It was a bitter weekend for Alex Fontana in the 24H Series: the Swiss driver, competing in the 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, finished 18th overall – and 4th the Pro/Am class – in the second round of the season, after a broken driveshaft put an end to his chances of victory. Fontana was competing at the wheel of the Car Collection Motorsport Porsche GT3, sharing the Stuttgart car with Ivan Jacoma, Yannick Mettler and Hash. After a good start in free practice on a weekend entirely characterised by rain and low temperatures, Fontana’s crew went into qualifying with the knowledge that they had the means to achieve a great result. Thanks in part to the excellent time set by the Lugano-born driver, who set the second-best time in his session, the number 12 Car Collection Motorsport car took pole position overall with a nine-tenths margin over its rivals; however, a penalty received at the end of the session relegated the Lugano crew to 3rd place.
The first part of the race, staged on the Saturday, saw Fontana’s Porsche make up ground through to 2nd overall thanks to the team’s excellent handling of the tricky weather and race conditions. The Swiss driver’s crew went on to finish the first five hours of the race in 4th place on the same lap as the leader, which meant it would start from the second row on the Sunday. The restart of the race following the canonical night break smiled on the Lugano driver’s Porsche, which moved into the lead in the opening minutes. However, bad luck then struck the Car Collection Motorsport car: a broken driveshaft forced it into the pits for a stop that lasted over 20 minutes, putting an end to the crew’s dreams of victory. Once the repairs had been completed, the number 12 car returned to the track in an attempt to gain important points for the championship standings; back behind the wheel of the Porsche, Fontana gave his best, continuing to push in the hope of making up some of the lost time. Car Collection Motorsport’s Porsche did manage to finish the race without any further issues, taking the chequered flag in 18th place overall and in 4th place in the GT3 Pro/Am class.
Fontana will be back on track again next week in the first round of the International GT Open, scheduled for 26-28 April at the Portimao circuit, once again partnering Hash and supported by Car Collection Motorsport.
Alex Fontana
“We were again struck by bad luck in the 24H Series, with the driveshaft failure snatching away our chance to fight for the win just as we were heading the race; it really was a pity, as we had been competitive all weekend and had handled the difficult race conditions well. Despite the final result we have to look at the positives that came out of the weekend, from the pole position conquered to the pace we showed during the course of the race. I have to thank both Car Collection Motorsport and my teammates for their commitment over the last few days and I can’t wait to be back on track fighting for the result we deserve.”
The first part of the race, staged on the Saturday, saw Fontana’s Porsche make up ground through to 2nd overall thanks to the team’s excellent handling of the tricky weather and race conditions. The Swiss driver’s crew went on to finish the first five hours of the race in 4th place on the same lap as the leader, which meant it would start from the second row on the Sunday. The restart of the race following the canonical night break smiled on the Lugano driver’s Porsche, which moved into the lead in the opening minutes. However, bad luck then struck the Car Collection Motorsport car: a broken driveshaft forced it into the pits for a stop that lasted over 20 minutes, putting an end to the crew’s dreams of victory. Once the repairs had been completed, the number 12 car returned to the track in an attempt to gain important points for the championship standings; back behind the wheel of the Porsche, Fontana gave his best, continuing to push in the hope of making up some of the lost time. Car Collection Motorsport’s Porsche did manage to finish the race without any further issues, taking the chequered flag in 18th place overall and in 4th place in the GT3 Pro/Am class.
Fontana will be back on track again next week in the first round of the International GT Open, scheduled for 26-28 April at the Portimao circuit, once again partnering Hash and supported by Car Collection Motorsport.
Alex Fontana
“We were again struck by bad luck in the 24H Series, with the driveshaft failure snatching away our chance to fight for the win just as we were heading the race; it really was a pity, as we had been competitive all weekend and had handled the difficult race conditions well. Despite the final result we have to look at the positives that came out of the weekend, from the pole position conquered to the pace we showed during the course of the race. I have to thank both Car Collection Motorsport and my teammates for their commitment over the last few days and I can’t wait to be back on track fighting for the result we deserve.”