Italian GT: Racing Team Edil Cris Vallelunga summary

VICTORY IS BEWITCHED AT VALLELUNGA

Racing Team Edil Cris gave a great proof of competitiveness last weekend in the first round of the Italian GT Championship.

Mattia Pavoni set the sixth fastest lap on Saturday in the first free practice session (1'35.678), while in the second session, Matteo Cressoni took the number 11 F430 in the front row thanks to a lap-time (1'35.312) worth the second place.

Race one, conditioned long by the safety car in the initial stages, saw Pavoni author of a consistent first stint that allowed Cressoni to attack in the second part of the race. Rain fallen in the finale set the beginning of the recovery culminated with the overtaking of the race leader Cruz Martins during the last lap. A small time penalty given to the first two crews for observing only partially the imposed time for pit stops determined the final classification with Pavoni and Cressoni relegated to the second place on the podium.

Changing weather conditions also played a crucial role in race two whereby an intermittent rain started to fall on the circuit since the first minutes of the race. Cressoni, started with slick tyres, obtained the head of the race defending it strenuously even when track conditions became almost impossible as the rain increased its intensity.

Pavoni has been as good as his crew-mate and managed to keep the position under a deluge, in a critical situation due to a not working screenwiper. In the final stages, when the rain gave a bit of respite, the driver from Brescia has constantly been the fastest driver on track and took his F430 GT2 Ferrari to conclude first under the chequered flag. A few minutes before the podium ceremony, unfortunately, another penalty arrived due to a defective pit-stop and an unintentional overtaking under the safety car regime, which relegated to the sixth place the crew that ruled throughout the weekend.

Next round of the Italian GT Championship is scheduled for this weekend at the Umbrian track of Magione.

-credit: racingteamedilcris.com