In Monza Keagan Masters becomes the 2024 champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia. The first title of the 24-year-old South African and the second of Team Q8 Hi Perform after that of 2021 arrived at the end of race 2 of the last round, won by Robert De Haan after an initial duel with the new champion.
Arriving at the last and decisive race as leader of the standings, Masters started from pole position and after maintaining the lead at the start he reasoned from a championship perspective by not exaggerating in the defense of first place, immediately put in the crosshairs of the two Target Competition standard bearers De Haan, who He also started from the front row, and Marvin Klein, aggressive from the start from the third row in a desperate attempt to overtake the South African in the general classification as well.
De Haan attacked Masters at the beginning of the second lap and overtook him with a lateral “knock” (apparently completely involuntary) in the Curva Grande section and in the meantime he was good at getting past Klein too.
At that point De Haan, making his debut in the Italian single-brand championship, began to consistently lap faster than everyone, maintaining first place until the finish line. After the pole obtained in race 1, the 18-year-old Dutch driver also achieved his first “Italian” success on the Brianza circuit in race 2, followed by Klein, second on the podium.
Today’s double allowed Target Competition to become champion among the teams. For the South Tyrolean team it is the first time, rather early in truth, after their debut last season. Third place, however, was enough for Masters to celebrate the champion title by preceding Oliver Gray in the race.
In fact also a teammate, given that Ombra Racing is also the team that this year technically follows the 911 GT3 Cup of Q8 Hi Perform. Fourth at the finish line, the young British driver was also the best Rookie at the finish line.
The duel that saw him resist the continuous attacks of Larry Ten Voorde was spectacular, as he completed the top-5 with Fulgenzi Racing without being able to attack the Masters and therefore had to settle for second place in the championship (with one less weekend played).
In race 2, Janne Stiak follows sixth and seventh Lirim Zendeli, already Rookie champion yesterday, while like yesterday Kalle Rovanpera is the author of a brilliant comeback which with Prima Ghinzani takes the two-time world champion rally up to eighth place, with overtaking and laps at the level of the best at his debut in Monza and in the Italian single-brand championship.
The top-10 is therefore completed by Bayley Hall with the first 911 GT3 Cup of BeDriver and by Simone Iaquinta, who with Prima Ghinzani took the fastest lap of the race in 1’48″141 (to be confirmed in the case of some speed cuts variant).
In the Michelin Cup, between victory and title it is a big celebration at Ebimotors for Alberto De Amicis. The reigning champion confirmed his category pole position, managing to maintain the lead for all 30 minutes plus one lap. For the driver from Guidonia it is the fourth Michelin Cup in his career,
Second in race 2 and second in the championship is Francesco Fenici, who had his best weekend ever in Monza and did well to confirm himself as a difficult rival to beat at the wheel of the Raptor Engineering 911 GT3 Cup, vice-champion among other things only due to the scrap game (Fenici he actually scored more points than anyone else this season).
The category podium is therefore completed by Cesare Brusa, who with Prima Ghinzani concludes with a precious third place at home his first year in the Carrera Cup Italia, a single-brand brand that has confirmed itself as increasingly international and competitive and which will return in the 2025 season starting from the official test of mid-April right in Monza ahead of the first round on May 2-4 at the Misano World Circuit.
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