Italian GT Monza: Pollini cousins take GT Cup title in chaotic finale

Giacomo and Matteo Pollini are the Italian GT Championship (CIGT) Sprint champions in GT Cup after a final 44-minute race at Monza in which the title changed hands three times in the last 12 minutes. The cousins lost the championship lead at a late restart and got it back moments later, when a crash ahead of them brought out the safety car that led the field to the flag.

Ninth place overall for the #106 Pollini Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST secured the Division 1 Pro-Am crown by three points over both Best Lap Ferrari crews.

Comandini’s scare

Matteo Sartori led from pole in the #119 Zanasi Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge, chased by Davide Gaggianesi in the #120 Rangoni Corse Lamborghini Huracán ST. Matteo Pollini slipped from third on the grid to fifth, behind Lorenzo Pegoraro in the championship contending #111 Best Lap Ferrari 296 Challenge. Meanwhile, overnight points leader Stefano Comandini climbed from 13th to seventh in the sister #101 Best Lap Ferrari.

Comandini’s race nearly ended there. Michal Bartoszuk ran wide at the Variante Ascari right in front of him and crashed the #117 MM Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán ST hard. Comandini went through the gravel himself just behind the Lamborghini, and narrowly missed a loose wheel as he rejoined. Leonardo Megna was less fortunate, as the #151 Spirit of Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge hit the wheel and sustained heavy front damage. The crash damaged the guardrail and the race was red-flagged with 29 minutes left.

Pit stops cost Best Lap the lead

The order barely changed after the restart. Sartori still led from Gaggianesi, with Pegoraro and Matteo Pollini close behind in fourth and fifth, while Comandini dropped back to eighth. Then, just as the pit window opened with 20 minutes to go, Thomas Gostner got his #261 MP Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge stuck in the gravel and the race went under full course yellow.

The #101 had to serve 15 extra seconds for winning on Saturday, and Vito Postiglione rejoined 21st and out of the points. That handed the provisional title to the Pollinis, who served 12 extra seconds for their second place and rejoined fifth in class. Giacomo Pollini was fifth in class, with Alex Frassineti in the #111 Best Lap Ferrari third overall behind the #119 Zanasi Racing Ferrari of Mattia Simonini and Gabriele Torelli’s 120 Rangoni Corse Lamborghini.

Decided behind the safety car

At the restart with five minutes left, Pollini lost five places and fell to eighth in class. For a few minutes, Frassineti and Pegoraro were champions. Then Mattia Lancellotti in the #184 SF Squadra Corse Lamborghini Huracán ST ran into the back of Milan Rytter’s #114 Oregon Team Lamborghini Huracán ST at the first chicane. Both cars were ahead of Pollini, and the crash brought out the safety car again. Pollini gained one more place when Ronnie Stefani’s #163 DL Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST slowed behind it.

That settled it. The top three had run nose to tail all race without a change of position, and Frassineti was 0.6 seconds behind Torelli when the race was neutralised. Second place would have put him level with the Pollinis and given him the title on wins – but that never happened. Sartori and Simonini took the victory after 19 laps, ahead of Torelli and Gaggianesi.

The Pollinis finish on 83 points, with both Best Lap crews on 80. In Division 1 Am, Francesco Galli took the title with a class win in fourth overall, alongside Simone Iaquinta in the #231 Krypton by DL Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge.

GT3 finale next, five rounds in 2027

The GT3 field closes the Sprint season this afternoon, with its title decider starting at 14:50 CEST.

Next year, the Sprint championship expands from four to five rounds. The 2027 season starts at Vallelunga on 23–25 April and continues at Imola on 28–30 May, Misano on 6–8 August and Monza on 24–26 September. The titles will be decided at Mugello on 29–31 October.