Alex Fontana returned to winning ways in the fifth round of the International GT Open, held at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The baking hot weekend in France saw the Swiss driver secure his third victory of the season in Race 1; a result which, combined with his 3rd-place finish in Sunday’s race, means Alex is again well in contention for the drivers’ title.
Fontana was again sharing the cockpit of the ZRS Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3R with the young Italian driver Pietro Armanni and it was Armanni who took to the track for the weekend’s first qualifying session, securing 9th place overall. The opening stint of Race 1 was marked by a lengthy neutralisation following an accident behind the ZRS Motorsport Porsche on the first lap, which involved no fewer than six cars. Once the race restarted, Armanni maintained a good pace, handing the car over to Fontana just a few laps later. Despite the Porsche’s lack competitiveness in terms of outright speed, Alex drew on all his experience in close-quarters battles to fight his way through to 2nd place. In the closing stages of the race, excellent reading of the lapping situations allowed Fontana to snatch the lead with a spectacular overtake. The Swiss driver then brought the car home in 1st place, securing his third victory of the season following his wins at Portimão and Budapest.
Alex then took to the track for qualifying on the Sunday, securing 3rd place overall thanks to an excellent lap. At the start, Fontana held his position, putting pressure on the two Ferraris leading the race; he then launched an attack for second place, moving up behind the race leader. The Swiss driver then pitted, leaving Armanni to complete the weekend’s second race. Due to the time penalty incurred following Saturday’s victory, the ZRS Motorsport Porsche lost precious seconds during the pit stop, dropping to fourth place. Armanni was, however, able to reclaim a podium finish with a fine overtaking manoeuvre in the closing stages, finishing the second race in 3rd place.
Fontana has thus moved up to 3rd place in the championship standings, 22 points behind the leader. After the summer break, the next round of the International GT Open will see the drivers in action in Germany, with the Hockenheimring hosting the series from the 11th to the 13th of September. However, Alex will be back on track as early as next week, when he’ll be lining up for the next round of the GT4 Italy Series at Mugello, racing for Centri Porsche Ticino alongside Danilo Arfini.
Alex Fontana
“I’m really pleased with our performance this weekend. We can be very proud of securing both our third win of the season and another podium finish, especially on a circuit where a car like the Porsche wasn’t the most competitive. I’d like to thank both ZRS Motorsport and Pietro for the excellent work they’ve done throughout the weekend and I can’t wait to get back to racing in the International GT Open after the summer break. In the meantime, however, I’ll be back on track next week at Mugello for the GT4 Italy Series.”