The third round of the Italian GT Endurance Championship 2024, the penultimate race of the season, staged at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo and Dino Ferrari, saw Alex Fontana driving the Porsche 911 Cup 992 entered by the Centri Porsche Ticino team in the second GT Cup AM division, together with two AF Academy drivers: Matej Knez and Patrick Hofmann.
The Swiss driver took the third of the three qualifying sessions scheduled to establish the starting grid for the race, recording a time of 1:43.755 that put at the top of the standings. With the three times added together, the team claimed pole position in its class, indicative of an Academy that is increasingly strong and competitive even in such a prestigious setting as the Italian national series.
The weather forecast for race day was hardly promising, with a downpour in fact arriving just before the start. The Centri Porsche Ticino team thus decided to entrust the start to Knez. The Slovenian driver drove the first part of the race, staying out of trouble before handing over the wheel to Hofmann, who was lying in first place in class when the race director decided to show the red flag due to the torrential rain that had descended on the Santerno circuit. The race restarted after a break of about 50 minutes, with Hofmann still in first place. Alex then took to the track a few minutes later, aiming to regain the class lead lost due to contact between Patrick and car #217.
Fontana established a race pace that his rivals could not match, managing to climb up to 22nd overall, which then became 15th and 4th in the GT Cup class thanks to the full-course yellow phase during the last pit stop of the race, which for once benefited the Swiss car’s strategy. Initially scheduled to last three hours, the race was curtailed by a second red flag, handing the class victory to the Centri Porsche Ticino team.
The next race will take place at Monza, the final round of the 2024 Italian GT Endurance Championship, on 26-27 October. Alex instead will be back behind the wheel of the Porsche 992 GT3 R next week at the Red Bull Ring for the sixth round of the International GT Open, on 14-15 September.
Alex Fontana
“I am extremely satisfied and proud of the performance achieved today at Imola, both by myself but especially by my teammates Matej and Patrick. They are maturing rapidly in these races thanks to the support of the AF Academy and Centri Porsche Ticino, as this victory only goes to show. I can't wait to see how much more they can improve and I will do all I can help them progress.”