollini in the #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini Huracan ST and Leonardo Megna in the #151 Spirit of Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge. Stefano Comandini qualified eighth in the #101 Best Lap Ferrari 296 Challenge on his first season switching from GT3 to GT Cup.
Q2 was a much smoother affair, with Giacomo Pollini going one better than his cousin Matteo to take pole for Race 2 in the same #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini with a 1m40.907sec. The headline result further down the order came from Giancarlo Fisichella, who put the #123 Double TT Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge second on the grid — a strong statement from the former Formula 1 driver on his return to the Italian GT paddock.
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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