The second round of the Sara GT - Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo was run in very warm Italian weather. Record temperatures were the backdrop to an tremendous job on the part of the team after the unlucky weekend of Monza, with Scuderia Playteam Sarafree coming out as the winner. At the end of 25 laps the checkered effectively signalled the first position of Busnelli-Lancieri who were followed just behind by the Ferrari F430 no. 23 of Easy Race and then the no. 4 of Racing Team. The blue and silver Playteam Sarafree Ferrari F430 no. 7 finished the race in 10th place
The start of the race saw Busnelli in the Ferrari F430 no. 8 starting from the front row while Kemenater in the no. 7 F430 was in 5th position. The rolling start was the scene of an initial melee even before crossing the starting line with Busnelli solidly maintaining second place behind Postiglione’s Ferrari F430 no. 23. Then during the first lap in which several cars left the track, Thomas Kemenater was able to maintain his position. These positions were maintained until the driver changes.
In the 12 lap Kemenater who had remained in 8th place switched driver duties with Tedoldi. Busnelli instead elected to turn over the car to his co-driver Gabriele Lancieri two laps later during a pit stop while he was leading the race. From this moment on the race was a hard fought competition that saw Lancieri eat up a 10th of a second lead of the F430 Ferrari no. 23 taking over first place 10 minutes prior to the chequered flag. The end of the 48 minute race saw co-drivers Busnelli and Lancieri climb to the top step of the podium while Tedoldi-Kemenater finished up in 10th place.
“Today was sweet music to our ears. To be among the first ten for a first time in Italy is a good result,” stated Gianluca Tedoldi. “Thomas did an incredible job in the first part of the race handing me a car that was in 8th place with perfect tyres. I pushed more than I should have taking small risk for a few laps before the end which ended up with a moment in the sand. I could have perhaps been more careful and done better than yesterday.
The first race went very well. I wanted to hand over the car to Gianluca in good condition and think I successfully did so,” said Thomas Kemenater. “This was a straight forward race without many problems. I managed to maintain my position in spite of a slight contact with another car during the departure. After the driver change Gianluca finished the job. I am satisfied.
“Following our unfortunate attempt in Monza this was what we needed. Gabriele and I, together, did a fantastic job,” according to Max Busnelli. “We ran a good race even though the start was not entirely normal. Postiglione had effectively set a very slow pace and we practically started from a full stop. Despite the risk of stalling I wanted to spare the rear tyres as much as possible because I had experienced a bit of under steering. I wanted to be able to hand the car off to Gabriele in as good a condition as possible. I knew that my co-driver was perfectly capable of attacking the lead vehicle. I must say that this tactic provided the best outcome for the team.
When asked Lancieri said, “We are satisfied because we were able to put things back in order after the disappointing start off in Monza. After Max’s turn in the car, I was able to easily take first place and managed to maintain it with an easy pace that did not over use the tyres and without unnecessary risks. The race finished like we wanted. We are very pleased.
RACE 2
Scuderia PlayTeam Sarafree again takes points in the 2nd round at Mugello
- Ferrari F430 no. 7 – Thomas Kemenater / Gianluca Tedoldi - 0” handicap
- Ferrari F430 no. 8 – Max Busnelli / Gabriele Lancieri – 15” handicap
After barely 5 hours after welcoming co-drivers Lancieri and Busnelli to the top position on the podium, Scuderia PlayTeam Sarafree were confronted with unhoped for results. The second race saw the Ferrari F430 no. 8 of Lancieri-Busnelli finish in 9th place while the Ferrari F430 no. 7 of Kemenater and Tedoldi had to undergo an early withdrawal from the race.
At the end of the second qualifying session, the departure grid had Lancieri and Busnelli in the third row when Tedoldi was preparing to go into the race in 9th position. The departure was the arena for an anticipated initial battle for the outcome of the race right from the start. It was at this point point that Lancieri making the most of his initiative and experience managed to navigate through the grouped up cars to enter the first curve in 4th place. During this time Tedoldi maintained 18th place but then ended up in the sand during the 5th lap thus knocked out of the race early on. The 5th lap was also costly to the Ferrari F430 of Lancieri who was overtaken and continued his part of the race in 6th place.
The lead group maintained the same positions as the starting grid throughout the first part of the race with the Porsche no. 12 opening a gap of more than 11 seconds ahead of the 2nd place Ferrari F430 no. 16. At the 11th lap, Busnelli took over driving duties from his team mate Lancieri and got back on the track after holding for the regulation 15 second handicap resulting from his win in the first race. After a spectacular comeback, characterized by a series of overtaking throughout the second part of the race, Busnelli took the blue and silver team colours to 9th place by the end of the race.
According to Gianluca Tedoldi “At the Buccine curve the car following me violently rammed into mine forcing me off of the tack. I finished in the sand when I had actually been attempting to overtake car in front that had continuously been blocking me thus forcing me to go slower than I wanted. I am unhappy for my co-driver and the team, but at that point I could do nothing at all.
“This was a more difficult race than I would have thought because the penalty caused me to get into the race well behind. It was difficult losing the initiative and had to work really hard having been relegated to constant overtaking. The car was a bit destabilized by this. I pushed as hard as I could but was too far back from the lead group. We did win two points, which is better than nothing.
“I started fairly well in spite of contact with the car driven by Mediani. I continued at a discreet rhythm, but at the Buccine curve I was passed by Aguas and Caffi. At the driver change over we had to contend with the 15 second handicap which conditioned all of the second part of the race. Unfortunately it went like this till the end. Now hopes are for the next races.