Bristot Shines with Double Victory to Take Carrera Cup Italia Lead at Misano
Day and night provided the backdrop for the second thrilling round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, held at the Misano World Circuit with 32 drivers returning to action after the season opener at Imola.
The one-make series organised by Porsche Italia now has a new championship leader: Andrea Bristot. In both daylight and under the floodlights, the Dinamic Motorsport driver dominated proceedings in Misano Adriatico. The rookie from Belluno secured an emphatic double victory (his first wins in the Carrera Cup Italia) by dominating both races after starting from pole position, which he claimed in qualifying with a new all-time 911 GT3 Cup lap record for the Romagna circuit (1'34”322). Despite it being his first experience racing at night and only his third race in the Italian one-make series, Bristot handled the pressure of Race 1 like a seasoned driver, managing three safety car periods with remarkable composure.
Pietro Delli Guanti and Harley Haughton completed the podium in the spectacular night race. The Team Q8 Hi Perform driver remains Bristot’s closest rival in the standings and, after securing his third consecutive runner-up finish of the season, had to settle for fourth place in Race 2 while still collecting valuable championship points. Haughton, meanwhile, continued to impress with an excellent second place finish. The young British driver from Enrico Fulgenzi Racing, also a complete rookie in the series like Bristot, confirmed his growing potential and improved further in Race 2 by finishing second, although partly aided by the misfortune suffered by Senna Van Soelen.
After setting the fastest lap and chasing Bristot in a battle fought on pace, the young Dutch driver from the Target team was forced to slow towards the closing stages. It proved to be a difficult weekend for the driver who arrived at Misano as championship leader and had shown strong pace in free practice. However, Van Soelen paid heavily for a couple of infringements between qualifying and Race 1, and any hopes of redemption in Race 2 also slipped away. Aldo Festante flew the flag for the South Tyrolean team, taking fourth place and the fastest lap in the night race before securing his first podium finish of the season on Sunday behind Bristot and Haughton.
The championship remains wide open both in the overall standings, where Gianmarco Quaresmini holds onto third place for Prima Ghinzani Motorsport thanks to two solid points finishes, and in the Michelin Cup. There, teammate Cesare Brusa, winner of Race 1 ahead of Alex De Giacomi and Andrea Girondi, was forced to retire from Race 2 following contact with Stefano Stefanelli. His direct rivals capitalised on the setback to close the gap in the standings, with Girondi claiming his maiden victory for Enrico Fulgenzi Racing ahead of Francesco Fenici, who secured his first podium of the season for TDE, and Andrea Galli, who also celebrated his first podium finish with Ebimotors. The next round of the Carrera Cup Italia will take place at Monza on 19–21 June.