Vicky Piria climbs the Monza podium with second place in Italian GT Sprint finale
Vicky Piria secured a second place finish at Monza in Saturday’s race, to complete her Italian GT Sprint Championship campaign on a high despite technical issues hampered the final contest.
Vicky Piria and Giacomo Ghermandi secured a second place finish at Monza in Saturday’s race, to complete their Italian GT Sprint Championship campaign on a high despite technical issues hampered the final contest.
Piria delivered a strong recovery drive on Saturday in the Zanasi Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge, climbing into second in class and fifth overall after taking over from Ghermandi, but gearbox problems hampered her efforts in Sunday’s race and left the pair unable to fight for another podium.
The season finale took place at Monza’s Temple of Speed, where a 41-car field assembled for the final round of the Italian GT Sprint series. Piria and Ghermandi arrived with growing confidence after securing their first runner-up finish of the season at Vallelunga and adding another podium at Mugello.
Their first campaign together with Zanasi Racing, following Piria’s switch from Porsche machinery to the Ferrari 296 Challenge, had been affected by misfortune at several rounds, but their recent results showed the potential to contend for further strong finishes.
The Monza weekend began with some technical challenges in practice, as the #203 crew recorded a 1:49.469 in the opening session before improving to a 1:47.712 in FP2, placing fourth in class. The car issues added an extra challenge ahead of qualifying, but the pairing nevertheless delivered an impressive performance when it mattered.
Piria in fact took the wheel for the opening qualifying segment and immediately showed strong speed. Her first representative lap of 1:46.910 placed her third overall and second in the First Division AM class, securing a strong starting position for Saturday’s race. She maintained her place near the front as the session progressed, putting the team in contention for a competitive result.
Ghermandi then took over for the second qualifying segment and produced an equally impressie lap of 1:45.419 to move provisionally to the top of the overall standings. He returned to the pits with the benchmark time, and none of his rivals managed to beat it before the chequered flag, securing overall pole position for the #203 Ferrari.
Ghermandi started Saturday’s race from overall pole position alongside Pollini’s Lamborghini, but the launch proved difficult. He lost some places off the line before braking late into the first chicane, where multiple cars ran deep. Forced towards the inside kerb, Ghermandi managed to avoid trouble but dropped to fourth overall.
Several incidents further down the field brought out the safety car, compressing the field before racing resumed at the end of the second lap. Ghermandi made progress on the restart, moving up to second and immediately putting pressure on the sister car of Simonini. He attempted to attack for the lead but was forced to slot back into position, leaving him vulnerable to Josh Steed in the #285 Ferrari, who moved ahead into third. Iaquinta also found a way past as the battle intensified.
Ghermandi continued to fight hard through the opening stint, recovering positions and remaining in contention near the front of the First Division AM class. He was running fifth overall and third in class before losing another place on lap seven. With the car proving difficult to manage, he concentrated on keeping the Ferrari clean and bringing it to the pit window, where he handed over to Piria.
The driver change gave Piria the opportunity to attack during the second half of the race. As the pit-stop cycle unfolded, she rejoined seventh overall and third in class, immediately setting about closing the gap to Carminati, who was fighting for second in the AM classification. Piria recorded a 1:48.4 before improving further to a 1:47.964, the fastest lap of the #203 Ferrari at that stage of the race.
Her pace brought her closer to the cars ahead, while Sean Ran, who had been leading the class, came under pressure from Carminati. Piria continued to close and soon found herself in position to challenge for second. She made her move on Ran and successfully took the class position, climbing to sixth overall and establishing herself in the fight for the win.
With Carminati now the next target, Piria continued to push through the closing laps. A late incident involving Attianese, who ended up in the barriers, brought yellow flags on the final lap, but Piria remained focused and continued to close the gap. She crossed the line just 1.7 seconds behind Carminati, securing second in the First Division AM class and fifth overall after an impressive recovery drive.
Sunday’s second race took place under sunny skies, with the 41-car GT Cup field preparing for the final contest of the season. Piria lined up second overall on the front row, leading the First Division AM class and looking to build on Saturday’s podium.
She made an excellent start, holding the outside line through the tricky first chicane and braking late to maintain second overall without taking unnecessary risks against teammate Sartori. Piria retained the AM-class lead as the field settled into the opening laps, while Paniccià, competing in the Pro-Am category, also moved ahead. Despite the overall position changes, the Italian initially maintained a solid margin over her closest class rivals.
However, the #203 Ferrari soon began to encounter further technical problems. Pegoraro, Pollini, Bartoszuk and Comandini moved ahead as Piria struggled to maintain the pace of the leading group. By lap three, Coassin and Carminati had closed in, and although Piria continued to defend her class position, the car was now struggling.
The gearbox problems soon became more apparent, with the Ferrari stuttering on each gear change and losing around four seconds to the pace of its rivals. Coassin and Carminati eventually found their way past, leaving Piria fighting to keep the remaining challengers behind rather than contesting the positions she had initially held.
A major accident involving Bartoszuk’s Lamborghini at the exit of Ascari brought out the safety car. By this stage, Piria had fallen to 16th overall and sixth in class, with the gearbox issues continuing to compromise her pace. The race was subsequently red-flagged to allow repairs to the damaged barriers.
Following the intervention, the field resumed behind the safety car, with the pit window delayed. Racing returned to green with 23 minutes remaining, but Piria faced an uphill task in a car that was no longer able to match the pace of its rivals. She nevertheless defended tenaciously during the first lap after the restart, holding her position before Pierantoni’s Ferrari moved ahead, followed by Alessandri. Several Porsche entries were also closing in, leaving Piria to rely on her racecraft and determination to keep the car on track.
As the pit window opened, Thomas Gostner’s Ferrari went off into the gravel at Lesmo, prompting another full-course yellow. Piria came into the pits from 12th in class and handed the car over to Ghermandi, with the team focused on bringing the Ferrari to the finish despite the mechanical difficulties.
The pit-stop cycle allowed Ghermandi to recover some positions, moving up to ninth in class. A full safety car was then deployed to clear Gostner’s stranded car, further reducing the remaining green-flag running. The race finally resumed with seven minutes remaining, and Ghermandi set about defending the team's position in the closing stages.
He held ninth in class and 24th overall, but Steed in the #285 Ferrari eventually moved ahead. A further incident at the first chicane involving Rytter and Lancellotti brought out another safety car, neutralising the race once more. Ghermandi was classified 9th in class as the contest ended behind the safety car.
Although the final race was far from the result the team had hoped for after Piria’s strong start, the pairing's determination to finish despite the gearbox problems was a positive conclusion to a challenging weekend.
Piria and Ghermandi ended the season with three podium finishes and 50 points, placing seventh in the First Division AM championship standings. Their campaign was often interrupted by technical setbacks and misfortune, but their performances demonstrated that they had the pace to fight at the front of a highly competitive field.
