A positive weekend for Daniel Mancinelli at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, venue for the third round of the 2026 Italian GT Endurance Championship.
At the wheel of the No. 26 EasyRace Ferrari 296 GT3, shared with Leonardo Gorini and Massimo Perrina, Mancinelli finished the 3 Hours of Imola on the third step of the GT3 AM podium, keeping the team firmly in contention for the class title. The result allows the EasyRace crew to retain second place in the provisional standings, with the championship still completely open ahead of the final round of the season.
The weekend had started in the best possible way, with pole position in the GT3 AM class and 11th place overall out of 53 cars on the grid. It was an important result that confirmed from qualifying the competitiveness of the No. 26 EasyRace Ferrari 296 GT3 and the potential of the Mancinelli-Gorini-Perrina line-up.
In the race, however, a few incidents prevented the crew from turning the pace shown throughout the weekend into an even stronger result. A problem during one of the pit stops cost them several valuable seconds, forcing Gorini, Perrina and Mancinelli to fight their way back through the field.
“It was a positive weekend, even though we had a few ups and downs.” – commented Daniel Mancinelli – “We had already shown in qualifying that we were very competitive, and the pace was there in the race as well. Unfortunately, we had an issue with a wheel during a pit stop and lost a few seconds, which made the difference in such a closely fought race. Leo and Massimo both did an excellent job during their stints and managed to recover very well. In the final part of the race I found myself fighting for the podium, but a penalty for a pit stop that was completed too quickly ultimately dropped us back to third place by just a few tenths.”
The GT3 AM race was won by the Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Ryndziewicz-Altoè-Altoè, ahead of the BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Ciglia-Massaro-Sonzogni, while Gorini-Mancinelli-Perrina completed the podium with the EasyRace Ferrari.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on a victory that had appeared within reach, the overall assessment remains positive, particularly with the championship in mind.
“The performance was there, and that is certainly the most important thing. Unfortunately, we were not able to put everything together to win the race, but we leave Imola still fully in contention for the championship. We are second, just two points off the lead, and everything will be decided in the final race at Mugello.”
The GT3 AM title will therefore be decided at the final round of the Italian GT Endurance Championship, scheduled to take place at Mugello Circuit from October 30 to November 1, 2026.
For Daniel Mancinelli and EasyRace, it will be the final opportunity of the season to bring an extremely closely fought championship to a successful conclusion and challenge for the title.
