At the end of what proved to be a complicated race, Alex Fontana finished fourth in the GT3 Pro/Am class in the Mugello 12 Hours, the opening event of the European season 24H Series powered by Hankook. Alongside Hash, Ivan Jacoma and Yannick Mettler, Fontana was competing with the new Porsche 992 GT3 entered by Car Collection Motorsport in his first race of 2024, with the objective of preparing for the rest of the season to best effect. The Swiss driver’s team had begun the Tuscan weekend well, finishing fifth overall in qualifying on the Friday and playing a prominent role in the first six and half hours of the race on the Saturday.
However, after a good start to the race, the Porsche 992 GT3 R misfortune struck the Porsche 992 GT3 R number 12; mid-way through the first part of the race, a broken nut forced Hash back to the pits, where he lost ground in the leader of the standings. Fontana therefore took over the car for the last stint of the day, finishing the first part of the race in 24th place overall and 10 laps down on the occupants of the podium positions in the GT3 Pro/Am class. Things went little better for Fontana’s team the following day, with the breakage of a screw in the suspension mount meaning that Car Collection Motorsport’s Porsche lost further time in the pits. Despite these hitches, Fontana and his teammates continued to press hard, eventually finishing the race in fourth place in the GT3 Pro/Am class.
Alex Fontana
“It certainly wasn’t a straightforward weekend; the first race of the season is always tricky to manage and we suffered some bad luck on both race days. Nonetheless, it was great to be able to start the season here at the Mugello and it was a crucial week in terms of preparation for the rest of our programme. I’d really like to thank Car Collection Motorsport as despite the problems we had to face over the weekend they gave their utmost to resolve them and provide us with a competitive car. I also have to compliment Hash, Ivan and Yannick for their efforts on this occasion; it was fantastic to be able to share the car with them and I can’t wait to get back out on track.”