PCC Italy: Karen Gaillard fights to top-20 in Misano
Karen Gaillard returned to Porsche Carrera Cup Italia action at Misano after a two-and-a-half-month summer break, continuing her learning season with Ombra Racing. The Iron Dames-supported Swiss driver ultimately fought her way forward to secure another top-20 finish in Race 2.
Karen Gaillard returned to Porsche Carrera Cup Italia action at Misano after a two-and-a-half-month summer break, continuing her learning season with Ombra Racing. The Iron Dames-supported Swiss driver showed particularly encouraging pace in the wet opening practice and produced two determined recovery drives across the weekend, ultimately finishing 25th in Race 1 and 17th in Race 2 after fighting her way forward to secure another top-20 finish.
Gaillard had entered the summer break on a clear upward trajectory in one of the most competitive one-make championships, having endured a difficult debut weekend at Imola before making significant progress at Misano earlier in the season, where she recorded her first top-20 finish and an eighth-place result in the Rookie class. She subsequently scored her maiden championship points at Monza with a 14th-place overall finish, twice placing sixth among the rookies, before adding another points-scoring result at Vallelunga after two mature recovery drives on the notoriously difficult-to-overtake circuit. Her return to Misano therefore represented another opportunity to build on that progress.
The weekend began in challenging wet conditions, but Gaillard immediately demonstrated that she could adapt to the circumstances. The Ombra Racing driver set a 1:54.019 to finish ninth overall and fourth among the rookies.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning in completely different conditions, with the track having returned to dry conditions. Gaillard initially posted a 1:37.587 before improving to 1:37.135, then found another small amount of time to set a 1:37.110. The extremely competitive nature of the field meant that the lap was ultimately enough for 27th on the grid for Race 1.
Gaillard made a clean and intelligent start to Saturday afternoon's opening race, avoiding trouble through Turn 1 and immediately gaining one position. She then continued to make progress during the opening laps, moving ahead of Galli, Geoghegan, Fenici and Berta to climb to 24th. Her approach remained measured as she looked to take advantage of opportunities without becoming involved in the incidents unfolding around her.
Further positions became available as De Prenter and Brusa dropped down the order, allowing Gaillard to move into 22nd by lap four. She continued to keep the car clean and under control before gaining another place when Festante spun, moving into 21st. Benjamin Berta subsequently fought back, however, while Festante was also recovering from the earlier incident, and Gaillard slipped back to 23rd.
The closing stages proved more difficult, with Gaillard losing further ground after a moment that dropped her to 26th. She nevertheless recovered her composure and regained a position ahead of Galli, moving back to 25th before taking the chequered flag in that position.
Race 2 followed on Sunday morning under sunny skies, warm temperatures and clear conditions, with Gaillard starting from 25th. She made another strong opening, immediately avoiding a slow car ahead of her on the grid and gaining two positions through the opening corners to move into 23rd. She quickly settled into the pack and remained close behind Stefanelli as the battle developed.
Gaillard continued to apply pressure and gained another position when Simone Iaquinta dropped down the order following contact, moving to 22nd. She remained engaged in the fight ahead and was able to capitalise again on lap four when Haughton spun, bringing her up to 21st.
Her progress was interrupted shortly afterwards when she became involved in contact with Fenici at Turn 5, dropping back to 24th and leaving her with a gap to recover to Haughton. The incident was subsequently investigated, with Fenici receiving a penalty for the contact with Gaillard.
Despite the setback, Gaillard once again worked her way forward. On lap 11, incidents involving Schaap and Geoghegan, followed by a separate incident involving Fenici and Galli, further disrupted the midfield order, while Gaillard continued her recovery and climbed back to 21st. She then regained another position by passing Haughton as the race entered an increasingly chaotic phase.
A major crash involving Brusa and De Giacomi soon afterwards brought another interruption, with the Safety Car deployed to neutralise the race. The various incidents had dramatically reshuffled the field, but Gaillard had successfully avoided the worst of the chaos and emerged from the neutralisation in 17th position with only seven minutes remaining.
The race ultimately never returned to a green flag, however, as the event was red flagged because of barrier damage. Gaillard therefore took the chequered result in 17th, completing another determined recovery drive after having lost positions earlier in the race.
The final result could have been even stronger had it not been for the contact and subsequent setbacks, with Gaillard showing the pace and consistency to potentially fight inside the top 12 during the closing stages. Nevertheless, surviving the chaotic sequence of incidents and bringing the car home in 17th represented another solid step in her rookie campaign, particularly after starting 25th.
Gaillard's Porsche Carrera Cup Italia campaign will now conclude at Mugello, with the season finale scheduled for October 30-November 1. The final round will provide the Swiss driver with one more opportunity to build on the experience gained throughout her first season in the championship and continue the steady progression through each round.
