Alex Fontana completed the 24 Hours of Barcelona at the foot of the podium after one of the most important and exciting races of the 24H Series powered by Hankook, which has started its engines again after the summer break. For Alex, the team’s pro driver of reference, the Barcelona circuit is something fo a second home: it was here that he won his first GT title in 2018, in the Silver Cup category of the Blancpain GT Endurance Series. Moreover, the Swiss driver had the opportunity to continue in his role as a driving coach for Hash Patel, assisted by his teammate Ivan Jacoma, with whom he also competed in the 2022 season of the GT4 European Series and with whom he won the 2023 Pro-Am title in the Endurance Cup of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe series. As part of its preparation for the next race in the European series, the Centri Porsche Ticino team decided to participate in this race too; it proved to be an excellent training exercise with the team also coming away with a prestigious result.
Together with Yannick Mettler, the Swiss outfit secured a fourth-place finish in the Pro-Am class here in Catalonia, fifth overall, at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R number 23. With the support of Car Collection Motorsport, the team had shown great potential in qualifying in wet conditions, going fourth fastest overall and securing the Pro-Am class pole.
Fontana, who during his five stints dealt with the start and took the chequered flag in his 991 GT3 R, recorded a fine 1:43.854. Over the course of the 24 hours, the Centri Porsche Ticino team maintained a constant pace, avoiding errors and accidents, a strategy which allowed them to finish fifth overall.
Together with Yannick Mettler, the Swiss outfit secured a fourth-place finish in the Pro-Am class here in Catalonia, fifth overall, at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R number 23. With the support of Car Collection Motorsport, the team had shown great potential in qualifying in wet conditions, going fourth fastest overall and securing the Pro-Am class pole.
Fontana, who during his five stints dealt with the start and took the chequered flag in his 991 GT3 R, recorded a fine 1:43.854. Over the course of the 24 hours, the Centri Porsche Ticino team maintained a constant pace, avoiding errors and accidents, a strategy which allowed them to finish fifth overall.
Alex Fontana
“We went really well in Barcelona, a circuit I like a lot and we were very quick. We finished the race in the Top 5 overall, a performance which will do wonders for morale, even though the objective is always to improve. For us this was a kind of trial run ahead of the GT World Challenge race and we went far beyond the distance we shall have to cover on that occasion.For me and for Ivan it was important to start to establish reference points around the circuit’s new layout, although it has to be said we shall have different tyres when we tackle the finale of the GT World Challenge.Niki was also back in action, as always with Centri Porsche Ticino, competing in the Italian GT Endurance Championship at Monza, evidence that despite having won the title with plenty of room to spare, we’re not resting on our laurels.”
“We went really well in Barcelona, a circuit I like a lot and we were very quick. We finished the race in the Top 5 overall, a performance which will do wonders for morale, even though the objective is always to improve. For us this was a kind of trial run ahead of the GT World Challenge race and we went far beyond the distance we shall have to cover on that occasion.For me and for Ivan it was important to start to establish reference points around the circuit’s new layout, although it has to be said we shall have different tyres when we tackle the finale of the GT World Challenge.Niki was also back in action, as always with Centri Porsche Ticino, competing in the Italian GT Endurance Championship at Monza, evidence that despite having won the title with plenty of room to spare, we’re not resting on our laurels.”