Aiva Anagnostiadis takes maiden win in GT4 Italy in Monza
Aiva Anagnostiadis celebrated her first victory in GT racing at Monza, teaming up with Andrea Palazzo to win a dramatic opening race of the GT4 Italy season finale. The Australian rookie and her Promodrive teammate converted a strong first stint for Anagnostiadis into a breakthrough result, recovering from earlier contact to win convincingly.
Aiva Anagnostiadis celebrated her first victory in GT racing at Monza, teaming up with Andrea Palazzo to win a dramatic opening race of the GT4 Italy season finale. The Australian rookie and her Promodrive teammate converted a strong qualifying run into a breakthrough result, with Anagnostiadis recovering from contact during her opening stint before Palazzo took the lead in the closing stages.
The pair added another strong performance in Race 2, finishing fourth, as Anagnostiadis concluded her first GT4 campaign with three podiums, 69 points and fourth place in the championship standings.
The season's sixth and final round at the Temple of Speed also brought encouraging performances from Jorden Dolischka, who secured another top-five finish alongside teammate Noah Massa in the #76 Centro Porsche Ticino Porsche 718 Cayman, and Kornelia Olkucka, who continued to build experience in her solo campaign with Lema Racing's #19 Mercedes-AMG GT4.
The weekend began with wet practice sessions on Friday, but Dolischka and Massa immediately showed their potential, finishing second overall in the opening session, less than a tenth of a second off the fastest time. The Austrian remained competitive in FP2, placing fifth overall, while Anagnostiadis and Palazzo made progress as the track improved, setting a 1:57.232 to finish 13th.
Dolischka carried that momentum into the first qualifying session, recording a 1:56.394 to secure seventh on the grid. Anagnostiadis, who took the wheel for the opening qualifying segment, posted a 1:57.019 for ninth overall, while Olkucka made a significant step forward after a more challenging practice, setting a 1:57.371 to qualify 11th.
In Q2, Palazzo took over the #27 Promodrive BMW M4 GT4 and recorded a 1:56.424, placing the car 10th on the grid. Massa qualified the #76 Porsche 12th with a 1:56.732, while Olkucka's 1:57.371 left her 15th for the second race, the only driver on the field competing solo.
The season finale attracted the largest entry of the year, with Race 1 beginning under overcast skies and slightly damp conditions. Dolischka started seventh, Anagnostiadis lined up ninth, and Olkucka took the start from 11th in the #19 Mercedes-AMG.
All three made clean starts, with Dolischka holding position and Anagnostiadis quickly moving forward to pass Gavazza for eighth. The opening laps soon reshuffled the order further: contact between Zunzarren and Sandrucci while they battled for fourth at the first chicane on lap two brought out the safety car, promoting Dolischka to sixth and Anagnostiadis to seventh, while Olkucka moved into the top ten.
Racing resumed a lap later, and the #11 Mercedes of Fant began to lose ground. Dolischka seized the opportunity with a convincing pass at the Roggia chicane, while Anagnostiadis attacked into Lesmo 2 and also moved ahead. Olkucka initially climbed to ninth but soon came under pressure from the recovering Lotus of Schiavone and lost the position.
Dolischka was showing particularly strong pace, closing rapidly on Lasagni for fourth. She soon found herself within half a second of the Mercedes and made her move at Ascari, completing the pass to take fourth. Anagnostiadis followed through into fifth, putting both drivers near the front.
Their progress was interrupted shortly afterwards when the pack arrived at the first chicane three-wide under braking. Gavazza outbraked himself and struck Anagnostiadis, forcing the Australian through the runoff. She managed to continue but dropped to ninth, having to rebuild her race once again. Gavazza was subsequently handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
Anagnostiadis responded immediately, launching a determined recovery. She passed Lasagni's #7 Mercedes with a decisive move into Lesmo 1 and continued to close on the #3 Lotus of Schiavone. Meanwhile, Dolischka maintained her impressive pace at the front, keeping the cars behind at bay as Wagner's Mercedes increased the pressure. Wagner eventually made a mistake at Ascari, spinning on the kerb and hitting the outside barriers before rejoining with damage. The incident helped Anagnostiadis climb back to seventh, while Olkucka also joined the fight, passing Wagner around the outside at Parabolica before completing the move into Turn 1 to take ninth.
As the pit window approached, the battle for fourth intensified. Gavazza challenged Dolischka on the main straight, with Schiavone's Lotus also in the mix. The Austrian lost ground in the slipstream battle but remained close and extended her first stint as the pit window opened, eventually cycling up to fourth before pitting at the end of lap 12. Massa took over the Porsche after a particularly convincing stint from Dolischka.
Anagnostiadis also stayed out longer, pitting on lap 12 from sixth place to hand the BMW to Palazzo. Olkucka climbed as high as seventh during the pit cycle before stopping on lap 13. The race remained green despite an Audi stopping with a technical issue after Lesmo 2.
After the stops, Palazzo rejoined second overall but faced a 0.7-second penalty for a short pit stop. The #65 BMW of Esposito applied pressure, although Esposito was also due to serve the 10-second penalty arising from the earlier incident involving Gavazza and Anagnostiadis. Palazzo avoided unnecessary risks when Esposito made his move at the first chicane, allowing the rival BMW through while staying close behind. The battle also enabled Houben's #4 Toyota Supra to close in and eventually pass Palazzo for third.
Massa, meanwhile, was running seventh in a tightly packed four-car train with Ziccardi, Balzarotti and Teixeira. The Porsche driver remained ready to capitalise as the fight developed, and the race took another dramatic turn on lap 23 when the leading Lotus of Rocca began slowing. Houben, Esposito and Palazzo moved to pass, but Houben ran wide at the second chicane and suffered a puncture himself, opening the door for the two BMWs.
Esposito and Palazzo emerged at the front, with Esposito's penalty set to alter the final classification. With the leading Lotus out of contention and Houben losing time, Massa climbed to fifth. Olkucka was also back up to 11th with less than two minutes remaining, although Massa's attempt to pass Balzarotti at Biassono was unsuccessful.
At the chequered flag, Palazzo and Anagnostiadis secured the Race 1 victory, their first of the season and the Australian's maiden win in car racing. The result completed a remarkable recovery after her earlier contact and gave the Promodrive pairing a breakthrough finish at the final round.
Massa and Dolischka also completed an excellent race, finishing fifth overall after the Austrian's strong opening stint. Olkucka finished 11th, just outside the top ten.
Palazzo started the second race from 10th in the #27 BMW, Massa lined up 12th in the #76 Porsche, and Olkucka began from 15th. Palazzo ran deep into the first chicane at the start and had to concede positions, but he settled into fourth as the opening lap unfolded. Massa moved up to ninth, while Olkucka climbed to 12th.
Palazzo soon went on the attack, battling with Ian Rocca's Lotus at the first chicane on lap two. The fight was interrupted by a crash between Ebrahim's #68 Aston Martin and Maman at Parabolica, after which Palazzo found himself battling Massa, who had made an excellent start and climbed all the way to fifth. Olkucka also made progress, advancing into the top ten.
Massa continued to show strong early pace and began closing on Palazzo, while both drivers established themselves in the leading group. Olkucka, meanwhile, remained active in the midfield battles, challenging Esposito's BMW at the first chicane and later attempting a move at Parabolica. She traded positions with Ceresoli's Mercedes in a three-car fight and defended decisively against Teixeira at Ascari, demonstrating her determination.
As the pit window opened, Massa extended his stint and temporarily climbed to second overall before making his stop on lap 14. Dolischka took over and rejoined fourth, immediately entering the fight for a podium finish. Palazzo pitted from fourth on lap 13, handing the BMW to Anagnostiadis, who rejoined fifth. Olkucka also stopped and continued in the car, rejoining 13th.
Anagnostiadis and Dolischka were now battling within the top five, but the safety car was deployed after Simonovic crashed at Lesmo 2, bringing the field back together and setting up a tense closing phase. Unfortunately for Olkucka, technical problems forced her to retire, ending her final race of the season prematurely.
The race returned to green on lap 19 with seven minutes remaining. Anagnostiadis lost momentum at the restart and dropped to eighth as Zunzarren moved up the order in the #6 Toyota. Dolischka remained in the fight for the podium but was hit at the Roggia chicane and spun, dropping to 14th. Gavazza was later handed a 25-second penalty for the collision.
Both drivers responded with determined recovery drives. Anagnostiadis moved back up to sixth and was virtually fifth once penalties were taken into account, while Dolischka worked her way forward from 14th, passing two AM-class cars and taking advantage of penalties ahead. By lap 24, the Austrian had climbed to ninth on the road.
Anagnostiadis continued to push in a three-car battle for fourth, producing an impressive overtake at Lesmo to pass Lasagni and move into fifth. She crossed the finish line, with penalties promoting her further up the order in fourth place.
Jorden Dolischka also completed a strong recovery, finishing ninth on track and seventh in the final classification after penalties, adding another valuable result to her rookie season.
The Monza finale marked a breakthrough conclusion to Anagnostiadis' first campaign in GT racing. After transitioning from single-seaters following her F1 Academy stint, the Australian secured her maiden victory in cars, finished the season with three podiums and collected 69 points to place fourth in the championship standings.
Dolischka matched her best result of the season with another top-five finish in Race 1 and ended the year ninth in the standings, while Olkucka took valuable experience from her rookie campaign, showing clear progress throughout the season despite an unfortunate retirement in the finale.
