The fourth round of the Italian series takes place on the Tuscan circuit as part of the ACI Racing Weekend. Open challenge for the XGT4 title between Guedes and Sylvestersson, while Frizza and Atanasovsky compete for the top spot in XGTM. Seasonal debut for Alberto Naska
A stage of great prestige awaits the protagonists of the XGT4 Italy – XGTM championship, ready to face the fourth seasonal event after the summer break. In fact, the Mugello Circuit will host the new challenge of the Italian series signed by FX Racing Weekend, in a weekend that promises to reserve particularly high temperatures but where there will certainly be no lack of spectacle and emotions. After the event that inaugurated the 2024 season held alongside the 24H Series last March, this time it will be the equally coveted scenario of the ACI Racing Weekend to host a comparison ready to put increasingly “heavy” points up for grabs for the two overall classifications.
Following the first three exciting rounds of the season, which after the Tuscan racetrack had stopped on the Vallelunga and Imola tracks, the challenge at the top appears to be tight and balanced both in the XGT4 Italy rankings and in the one reserved for the BMW M2 Cups that are part of the XGTM. In the first, the fast Portuguese driver Tomas Guedes is in command, capable up to this point of achieving four successes at the wheel of the Porsche Cayman GT4 718: the standard-bearer of the Autorlando Sport team will however have to watch his back from the return of the aggressive Finn Benjamin Sylvestersson, who has appeared increasingly at ease aboard the Promodrive BMW M4 GT4 and was able to score his first center of the season in the last outing at Imola. Ready to join the battle for the top positions will certainly be Manuel Lasagni, capable of winning in the inaugural heat at Mugello and determined to repeat himself in this case too with the Mercedes AMG GT4 of the CZ Bassano Racing team. But also watch out for the Lema Racing team, starting with the “terrible young men” Mark Kastelic and Dawid Zydlewski: both the Slovenian and the Pole have in fact shown an increasingly evident feeling with their respective Mercedes, to the point of being candidates for the fight for the podium.
The Slovenian team will complete its “four aces” at Mugello by fielding two more cars: Alberto Naska will be making his seasonal debut, expected to play a leading role after last year’s victorious appearance at Misano in the category and ready to test himself for the first time at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS GT4, while the expert Max Morelli will also be in the mix, racing in a Porsche Cayman GT4. Still on the subject of excellent debuts, it is worth noting the presence at the start of the feisty Lombard driver Mauro Guastamacchia, fresh from notable results achieved in the TCR Italy and the Lotus Cup Italia, ready to test himself in the race aboard the Porsche Cayman GT4 718 of the Centri Porsche Ticino. Alongside him with the Swiss team will be the twin car entrusted to rookie Giovanni Fiorini, while completing the Cayman lot will be the presence of the Tuscan Gabriele Bini with GRT Motorsport. Finally, it is worth highlighting the welcome return to the track of another highly prestigious brand, given the participation of the McLaren 570S GT4 that will be driven by Andrea D’Angelo.
As for the challenge in the XGTM, only ten points separate the championship leader Andrea Frizza from the Macedonian Sashko Atanasovski: on the one hand, the Brescian of the V-Action Racing Team will have to try to consolidate his position in the standings by hunting for the fourth center of the season, while on the other the Pro.Motorsport representative will aim to repeat the splendid success achieved in Imola to reduce the gap from the top. The duo formed by Maurizio Ceresoli and Fabrizio Ongaretto, racing with a car from the CZ Bassano Racing Team, will try to threaten the two.
Luca Panizzi (organizer of the Formula X Racing Weekend): “We are very happy to be able to return to the track at Mugello and in a prestigious context such as that of the ACI Racing Weekend. Already during the opening round of the championship, the challenge on the track was exciting, and now we expect to see the same spectacle in a season now ready to face its decisive part. We will have some beautiful new entries in the race and this makes us very happy, as it shows an ever-increasing attention towards our championship. It will be fun!”
The weekend program at Mugello includes a double free practice session on Friday 23 August at 8:30 and 12:35, while the two qualifying sessions will take place in the afternoon starting at 14:55. The first race will start in the late morning of Saturday 24 at 11:50, while the second heat will take place on Sunday 25 with the lights going off at 9:50, always over a distance of 30 minutes. Both races will be broadcast in live streaming on the championship’s social channels (Facebook and YouTube) and on LiveGP.it with commentary by Marco Privitera and Davide Valsecchi, while there will be the usual in-depth specials from the paddock throughout the weekend with interviews with the protagonists.
