He was the last winner in Imola in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia at the end of 2023, but today, in race 1 of the second round of 2024, it will be really hard to repeat himself for Simone Iaquinta, who was more incredulous than angry in the face of the unfortunate qualification of this morning.
Having returned to the pits halfway through the session, the 911 GT3 Cup of the Prima Ghinzani team refused to start again. A rather unusual sudden event, bordering on the inexplicable, so much so that the team would need more time than allowed from the break until this afternoon’s game 1 to understand its exact nature.
Everything could be connected to the accelerator actuator or in any case to a factor linked to the electronics, but to remove any doubts the team replaced the engine of car number 38 entrusted to Iaquinta, who in race 1 will only line up in 14th position on the starting grid precisely due to not being able to participate in the battle which saw Ten Voorde take pole position at the end of qualifying.
Masters starts in the front row alongside the Dutch leader, who also follows him closely in the championship, while Kelin and Bertonelli line up in the second row (first of the Italians) followed by Zendeli and Quaresmini.
The grid is confirmed almost entirely with respect to the order of times set by the riders in the morning, except for Stefanelli. In fact, the Tuscan gentleman driver of Team Malucelli had all his qualifying times canceled due to overtaking Gray under the red flag.
So Stefanelli is called upon to make a comeback from the back of the grid in both race 1 and race 2 and his relegation for this afternoon’s start allows Fenici, the current category leader in the championship, to gain a position, but in Imola he is forced to chase everyone the direct rivals for the title after a less than optimal qualification.
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