It’s been a beautiful weekend in Lonato, while it was a little chilly it was also dry and sunny.
Through practice I felt I had the speed for a good qualifying position. I was assigned qualifying group 3. At Lonato, you don't need a draft; you just need a clear lap. That’s exactly what I got on my final lap, I went P1 in group P2 overall, putting me in group B for the heats.
In heat A-B, I started P2, fell back to P3, but raced back to P2.
In heat 2, heat B-E, I started on pole. I pulled away with P2 for a few laps only to get passed, which slowed us both down, enabling the pack to catch up. We battled. I got to P1; they continued to battle. I won by 3.7s.
Saturday was another sunny, dry day in Northern Italy. I got to start on the pole for all three heats.
I started the day with heat B-F. I led for a few laps, with Sebastian pushing. When he passed, I struggled to hang on and couldn’t close the gap (which is how all three heats went). I finished P2.
In heat B-C, it was a repeat. I couldn’t maintain the lead, I then battled with my teammate for a bit but had to settle for P3.
In my final heat, heat B-D. I had a rather quiet race. I lead but was passed by P2. We pulled away, but I slowly fell back. Over the final laps, I was being caught by P3, but I did enough to hold them off and cross the line in P2.
By the end of my five qualifying heats I was P3 overall. I started Pre-final A on the front row in P2.
Sunday, started with a prefinal where I started P2. At Lonato, P2 typically loses 5 or 6 places by the first corner. My prefinal was no different. I slotted in P6. I battled but finished in P7.
After the prefinal, I was 5th in the points, but a few penalties to other drivers saw me promoted to P4 and another off-pole start.
In the final, the outside line struggled to get away, and I slotted in around P8 through turns one and two. I took the inside line going into bar corner, which was a little backed up, then the inside line for the mechanic's corner, but a driver was tapped and almost spun, slowing us all down, enabling some drivers to go around the outside. By the exit of turn four, I was in P10.
The people around me wanted to battle, so the lead pack pulled away. At times, we closed up, but battling killed any chance we had. I ended up finishing P11 P10 after penalties.
While I’m disappointed with the result, it was a positive weekend. Next weekend, I’m at Franciacorta for the final round of the WSK Final Cup and my final race of the year.
Entries: 86
Final Results
Qualifying: P2 (P1 in group)
Heat A-B: P2
Heat B-E: P1
Heat B-F: P2
Heat B-C: P3
Heat B-D: P2
Final heat position: P3
Prefinal A: P8
Final: P10
Results:
Thank you Parolin Racing, my coach Lorenzon Travisanutto, my mechanic Mirco Anelli, Junior boss Roberto Toninelli and the all-star team at GFR Engines.
I’d like also to thank my new performance coach, John Noonan.
📸 @sportinphoto
🎥 @massimonicoletti.video
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