Category: Press KitAnother double podium from Enrico Fulgenzi Racing in Imola’s 100 Miles.
Gabriel Rindone finishes second in the first endurance of the season, followed by Ray Calvin who completes a beautiful comeback.Jesi, 29/06/2021
The run for the Championship is up and safely running for Enrico Fulgenzi Racing’s duo, which is now first and second in the overall championship, giving shape to an ultra-solid 1-2. Pierluigi Alessandri, new entry in the team for Imola home race, has been surprisingly fast all weekend long with a qualifying highlight, he has been only stopped by an unlucky crash in Race 2.
Already during free practice it was clear how the general level of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Suisse raised up massively for Imola’s race, as many Carrera Cup Italia drivers used this event as a test and as this was the first endurance race this season, with the entry list filled by 64 cars!
Ray Calvin’s Championship lead was wide enough and gave him the chance not to take any unuseful risks on a track which isn’t 100% compatible with his driving style. All the focus is on the championship and he managed to extend his lead bringing home a lot of good points. The first Qualifying session, which defined the grid for Race 2, put him in tenth place after a non-optimal lap; then, in qualifying two, he showed a big improvement which gave him sixth place in Q2. Race 1 started with Ray recovering a place thanks to a nice getaway; after that he drove 12 quick laps and clsed his race fifth. Race two was one of his masterpieces: recovering from P12 to P4 in just a couple of laps and getting right behind his team-mate Gabriel Rindone. In the final minutes of the race a mistake forced Caglioni to retire, giving Ray the third podium step!
Gabriel Rindone’s main goal was to overtake Blom in the championship. Thanks to two very well and cleverly driven races with his usual fighting spirit Gabby managed to achieve his goal and he is now sitting second in the overall standings. The main piece that he put in order to build this kind of result was the first qualifying session, in which he took a 1’44.238 out of the pocket (with the best performance in sector 2!) and qualified Second in class / third overall. His Qualifying 2 lap was ruined by a Red Flag, which forced Gabby to start in P8 in Race 1. His first race has been quite similar to Ray’s one: two places gained at the start and then such a strong pace during the entire race, staying right behind his team mate and crosing the line sixth. Rindone’s race 2 has also been amazing: proper start, proper pace right behind the race leader, proper pit-stop by the team and second place overall and in class at the end of the race. This meant that Enrico Fulgenzi Racing scored his third double podium in a row in the Suiss championship.
Pierluigi Alessandri joined the team for his home race in Imola, his own and only goal was to enjoy the taste of a Pure Porsche Experience. Despite being there just for fun he showed soe brilliant driving skills and some good speed all the way through the race weekend. After a shakedown day on Saturday, Pier immediately had some good pace in Q1, and he qualified 11th right behind Ray Calvin for the 100 miles race. His big highlight surely is his Q2 performance: P5 thanks to an extraordinary lap, best result for the team and a 1,5 seconds improvement over his best lap from Saturday. In race one he suffered his race-lack a bit, losing a couple of places in the rolling start. The performance has then been greate for all the 12 laps, and he managed to finisc P7 right behind his team mates. Race 2 has been quite similar also for him: not the best start but then hammering very much on the race pace, recovering a lot of places. He could have been fourth at the end of the race, but an unlucky contact with a lapped car forced him to retire due to too heavy damage on his front right.
Overall a positive weekend for Enrico Fulgenzi Racing, which is now ready to start the Carrera Cup Italia champaign at Mugello this weekend.
It is a great chance also for the Sprint Challenge Suisse drivers, as Ray Calvin and Gabriel Rindone are set to compete in round two on the #90 and #91, obviously alongside the Dobermann Enrico Fulgenzi on his #17.
As usual the Carrera Cup Italia is set to be available live on tv and web streaming on Porsche Italia’s official channels, and followed and brought to you by the entire Enrico Fulgenzi Racing’s media crew.
