The Italian GT Championship (CIGT) Sprint weekend at Vallelunga delivered Raptor Engineering’s first Italian GT victory for McLaren on Saturday, before BMW Italia Ceccato Racing answered on Sunday. Riccardo Cazzaniga and Dean MacDonald won Race 1 in the #59 McLaren 720S GT3, while Jens Klingmann and Max Hesse bounced back from Saturday frustration to win Race 2 in the #7 BMW M4 GT3.

Race 1: Cazzaniga and MacDonald deliver McLaren’s first Italian GT win

Riccardo Cazzaniga and Dean MacDonald took victory in Saturday’s Race 1, giving Raptor Engineering’s #59 McLaren 720S GT3 a strong start to its Italian GT campaign.

Starting from pole, MacDonald held the lead in the opening stint while Guy Albag kept the #64 AKM Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 within striking distance. The gap rarely moved beyond a second before the pit stops, but the McLaren stayed in control.

Cazzaniga took over for the second half and had to absorb late pressure from Albag, who closed back in after briefly losing second place. At the chequered flag, the #59 McLaren held on by just 0.341 seconds.

Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson completed the podium in the #8 BMW Italia Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3, also taking GT3 Pro-Am victory. The #9 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Ariel Levi and Rocco Mazzola finished fourth, ahead of the #77 FAEMS Team BMW M4 GT3 of Ian Rodriguez and Giuseppe Forenzi.

Late trouble for championship leaders

Pedro Ebrahim and Jasin Ferati finished sixth in the #55 Nova Race BMW M4 GT3, with Andrea Frassineti seventh in the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 and Georgi Dimitrov and Simone Riccitelli eighth in the #63 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3.

There was final lap frustration for Jens Klingmann and Max Hesse – substituting for Imola winner Raffaele Marciello – in the #7 BMW Italia Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3. After serving their success pit stop penalty carried over from the BMW’s Imola victory, Klingmann was running inside the top ten before a tyre issue dropped them to 25th at the finish.

In GT3 Am, Fabrizio Fontana and Stefano Gai won the class in the #69 Spirit of Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, finishing 17th overall.

GT Cup: Alessi and Lancellotti win as leaders hit trouble

GT Cup ran separately earlier in the day, with Pietro Alessi and Mattia Lancellotti winning Race 1 in the #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracán ST. They finished ahead of Giacomo Pollini and Matteo Pollini in the #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini, while Alex Frassineti and Lorenzo Pegoraro completed the podium in the #111 Best Lap Ferrari 296 Challenge after a strong recovery drive.

Championship leaders Vito Postiglione and Stefano Comandini endured a costly race in the #101 Best Lap Ferrari 296 Challenge. Postiglione had climbed from 12th to sixth in the early stages before a front-left suspension failure forced the car into retirement after just four laps, costing the pair valuable points.

Race 2: Klingmann and Hesse bounce back to strengthen BMW Italia’s points lead

BMW Italia Ceccato Racing bounced back in Sunday’s Race 2 as Jens Klingmann and Max Hesse took victory in the #7 BMW M4 GT3.

Klingmann started from third and moved into second behind Guy Albag in the #64 AKM Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, chasing the Mercedes a few seconds back throughout the opening stint. The race swung during the pit stops: Albag had to serve success penalty time for his Race 1 second place, while the #7 BMW carried no additional penalty. That allowed Hesse to emerge in control before managing the gap to Pedro Ebrahim in the #55 Nova Race BMW M4 GT3 and bringing the car home 11.163 seconds clear.

Podium fights stay alive to the finish

Behind the winning BMW, the fight for the remaining podium spots stayed tense to the finish. After Jasin Ferati had kept the #55 Nova Race BMW M4 GT3 in the lead group, Pedro Ebrahim brought the car home in a controlled second place. Behind him, Georgi Dimitrov’s charge from 11th on the grid put the #63 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 into podium contention before Simone Riccitelli held off Albag’s #64 Mercedes-AMG in the closing laps. Riccitelli crossed the line just 0.297 seconds ahead, leaving Albag fourth after leading the opening stint.

The #9 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Ariel Levi and Rocco Mazzola finished fifth, ahead of Mattia Michelotto and Ignazio Zanon in the #66 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 and Luca Segù and Franck Perera in the #72 DL Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3. Ian Rodriguez and Giuseppe Forenzi took eighth in the #77 FAEMS Team BMW M4 GT3.

BMW Italia Ceccato Racing also took GT3 Pro-Am honours with Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson in the #8 BMW M4 GT3, finishing ninth overall ahead of Lorenzo Ferrari and Gilles Renmans in the #62 Double TT Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 who took second in class. The final Pro-Am podium place was decided in the last corner, where Alberto Di Folco wrestled the #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 past Federico Malvestiti in the #73 AKM Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 to take third in class by just 0.227 seconds.

Marco Cassarà and Vittorio Viglietti won GT3 Am for Tresor Attempto Racing in the #22 Audi R8 LMS GT3.

Klingmann strengthens GT3 championship lead

Klingmann leaves Vallelunga leading the GT3 Sprint standings on 55 points, ahead of Dimitrov and Riccitelli on 41. Raffaele Marciello, who scored the #7 BMW’s Imola points before Hesse stepped in at Vallelunga, sits third on 35 points.

GT Cup: Croccolino and Paniccià win as Alessi and Lancellotti take points lead

Filippo Croccolino and Riccardo Paniccià won the GT Cup class’s Race 2 in the #112 MRNC12 Ferrari 296 Challenge. The pair moved ahead during the pit stop cycle, with Croccolino controlling the second half of the race to secure MRNC12’s first win.

Pietro Alessi and Mattia Lancellotti finished second in the #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracán ST, 3.415 seconds behind, after carrying the success handicap from their Race 1 victory. Davide Roda and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the podium in the #123 Double TT Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge after a strong recovery drive from the eleventh row.

The result puts Alessi and Lancellotti into the GT Cup Division 1 Pro-Am championship lead on 45 points, ahead of Giacomo and Matteo Pollini on 40 and Alex Frassineti and Lorenzo Pegoraro on 37. After retiring from Race 1 and finishing seventh in class in Race 2, Vito Postiglione and Stefano Comandini dropped to fifth in the standings on 34 points.

Italian GT moves on to Monza and Mugello

After a busy Sprint weekend at Vallelunga, the Italian GT Championship now switches focus to the Endurance series, which continues at Monza on 19-21 June. The Sprint championship returns one month later with two races at Mugello on 24-26 July.