Former W Series racer Vicky Piria announced her 2022 program, as she makes her GT debut in Italian GT Championship in an all-female crew alongside reigning champion Francesca Linossi. They will share the Porsche 991 GT3 Cup by Ukranian outfit Tsunami RT.
Two of the most important Italian talents will team up in the 2022 season for an all-female effort in the Italian GT Sprint Championship: Vicky Piria and two-time Italian GT champion Francesca Linossi will be sharing a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup Gen II operated by Tsunami RT in the GT Cup class. Vicky and Francesca share a close friendship outside the track and both have significant racing resumés; Piria, 28, has competed in W Series since its inception in 2019, returning to the highest spheres of international single seater racing after a 5-year budget-imposed hiatus. In 2012, Piria became the first woman to enter the GP3 Series - now rebranded FIA F3 - having already raced in Formula Renault and Formula Abarth. At 18 years of age, Piria was almost in the top-ten on the legendary streets of Monaco in her first season in the F1 support series. She would then move to Euroformula Open the following year, where she had a strong season marked by 8 point-scoring rounds and a best finish of fourth at Paul Ricard. After a few rounds in the American Pro-Mazda Championship on the Road to Indy program, Piria was forced to put her racing dreams on hold, until the arrival of W Series in 2019. In 2020, she entered two rounds in the highly competitive Formula Renault Eurocup (now FRECA) and became the first woman to score points in the series since 2006. Her move to Italian GT represents her first full-time commitment in GT racing, but Vicky will have a solid teammate to rely on: two-time champion Francesca Linossi, who claimed her first Italian GT title in 2019, in the Endurance GT3 ProAm class and was crowned GT Sprint GT Cup champion in 2021. Linossi and Piria were both part of the inaugural W Series selections, but Linossi soon opted to focus on her GT3 career. The 30-year-old from Brescia has already competed in a wide variety of racing series, including Lamborghini SuperTrofeo, Superstars Championship, EuroNASCAR, Porsche Carrera Cup and Italian GT - which established her as one of the leading talents on home soil. Joining Ukrainian outfit Tsunami RT, Piria and Linossi will race in the Sprint series in the GT Cup class - which is expected to see over 25 entries. The duo had their first test in the new car on Tuesday at Cremona Circuit, just before announcing their 2022 plans. "Thrilled to announce that this year I will be racing in Porsche GT Cup in the Italian GT Sprint together with not only a great driver but one of my dearest friends" - wrote Piria. "I am so glad to start my career in GT racing in a traditional racing environment, thanks to Tsunami RT for helping up do this amazing duo!" The Italian GT Sprint series will be contested over four race weekends, starting from the 22-24 April season opener at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Misano will host the second round (3-5 June), before moving to another classic Italian track on 2-4 September in Imola. The season finale is scheduled for 21-23 October at Mugello.
2022 Italian GT Sprint calendar:
R1: Monza / 22-24 April
R2: Misano / 3-5 June
R3: Imola / 2-4 September
R4: Mugello / 21-23 September
