The first round of the 2025 Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship, staged at the Autodromo Vallelunga on the opening weekend of the season, ended with a double podium finish for Alex Fontana. After finishing 2nd in class in 2024, Alex was back at the start of the sprint series with Centri Porsche Ticino, confirming last year’s line-upby sharing the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup with Matej Knez, a driver who has developed in the AF Academy and is in his second season in motor racing. Despite a Balance of Performance did the Stuttgart car no favours, Fontana managed to bring home two 3rd place finishes in the second division of the GT Cup Pro-Am, demonstrating that he was one of the most competitive drivers not only in his category but also in the entire field.
During free practice, when rain also made an appearance on the Lazio track, the #492 crew finished both sessions at the top of the Pro-Am second division, he proved to be the fastest Porsche on track in both sessions. Unfortunately, qualifying did not go well for Centri Porsche Ticino. During the first session, Knez was involved in an accident, with the damage to the car preventing Fontana from taking part in the second official qualifying session. Nonetheless, thanks to Centri Porsche Ticino’s fantastic work in repairing their Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, the #492 crew managed to start the opening race of the weekend, albeit from the penultimate row of the grid. After an incident-free first phase, Alex took over the wheel to complete the second half of the weekend’s opening race. The Swiss driver immediately began to make up ground, demonstrating his worth and helping the team to a fantastic 3rd place in the category, gaining 11 places in the overall standings compared to their starting position. In Race 2, Fontana lined up last but one on the grid.
Thanks to an extraordinary start, the Swiss driver gained nine places and continued to progress. Alex was able to take the lead in his category after only 19 minutes of racing, climbing up to 10th place overall by the time the window for mandatory pit stops opened. Once he had handed the #492 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup over to Knez, the Slovenian driver then tried to finish the race without making any mistakes, crossing the line in 3rd place in his class and 22nd overall. The next round of the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship will see Alex Fontana take to the track at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, with the Tuscan circuit hosting the second round of the series on the weekend of 11-13 July.
During free practice, when rain also made an appearance on the Lazio track, the #492 crew finished both sessions at the top of the Pro-Am second division, he proved to be the fastest Porsche on track in both sessions. Unfortunately, qualifying did not go well for Centri Porsche Ticino. During the first session, Knez was involved in an accident, with the damage to the car preventing Fontana from taking part in the second official qualifying session. Nonetheless, thanks to Centri Porsche Ticino’s fantastic work in repairing their Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, the #492 crew managed to start the opening race of the weekend, albeit from the penultimate row of the grid. After an incident-free first phase, Alex took over the wheel to complete the second half of the weekend’s opening race. The Swiss driver immediately began to make up ground, demonstrating his worth and helping the team to a fantastic 3rd place in the category, gaining 11 places in the overall standings compared to their starting position. In Race 2, Fontana lined up last but one on the grid.
Thanks to an extraordinary start, the Swiss driver gained nine places and continued to progress. Alex was able to take the lead in his category after only 19 minutes of racing, climbing up to 10th place overall by the time the window for mandatory pit stops opened. Once he had handed the #492 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup over to Knez, the Slovenian driver then tried to finish the race without making any mistakes, crossing the line in 3rd place in his class and 22nd overall. The next round of the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship will see Alex Fontana take to the track at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, with the Tuscan circuit hosting the second round of the series on the weekend of 11-13 July.
Alex Fontana
“I’m delighted with the result we achieved at Vallelunga. Starting the season on the right foot is always crucial and securing two podium finishes is a source of great pride for us. Without a doubt, the biggest thanks go to the team as a whole, with everyone helping to repair the car in record time after qualifying and allowing us to take part in Race 1: their work was exceptional throughout the weekend. I’d also like to thank Matej for giving his all and I can’t wait to get back on track at Mugello for the next round of the championship.”
“I’m delighted with the result we achieved at Vallelunga. Starting the season on the right foot is always crucial and securing two podium finishes is a source of great pride for us. Without a doubt, the biggest thanks go to the team as a whole, with everyone helping to repair the car in record time after qualifying and allowing us to take part in Race 1: their work was exceptional throughout the weekend. I’d also like to thank Matej for giving his all and I can’t wait to get back on track at Mugello for the next round of the championship.”