Italian GT: Federica Levy secures double top-ten class finishes in Vallelunga
- RACERS
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Federica Levy continued her development in the 2026 Italian GT Sprint Championship with two solid top-ten finishes in the First Division AM class, showcasing good progression over the course of the Vallelunga round in the #221 MRNC12 Ferrari 296 Challenge.
After an encouraging and eventful season opener at Imola, Federica Levy returned to action for the second round of the 2026 Italian GT Championship Sprint season at Autodromo Vallelunga, continuing her first full campaign in the Sprint series with MRNC12 aboard the #221 Ferrari 296 Challenge in the GT Cup First Division AM class.
After contesting the endurance championship in 2025, Levy switched to a full Sprint programme for 2026 and had started the season sharing the Ferrari with Swiss racer Laura Villars in an all-female pairing. The duo had shown promising pace at Imola despite several setbacks, eventually securing a top-ten class finish in Race 2. For the Vallelunga round however, there was a line-up change as Villars was unavailable due to a clashing commitment, with Levy instead joined by team owner Giammarco Marzialetti.
Levy arrived at Vallelunga with extra momentum after gaining valuable track time the previous weekend in the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Championship at Misano, where she secured her first overall podium finish.
The Italian GT weekend began positively as the MRNC12 duo steadily built confidence and pace throughout practice. In FP1, the #221 Ferrari placed tenth in AM class with a best lap of 1:37.209, before significant improvements arrived in the second session, where the pair again finished tenth in class but lowered their benchmark to 1:35.726.
Saturday morning’s qualifying sessions featured Marzialetti driving in Q1. After the opening timed laps he sat tenth in AM class, while the overall times continued to tumble across the tightly packed field. With competitors rapidly improving, Marzialetti eventually posted a 1:35.078 to secure 11th in AM class and 30th overall in an extremely competitive session.
Levy then took over for Q2 and immediately showed strong progression. Her opening lap of 1:41.935 initially placed her eighth in class before she rapidly improved to a 1:38.3 as conditions evolved. Continuing to find time, Levy lowered her pace again to a 1:37.3, holding tenth in AM class. On her final runs she found another three tenths and eventually dipped under the 1:37 barrier with a 1:36.663 on her final lap, completing a positive qualifying progression.
Race 1 on Saturday afternoon took place under sunny skies at Vallelunga on the outskirts of Rome. Marzialetti started the opening contest from 11th in AM class aboard the #221 Ferrari 296 Challenge. The opening lap proved difficult as he slipped to 34th overall and tenth in class amid the busy midfield battles.
The race was neutralized at the end of the first lap when the #569 McLaren 570S GT4 of Massimo Navatta became stranded in the gravel, bringing out the safety car. Racing resumed at the end of lap three, with Gaetano Oliva leading the AM category.
Marzialetti made an excellent restart, climbing to 32nd overall and overtaking Ronnie Stefani for ninth in class. Another interruption quickly followed however when Vito Postiglione suffered technical problems with his Ferrari and stopped on track, while the #272 Lamborghini also came to a halt, forcing another safety car period.
As additional issues struck other competitors - including Francesco Galli stopping in the pits with problems - Marzialetti climbed to 29th overall and eighth in AM class. Racing resumed once again with 35 minutes remaining at the end of lap six, and Marzialetti successfully held position amid a group of ProAm Porsche entries.
As the pit window approached, the MRNC12 Ferrari cycled further up the order. Benefiting from the varying pit strategies, Marzialetti climbed as high as fifth in AM class and eventually even ran second in class inside the overall top twenty before making his mandatory stop on lap 14 and handing the car over to Levy.
Following the completion of the pit cycle, Levy rejoined eighth in class but had gained several overall positions, running 23rd overall. Another major interruption then reshaped the race with 16 minutes remaining, as Giuseppe Fico crashed heavily at the fast Curvone corner. The Lamborghini hit the barriers in a huge accident that left the car heavily damaged. The safety car was deployed once again.
The race eventually restarted with only four minutes remaining. Levy resumed eighth in AM class while battling just outside the overall top twenty. When Demarchi dropped down the order, Levy inherited seventh in class and capitalized well in the disrupted closing laps, ultimately taking the chequered flag seventh in AM class and 21st overall in a solid recovery drive.
Sunday morning’s Race 2 saw Levy starting the opening stint from 31st overall in the #221 Ferrari 296 Challenge. There was early chaos immediately at the start when front-row starter Megna was hit by Simonini and sent into the barriers.
Levy reacted brilliantly to the opening-lap incidents, making a superb launch and climbing to 24th overall and eighth in AM class by the end of the first lap before the safety car was deployed. Racing resumed on lap three, but another neutralization followed almost immediately when the #429 Porsche of Stefanin became stranded in the gravel at Curvone.
Levy once again handled the restart cleanly and maintained eighth in the First Division AM class before racing resumed at the end of lap seven. She gained another overall position to move into 23rd while continuing to defend from Galli for class position.
When Castellarin picked up front-end damage and was forced to pit, Levy advanced to seventh in class while maintaining strong pace in P23 overall. As the pit window opened, Levy extended her stint and briefly climbed as high as fifth in class while approaching the overall top ten as other competitors completed their stops.
Levy eventually pitted on lap 13, handing over to Marzialetti after another highly solid stint from the young Italian driver. Following the pit cycle, Marzialetti rejoined 20th overall and seventh in AM class.
Marzialetti initially lost positions to Galli and Privitelio, slipping to ninth in class, though the latter later received a penalty that temporarily promoted the MRNC12 Ferrari back to eighth in AM. Running consistent 1:38 pace, around two seconds off Levy's fastest time, Marzialetti nevertheless gained a few overall positions and climbed to 19th overall while holding eighth in class.
In the closing laps, Privitelio recovered from the earlier penalty and managed to overtake Marzialetti once again. After another tightly contested 50-minute race, Levy and Marzialetti crossed the line ninth in AM class and 22nd overall.
Despite narrowly missing out on higher positions, Levy left Vallelunga with two more top-ten class finishes and another weekend of valuable development in the Ferrari 296 Challenge machinery. Continuing to gain experience and confidence in the highly competitive field, the young Italian will now aim to build further momentum at the next round of the championship at Mugello on 24-26 July.
