Vicky Piria returns to the Italian GT podium with second place in Vallelunga
- RACERS
- 1 hour ago
- 8 min read
After a rocky start to the 2026 campaign at Imola, Vicky Piria and teammate Giacomo Ghermandi finally converted their promising pace into a highly deserved podium finish at Vallelunga during the second round of the Italian GT Sprint Championship, finishing second in class.
After a frustrating and luckless start to the 2026 campaign at Imola, Vicky Piria and teammate Giacomo Ghermandi finally converted their promising pace into a highly deserved podium finish at Vallelunga during the second round of the Italian GT Sprint Championship.
In only their second weekend together with Zanasi Racing and the in Ferrari 296 Challenge machinery, the duo showcased the potential that had already briefly emerged at Imola before repeated misfortunes derailed both their races. Despite some setbacks in Race 1 at Vallelunga as well, Piria and Ghermandi bounced back with an outstanding performance on Sunday, leading much of Race 2 and ultimately securing second place in the First Division AM class, in their first podium together.
For Piria, the 2026 season represents an entirely new chapter in her GT racing career. After years competing in Porsche machinery, the Italian driver switched to the Ferrari 296 Challenge platform with new team Zanasi Racing, sharing the #203 pink-and-black Ferrari with Giacomo Ghermandi in the highly competitive First Division AM class.
The transition required adaptation not only to a completely different car, but also to a new team and teammate combination. At the season opener at Imola, the duo had already shown flashes of strong pace before extraordinary bad luck struck in both races, preventing them from completing meaningful mileage and leaving the pair with very limited race experience together heading into Vallelunga.
The Roman circuit therefore represented an important opportunity to reset the season and finally capitalize on the speed they clearly have. At the same time, Piria had not raced at Vallelunga for several years and had never driven Ferrari machinery around the technical Italian venue.
Nevertheless, the #203 Ferrari immediately displayed encouraging pace throughout practice. In FP1, Piria and Ghermandi secured second place in the AM category and tenth overall with a lap of 1:35.199. The pair continued to work effectively together in second practice, ending seventh fastest overall with a 1:35.530, both drivers showing closely matched pace - a highly positive sign ahead of the longer stints.
Saturday morning brought qualifying duties first for Giacomo Ghermandi in Q1. The Zanasi Racing Ferrari immediately looked competitive, with Ghermandi briefly topping the overall standings after the opening timed laps. As the session evolved and lap times rapidly improved, he ultimately secured second in AM class while remaining comfortably inside the overall top ten. His best effort of 1:33.466 provided an excellent starting position for Race 1.
In Q2, it was Piria’s turn behind the wheel. However, her session was hindered by technical issues in the opening minutes. Once she could head out onto the circuit, Piria nevertheless delivered a strong effort with a 1:33.891 lap, close to the overall top ten and still competitive within the class ahead of Race 2.
Race 1 took place on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon on the outskirts of Rome, with Piria hoping for considerably better fortune than she had experienced at Imola.
Ghermandi took the start in the #203 Ferrari from second position in AM class. The opening corners proved chaotic, and the Zanasi Racing driver lost a couple of positions in the initial shuffle, dropping to fourth in class and 16th overall before settling into 17th position during the opening lap.
The safety car was deployed almost immediately at the end of lap one after the #569 McLaren of Massimo Navatta became stranded in the gravel. Racing resumed at the end of lap three, with Gaetano Oliva leading the AM class at the restart.
The green-flag action barely lasted long before another interruption followed. Vito Postiglione’s Ferrari suffered technical issues and slowed dramatically before stopping at the side of the track, while the #272 Lamborghini also came to a halt, triggering another safety car.
Ghermandi handled the restart exceptionally well: remaining sharp amid the interruptions, he began gaining positions rapidly and climbed to 13th overall while moving into third in AM class. Ahead of him sat Victor Briselli, separated only by the Porsche of Paul Meijer.
When racing resumed again with 35 minutes remaining, Meijer overtook Briselli, and Ghermandi immediately seized the opportunity to follow through into second place in class. The Ferrari driver then began building a buffer by placing several ProAm cars between himself and the pursuing AM competitors.
As the pit window approached, the #203 Ferrari was now in podium contention.
Ghermandi pitted on lap 11 after the window opened, handing over to Piria from second place in class after an excellent opening stint. Unfortunately, the team’s hopes were then compromised by more terrible luck. A technical issue during the driver change caused a significantly delayed stop, costing the duo over 20 seconds and dropping Piria all the way to ninth in class upon rejoining.
With several competitors still needing to pit, Piria gradually recovered positions as the pit cycle unfolded, climbing back through the order. By the end of the pit window, she had recovered to seventh in class, though strategy circumstances and heavy traffic, particularly involving several Porsche entries from other categories, made progress extremely difficult.
Another interruption arrived with 16 minutes remaining when Giuseppe Fico crashed heavily at Curvone. The Lamborghini hit the barriers hard and was severely damaged, though the driver escaped without major injuries. The safety car was deployed once again.
When the race finally resumed with only four minutes remaining, Piria immediately pushed hard; stuck behind the Porsche of Attianese and navigating through traffic from the Second Division classes, she nevertheless gained two overall positions to move into 18th.
On lap 24, Piria overtook Demarchi for another AM class position and climbed to sixth in category while running competitive 1:37.7 pace. She continued gaining positions overall as well, climbing to 14th overall and closing rapidly on the next group of AM rivals.
Despite the heavily interrupted nature of the race and the unfortunate pit stop setback, Piria still managed to secure sixth place in First Division AM - importantly, finally reaching the finish line after the misfortunes of Imola.
Sunday morning brought another opportunity - and this time the Zanasi Racing crew finally converted their pace into a major result. Following the disappointment of Saturday, Piria lined up Race 2 from eighth overall and on pole position in AM class.
The start immediately brought chaos when Megna, starting from the front row, was hit by Simonini and sent into the barriers. Piria reacted brilliantly amid the unfolding incident, taking evasive action and emerging ninth overall while retaining the AM class lead after a superb launch.
Another safety car intervention followed immediately.
At the restart on lap three, Piria once again reacted perfectly and retained the class lead while running directly behind the ProAm entry of Tucci. Behind her, Pellegrini emerged as her closest AM challenger.
As the race settled into rhythm, Piria’s pace became increasingly competitive: she began closing rapidly on the ProAm Ferrari of Stefano Comandini ahead while simultaneously building a gap over the AM rivals behind.
A further safety car interruption arrived after the #429 Porsche of Stefanin became stranded in the gravel at Curvone, but Piria once again executed the restart flawlessly at the end of lap seven.
Quickly tucking into Comandini’s slipstream, Piria continued demonstrating excellent pace. Meanwhile, Tucci began dropping backwards, leaving Castellarin, Pellegrini, and Lancellotti directly behind in the AM battle. However, Piria was already proving significantly faster and soon stretched her advantage.
Running eighth overall, Piria remained fully embedded within a group of ProAm cars while pulling away decisively from the AM competition; by lap nine, she clocked a 1:35.6 lap and extended her class lead to four seconds. Consistently lapping in the 1:35 range, Piria controlled the AM category while remaining competitive overall.
When the pit window opened, Zanasi Racing elected to extend the stint. By lap 11, Piria had climbed as high as third overall while still comfortably leading AM class. She continued improving, setting a personal best of 1:35.443 before lowering it even further into the 1:35.3 range during an exceptionally strong sequence of laps.
Piria eventually pitted on lap 14 and handed over to Ghermandi from the AM class lead after one of her strongest stints.
Following the pit cycle, Ghermandi emerged still leading the AM class and running sixth overall. Behind him, chaos erupted in the AM battle when Oliva and Carminati collided in the #288 and #251 Lamborghinis respectively, sending the latter into a spin.
Ghermandi soon lost one overall position to former Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella but retained the AM class lead with a seven-second margin over Gaetano Oliva. However, the race was far from over.
Running consistent 1:36.3 laps, Ghermandi soon had to defend from the rapidly charging Oliva, also coming under pressure from the ProAm car of Tommaso Lovati, who moved into seventh overall.
With eight minutes remaining, the Lamborghini of Oliva had reduced the AM lead to only two seconds. One lap later, the gap shrank again. Then, with just three minutes remaining, Oliva completed the decisive move for the class lead at the final corner.
Ghermandi, who was battling himself some issues, stayed within one second of the Lamborghini but couldn't eventually fight back. A few issues for ProAm competitors ahead nevertheless promoted the Zanasi Racing Ferrari back into sixth overall position.
After a tightly contested 50-minute race, Ghermandi and Piria crossed the finish line second in First Division AM class and eighth overall, finally securing the podium result their pace had deserved.
After the race, Piria reflected on the emotional weekend and the progress made: “It was a bit of a difficult weekend, it started off on a difficult note but we worked hard during free practice”, she said.
“I hadn't been here to Vallelunga for a long time, and I'd never raced a Ferrari here, obviously. At Imola, we basically had a weekend without any real running because we couldn't finish a race, so we had everything to build from the ground up here.”
“In Race 1 I did my second stint, but then we had some technical problems at the pit stop which cost us 22 seconds. A streak of bad luck, small mistakes that nevertheless were costly”, she continued.
“Finally today was a bit of a redemption, and I'm especially happy for the team. I got a good start, got my first place, and kept up with a small group that I knew was going to be quick. So we built a good pace, and I managed to bring the car with a 18 seconds gap to the second-placed AM, despite two safety cars, so I'd say very good.”
“Then Giacomo had a few problems during his stint and unfortunately lost first place, but honestly, after such a difficult few days, such a difficult first race, I'm happy to take this second place. For me, it's pure gold.”
“I'm also very happy because I'm comfortable with the car now, after so many years in a Porsche car, so I'm happy.”
Despite the difficult beginning to their campaign, the Vallelunga weekend marked a major turning point for the Zanasi Racing duo; the six points from Race 1 combined with 15 points from their podium finish in Race 2 moved Piria and Ghermandi up to tenth place in the First Division AM championship standings.
The Italian GT Sprint Championship will next head to Mugello Circuit on 24-25 July for the third round of the 2026 season.
