GRT Grasser Racing Team has won the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup at Monza in its #63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, using the Pirelli P Zero DHD tyre. The drivers making up the team were Christian Engelhart, Andrea Caldarelli and Mirko Bortolotti.
Today was also race two of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, won by Antonelli Motorsport drivers Loris Spinelli and Mikael Grenier.
Matteo Braga (Pirelli circuit activity manager):
“The tyres performed well from start to finish, even though the conditions weren’t easy: there was a lot of debris on the track due to various race incidents. Still, we had a very entertaining three hours of competition and the tyres enabled all the manufacturers to have a close battle all the way to the flag, which is our key objective.”
Christian Engelhart (#63, GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Huracan GT3):
“For me it was the perfect stint, getting in the car in the lead and driving for one hour; managing the tyres to the end. I couldn’t feel any drop off on the tyre, it was very consistent over the whole race and it was easy to manage them.”
Fact of the day:
Tyre strategy was absolutely at the heart of the strategy for the winning Lamborghini today. The crew deliberately saved three new sets of tyres for the race, using only two sets for free practice and qualifying to ensure peak performance throughout all three race stints. Andrea Calderelli said: “In my view, that strategy helped us win the race. We sacrificed a bit in qualifying, but it meant that we had peak performance after each pit stop, when it counted, which really made the difference.”
Number of the day:
32. The number of cars within one second of each other during qualifying today: a new Blancpain GT record.
