The rain that yesterday “washed” the free practice of the second round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, rather than cooling the spirits of those aiming for a place in the sun on the grid for race 1 and race 2, actually ignited them further.
The missed work and not being able to test the set-up and dry conditions behind the wheel of the 911 GT3 Cup forced a global reset and now everything will be played out entirely in the qualifying sessions starting this morning. And there are many who intend to sign up for this… game and, perhaps, surprise.
The key points lie in what to expect at this point from the “in the dark” qualifying of this second round of the season and whether the fact of having practically not tested in free practice is an advantage for those who have already raced in the Supercup in Imola two weeks ago with the F1.
On the first, given that the number one favorite remains Ten Voorde (even with the rain he immediately jumped to the top in a very short time, lapping in a clear 2), it will be forty minutes that cannot be taken for granted, even tighter than usual and in which everyone will probably take to the track right from the start, contrary to what usually happens, when at least for the first 10-15 minutes the protagonists of the Michelin Cup and the younger ones are mainly around.
In this sense, Michelin’s first set will mainly be used for an “adjustment” before the final brawl, in which fireworks can really be expected. Among other things, yesterday’s reset could also lead to two extremely different starting grids between race 1 today at 3.20pm and race 2 tomorrow at midday, for which the risk of rain seems to have been averted at the moment. Today, rather, it should also be hot (not muggy).
On the Supercup factor, however, and everyone seems to agree on this, the conditions that the riders will find will be totally different compared to Imola on May 19th. “Washed” track, cooler temperatures and above all different grip. The necessary setup and fine-tuning change a lot compared to an F1 weekend and so does the grip found when braking.
The only real advantage is the more time spent behind the wheel of the 911 GT3 Cup and on one of the most exhilarating and challenging tracks. The top five in the general classification, as well as Iaquinta, Bertonelli and Klein, will have to try to take advantage of it, but “in the dark” and with the traffic expected from the green light everything could really turn into roulette…
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