Charles Weerts and Riccardo Cazzaniga claimed the two GT3 pole positions for the Italian GT Championship (CIGT) Sprint finale at Monza, while title rivals Jens Klingmann and the Georgi Dimitrov-Simone Riccitelli pairing start both races from the midfield.
Weerts fastest of all
Weerts needed just one flying lap to put the #23 Gino Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 he shares with Mathias Villadsen on pole for Race 1. His 1m45.097sec was the quickest time of the morning and put him 0.207sec clear of Dean MacDonald in the #59 Raptor Engineering McLaren 720S GT3. Jef Machiels was third in the #51 Spirit of Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, the car that leads the Pro-Am standings.
Raptor McLaren on the front row twice
Cazzaniga secured Race 2 pole for the Raptor McLaren with a 1m45.350sec on his final lap. Francesco Braschi lines up alongside in the #51 Ferrari, with Leonardo Moncini third in the #90 Villorba Corse Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
Title contenders in the pack
Championship leader Klingmann starts Race 1 from ninth in the #7 BMW Italia Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3. Simone Riccitelli is 12th in the #63 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 he shares with Georgi Dimitrov. On Sunday they are side by side: Dimitrov starts seventh, with Klingmann’s co-driver Ugo De Wilde eighth, just 0.058sec slower.
Klingmann leads by 20 points with 40 available. Outscoring the VSR pair in Race 1 would be enough to seal his third title.
Race 1 starts on Saturday at 16:55 local time, with Race 2 following on Sunday at 14:50 CEST.
Zanasi Ferraris take both GT Cup poles
Zanasi Racing claimed both GT Cup poles. Giacomo Ghermandi set a 1m45.419sec in the #203 Zanasi Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge, the Am entry he shares with Vittoria Piria. That put him at the head of the Race 1 grid, 0.093sec ahead of Giacomo Pollini in the #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST. Mattia Simonini was third in the sister #119 Zanasi Racing Ferrari, and his co-driver Matteo Sartori took Race 2 pole with a 1m46.518sec, ahead of Piria and Matteo Pollini.
The GT Cup titles are still open in both Division 1 classes. In Pro-Am, cousins Giacomo and Matteo Pollini lead by a single point. Their #106 Lamborghini Huracán ST starts second in Race 1 and third in Race 2, well clear of their four title rivals. Best Lap’s two Ferrari 296 Challenges are their closest challengers. The #111 of Alex Frassineti and Lorenzo Pegoraro starts 18th in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2, while the #101 of Vito Postiglione and Stefano Comandini starts 13th in Race 1 and 14th in Race 2. Filippo Croccolino and Riccardo Paniccià line up 14th for Race 1 and seventh for Race 2 in the #112 MRNC12 Ferrari 296 Challenge. Pietro Alessi had all his times deleted for causing a red flag. The #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracán ST he shares with Mattia Lancellotti therefore starts 21st in Race 1 and from the back in Race 2.
In Division 1 Am, points leader Francesco Galli starts eighth in Race 1 and tenth in Race 2 in the #231 Krypton by DL Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge he shares with Simone Iaquinta. Galli has already secured one title this season, having won the Division 1 Am crown in the Italian GT Endurance Championship with Luigi Ferrara. His closest rival Francesco Coassin starts fourth in both races in the #207 Invictus Lamborghini Huracán ST he shares with Jonathan Cecotto.
GT Cup Race 1 starts on Saturday at 14:45 CEST, with Race 2 on Sunday at 10:30 CEST.
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