The race in Imola is not like others. Let us begin with the fact that the direction of racing is anticlockwise. Of course, there are more differences.
One more difference for Tsunami RT was the absence of Alex De Giacomi, as the leader of Michelin Cup classification became a father, and had no time for competitions with his rivals.
Admittedly, there were enough competitions on the track even without Alex.
Qualifications were not rather successful for our drivers, Gianmarco Quaresmini and Giammarco Levorato. As the result of it, Quaresmini started on the seventh position, and Levorato was the 13th. What’s next?
Then there was a real Armageddon on the track.
Quaresmini’s mistake on the start threw him back on the 19th position. As the driver said, he decided at that moment that the race was over for him. However... there were 28 minutes plus one lap ahead. He had to use them to the fullest.
Giammarco Levorato’s start was also unsuccessful. He also began with winning back the positions.
There was a cloud of dust on the track: nobody minded either curbs or track configuration! Drivers make mistakes, drive directly, raising a dust from the road sides.
The next mistake becomes decisive just in ten minutes: Matteo Rovida does not make it into a turn, pushes Francesco Fenici off the track and flies off himself, having stuck on the gravel tightly and firmly.
A safety car appears on the track instead of two sidelined cars. At that moment, Levorato is the 12th, Quaresmini is on the 15th position.
The restart is within the next 10 minutes. The time was enough for Tsunami RT drivers to win back three positions each, and Daniele Cazzaniga and Gianluigi Piccioli managed to take their places in gravel traps.
A safety car appears on the track instead of two sidelined cars. Sorry for repetition.
A new restart. The show goes on. Alberto Cerchi, the leader of the Championship, flies off the track and makes a U-turn losing his chance for good qualification points. Džiugas Tovliavičius flies off trying to overrun. There is no safety car this time though, which means overruns are not forbidden!
Gianmarco Quaresmini passes the seventh under the checkered flag (having won back 12 positions!), and Giammarco Levorato is the sixth, having won the pole position for Sunday!
#32 Gianmarco Quaresmini: "I'm very happy for the result. Right after the start I thought the race for me was completely lost. But I tried to do my best, and the car was very fast. I managed to recover very quickly. And I finished on p7 and now we wait because some guys in front of us will get some penalty. We cross our fingers because then if I gain only one position, I'll get the pole tomorrow. The other good thing is the championship situation because after Alberto Cerqui's retirement and I think I'll be at the first position now in the championship. Tomorrow I'm going to have a fantastic race and hope to finish with the maximum possible result and on the podium!"
#33 Giammarco Levorato: "Crazy race today, I had a lot of fun! After a bad start I continued to believe it and lap after lap I recovered. Tomorrow will be a great day starting from pole position. Never give up!"
The Sunday race promises to be very exciting, as our driver Giammarco Levorato is a newbee of touring car races, despite of his speed. How will it be for him to defend from very experienced competitors?
We got to know it nine minutes after the start, when the experienced Simone Iaquinta was trying to overrun Giammarco on a straight line with an extremely dangerous maneuver. The maneuver was not successful for Iaquinta, and the cars collide at the speed of 280 kph, fly off the track and crash hard into the safety fence.
Time freezes till the moment when thick dust clears away, and we can see both drivers getting off their cars... on their own legs. They are safe and sound!
There was not only a safety car: the race was stopped and restarted only after both cars had been removed from the road side.
#33 Giammarco Levorato: "Yeah I'm ok, just a big crash. Now I need a few days to work it out but getting back on track as soon as possible is the best thing".
After the restart some drivers make mistakes and end up on the gravel, but they have a light version. Gianmarco Quaresmini uses this time to reach the fourth position.
#32 Gianmarco Quaresmini: "This race was completely crazy. As for my race, I'm happy for the result, p4 is good for the championship. However, I can say the weekend was good, the car was fantastic and let's see in the next race".
Not every time we remember that we love extreme but within reasonable limits! There was a total Carmageddon in Imola.
Thus, it is only the third round of Porsche Carrera Cup 2021. It means that a lot of interesting events are expecting for us!
