The fourth round of the International GT Open 2024 was staged at the Hungaroring circuit, just a few kilometres outside the city of Budapest. Alex Fontana was participating in the event together with his teammate “Hash”, the American AF Academy graduate, at the wheel of the #12 Porsche 992 GT3 R entered the Car Collection team in the PRO-AM category. The Hungarian circuit saw the return of the championship’s standard format, with two races lasting 70 and 60 minutes respectively.
The Swiss driver took charge for the first qualifying session of the weekend, which established the grid for Saturday’s 70-minute race. Circuit conditions were far from optimal, with rain falling heavily throughout almost the entire session, only improving at the very last. Fontana managed to achieve eighth place overall, third in the PRO-AM class, with a time of 1:59.506, despite a gearbox problem that had the Swiss driver waiting in the pits for more than half the session, meaning he could only use one set of new tyres, in contrast to the two of his rivals. After qualifying, Alex was at the wheel of the #12 Porsche for the first stint of Race-1. During the afternoon the asphalt dried out, allowing the drivers to opt for slick tyres. The chaos of the frantic start saw Fontana lose a couple of positions, but he still managed to maintain a decent race pace, keeping with the lead group through to the opening of the driver change window. “Hash” took over the car mid-way through the race and went on to finish in 23rd position, after rain again began to fall on the circuit during the final laps, significantly compromising the cars’ grip.
In Race-2 it was the American who started from the back of the grid after what had been a difficult qualifying session. Before handing over the car to Fontana, however, the AF Academy driver managed to gain three positions, which promises well for the upcoming races. On his return to the track, the Alex was lying in 27th place and set about trying to fight his way back through the field. He eventually finished in 19th place overall and 10th in the PRO-AM class, thanks to an excellent pace and some fantastic passing on a circuit where there is virtually no room for recovery. The next round of the International GT Open 2024 is scheduled for the 21st of July at the Paul Ricard circuit.
Alex Fontana
“We didn’t have an esay time in Hungary. The rain confused things, especially on the Saturday, but we somehow managed to cope with it and that was the most important thing in terms of our development path. Hash did really well to keep the car on track in those difficult conditions, showing the progress he has made since his first championship appearance at Portimao. We’ll come back even stronger in the next round at Paul Ricard, where our goal is to aim for the points zone.”