Moulin/Larena and Michelotto/Liberati help VS Racing sweep the season finale
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Imola, 29 October 2023 – Lamborghini ended the Italian GT Championship Sprint Cup season with a clean sweep of victories at Imola, but agonisingly missed out on the title after finishing level on points with the BMW of Jens Klingmann and Bruno Spengler.
VS Racing dominated the final weekend of the year, with the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Baptiste Moulin and Mateo Llarena prevailing in the first of two one-hour races on Saturday before the #63 of Mattia Michelotto and Edoardo Liberati charged to victory in race two.
Michelotto and Liberati came into the weekend five points adrift of the top of the standings and finished second on the road in race one. But a 25-second penalty for contact with the rival BMW dropped the pairing to 11th. Victory in the second race, however, was not enough to steal the title as the crew finished level on points with Klingmann/Spengler. The BMW’s superior record of fourth places secured the crown.
There was, however, title joy for Lamborghini in the Am and Pro-Am classes. Massimo Ciglia and Giuseppe Fascicolo claimed a pair of race wins to secure the Am title, while Dmitriy Gvazava and Phillippe Denes picked up the Pro-Am title for Imperiale Racing.
Having taken pole position on Saturday morning, Liberati made a strong getaway at the rolling start to lead the field into Tamburello for the first time. Behind, Moulin consolidated third place on the opening lap while the #60 of Artem Petrov gained two positions from sixth on the grid.
Out front, Liberati had the BMW of Jens Klingmann in close company throughout the opening stint, but the #63 had pace in hand to keep the German driver at bay until the mandatory driver-change pit-stops. Liberati peeled into the pits with 20 minutes remaining to change with Michelotto and the #63 maintained track position over the BMW.
Michelotto rejoined in front of the BMW initially but fell behind as the race entered its closing stages. Both had been usurped by the sister pair of VSR Lamborghinis, with Mateo Llarena taking over from Moulin to lead in the #19 ahead of the #60 of Riccardo Cazzaniga – who had swapped with Petrov. The battle for third intensified as Michelotto tried to pull alongside the BMW exiting Aqua Minerali, only to be forced onto the grass. That scrap came to a head when Michelotto misjudged an overtake at Tosa, tapping the BMW into the gravel, bringing out the safety car and costing the #63 a 25-second post-race penalty which dropped it to 11th at the finish.
Llarena had no issues and duly brought the #19 car home to its first victory of the season, ahead of the Imperiale Racing Lamborghini of Philippe Denes and Dmitriy Gvazava which had got ahead of Cazzaniga late on. The #60 did however take the final step on the podium, ensuring a Lamborghini lock-out of the top three positions.
With neither of the two title protagonists scoring points on Saturday, the drivers’ standings remained the same heading into the final race of the season on Sunday. Michelotto and Liberati, five points adrift of the BMW, could only manage 15th in qualifying, but an early safety car period and a strong start allowed the former to lie seventh inside the opening 10 minutes.
Contact between a Mercedes and Ferrari after the restart gave Michelotto another two places, and the #63 then surged into the podium positions with overtakes on the Imperiale Racing Lamborghini of Phillippe Denes and then Spengler’s BMW. Michelotto then moved into second place ahead of the sister VSR car of Cazzaniga and, by the end of the pit window and with Liberati now at the wheel, the #63 was in the lead after passing the Iron Lynx of Claudio Schiavoni. Unfortunately for Michelotto and Liberati, a late safety car meant the race finished under yellow flags, handing the title to the BMW crew on countback.