The third round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia 2024 kicks off tomorrow (Thursday) at the Mugello Circuit with the pre-weekend test. This is a particularly heartfelt event because it marks the halfway point of the season before the summer break and will effectively decide the “starting grid” for the second half of the championship taking place in September and October.
The free practice sessions will start on Friday with 33 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars and of course their respective drivers, who will provide the first news in view of the weekend, which also heralds the first real heat of the season with temperatures above 30 degrees, and of the test itself, which will see the same 33 protagonists.
All the registered drivers for the event are present, but among them there is one illustrious name missing in the pursuit of the Michelin Cup title, that of Luca Pastorelli. The driver from Modena, who is fourth in the very competitive standings of the category but only 4 points behind the leader Francesco Fenici and who had already received the Primerent award as best gentleman driver of the weekend in Misano, will therefore not be in the game.
Simone Iaquinta will be there, of course. The driver of the Prima Ghinzani Motorsport – Porsche Centers of Milan team, already two-time champion of the Porsche Italy single-brand, has not measured himself against direct competition along the 5,245 meters of the Tuscan racetrack since the titles won in 2019 and 2020.
Among other things, in that two-year period that he would remember at the Mugello Circuit, very important successes arrived in terms of the championship. After four years, now, the Calabrian driver from Castrovillari is ready to face again all the challenges that one of the fastest and at the same time most technical tracks presents, as well as those of the Carrera Cup, where in fact a “new” start of 2024 awaits him after the little luck encountered in the first two rounds (especially during the qualifications of the last appointment in Imola).
“We return to compete at Mugello after four years – said Iaquinta – and therefore a bit ‘on tiptoe’. Unlike others I skipped last week’s tests, but I will take part in the pre-race test on Thursday, where I think we will find warmer conditions, more similar to those forecast for the following days.”
“It’s an important return for me to the Tuscan circuit, with which I have a good feeling that I hope to find again immediately. In view of the races, therefore, with the team the initial objective is to prepare ourselves as best as possible during the various tests, we can still get some satisfaction and therefore we will try to do well”.
After Thursday’s tests, which include two 2-hour sessions (at 11:05 and 16:10), the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia will be on track on Friday for the usual free practice session, starting at 14:35. Qualifying will be green lighted on Saturday at 9:15, while race 1 gets underway at 15:50. Race 2 will complete the third act of the season on Sunday at 12:20. The two races will be broadcast live and on demand on Dazn, also in free mode, and in live streaming in HD on www.carreracupitalia.it.
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