Italian GT Mugello: Guy Albag and Lorenzo Ferrari secure pole for title-deciding finale

Guy Albag and Lorenzo Ferrari have put the #64 Mercedes-AMG GT3 by Antonelli Motorsport on pole position for the season finale of the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo (CIGT) at Mugello. The provisional results put the #45 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and the #7 Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo in P2 and P3.

Qualifying started at 12:40 CET under sunny and less windy conditions compared to practice day. From the start, the #63 VSR Lamborghini was on the pace, setting fastest time in Q1. Another Italian brand also showed its one-lap pace with the #50 Ferrari being quick in the hands of David Perel. Looking at the times set earlier this Saturday and on Friday, the laps were a lot quicker and benchmarks of 1:45.7 were soon set by the Pro and Pro-AM class.

An early 1:45.756 set by Giacomo Altoé in the #93 Ferrari put the squad on top of the timesheets in Q1. The time remained unbeaten when the clock stopped. Vincent Abril (Ferrari) and Ariel Levi (Audi) showed their pace too, but the gap to Altoé was at least three tenths. Only Davide Fumanelli in the #33 Ferrari came within 1,5 tenths in the remaining seconds of Q1. In the paddock it was expected that fresher tyres later in the session would have a big impact.

Q2: Two red flags interrupt, Ugran and Geraci impress

Qualifying continued in Q2 and kicked off with Group 1, with Jacopo Cimenes in the #8 Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo going out of the pitlane first. The session was red flagged as the #163 Lamborghini of GT Cup had big problems, with smoke coming out of the back. Pietro Agoglia stopped the car with directions of the marshals, after which the session could continue.

With still four minutes to go, there was no time set yet by any of the drivers. Competitive times soon came in, with Stefano Gai in the #69 Ferrari slotting in with a 1:46.290, although it was Dylan Medler in the #45 Ferrari who managed to overtake him in the timesheets with a significant gap of two tenths. In the last seconds, Filip Ugran made the biggest jump to P1 with a lap of 1:45.863, being 0.188s faster than Lorenzo Ferrari in the #64 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

After a short break, Q2 continued with Group 2, with the #63 Lamborghini going for the first fast lap. Hugo Cook soon had to stop his attempt, as the #85 Lamborghini stopped next to the track after experiencing a spin into the gravel. The session was red-flagged until the car was pulled out. Cook continued where he left of and put a 1:47.000 on the board, with Felice Jelmini in the #11 BMW just 0.083s behind him.

With two minutes to go, Enzo Geraci was over nine tenths faster than Cook, putting a 1:46.053 on the board in his #36 Lamborghini. Alex Aka and Cook both improved, sneaking closer to Geraci, but still missing three to six tenths. Geraci put in another lap and managed to go even faster than his previous laptime to conclude Q2 with a fastest lap of 1:45.985.

Q3: Weerts ends session on top

At 14:00 CET, the last part of qualifying started, with both Ceccato Racing BMW’s going out first. It was William Alatalo in the #7 and Riccardo Cirelli in the #8. The Finnish driver was the first one to complete a flying lap of 1:45.763. Cirelli slotted in behind him with a 1:46.002, which soon wasn’t good enough anymore for the top three. The #64 Mercedes with Guy Albag behind the wheel sped to P1 with a 1:45.180 to set a new Q3 benchmark.

Another red flag interrupted the session as the #62 Ferrari ended up in the gravel. With three minutes left to go, the session resumed. The time set by the #64 Mercedes remained on top, with Francesco Braschi in the #51 Ferrari and Alessandro Balzan in the #45 Ferrari in P2 and P3.

The last part of qualifying started with Group 2, which was kicked off by Jasin Ferati in the #11 Nova Race BMW. His lap of 1:46.367 was soon beaten by others, as Charles Weerts moved to P1 with a 1:45.229 and finished the season on top.

Title contenders Albag and Ferrari start from pole

Guy Albag and Lorenzo Ferrari had the quickest average overall and will start the three-hour race from pole position. The pair can grab the title on Sunday. They told GT REPORT that they will always aim for the win, but will obviously prioritize the championship goal. Rivals of the #66 VSR Lamborghini seem to start from P8 in the Pro-category, as visible in the provisional results. Furthermore, provisional results put the #45 Ferrari in P2 and the #7 BMW in P3.

In other categories, the provisional polesitters are as follows: