The first stage of the Italian GT Sprint Championship has just ended at the Monza circuit.
The two Audi R8 LMSs driven by Mancinelli-Postiglione and Agostini-Ferrari celebrate a second and a third position under the checkered flag, even if due to a 5″ penalty imposed on Agostini for the trajectory in the first variant they are skipped to 5th place.
Qualifying, Saturday 01 May, took place under the sign of uncertainty due to the clouds that dominated the circuit.
Daniel, slowed down in his best lap by a Lamborghini in front of him, finished seventh with a time of 1’48″577.
At the start of race 1, despite the still wet track, Mancinelli started with dry tires and in his stint he tried to take as few risks as possible given the difficult conditions.
From the eleventh position occupied at the time of the opening of the driver change Mancinelli managed to recover up to fourth place. As soon as Postiglione got on the track, he immediately found himself at ease, and on lap thirteenth he occupied the second position against the Ferrari 488 of Filippi/Lippi, managing to conquer his first podium with the Audi team.
In race 2, Sunday 2 May, the Audi #14 of Mancinelli and Postiglione, despite the 10″ handicap due to the second place obtained in race 1, was the protagonist of a fantastic comeback.
Qualified in fifteenth position after betting on an unfortunate choice of tires, from the start Postiglione made his way through the thick of the group, climbing up to tenth position towards the end of the stint. Daniel, who returned to the track after the 10″ of handicap, fought immediately and from tenth he overtook every opponent that came within his range, finishing race 2 in fifth position. With the extra point gained thanks to overtaking on the last lap, Mancinelli and Postiglione thus have 22 points and are second in the standings on equal points with Crestani/Greco.
“It was a great start to the championship.” – Daniel said – “The second place obtained in Race 1 and an excellent fifth position in Race 2 – when we started fifteenth – are a great satisfaction. Now we are third in the championship on equal points with the second and one point behind the leaders, our teammates Agostini-Ferrari. Thanks to the Audi Sport Italia team for enabling us to fight for the top positions.”
