21 Apr First checkered flag of the season
First checkered flag of the season
The growth of the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione continues in the home race, getting closer to its rivals’ times and fighting until the final 16th place
The second weekend of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship was home for Isotta Fraschini, who received the warmth and affection of the many Italian fans on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola (73,600 in attendance over the weekend). The Tipo 6 LMH Competizione leaped forward in its performance compared to the race in Qatar, thanks to the great work carried out by the technicians of the Milanese company in the weeks that divided the two events, as demonstrated by the 14th time in the first round of free tests. But especially in the race shone the Isotta Fraschini’s car.
The French team Duqueine, which manages on track the hypercar made by the company from Milan, decided to start the race with Jean-Karl Vernay at the wheel, and the expert driver showed everyone the car’s qualities. Avoiding the accident at the start, the Tipo 6 thus gained several positions and battled on equal terms with all its nearby rivals in the next two hours. Its aerodynamic qualities allowed the Italian hypercar not to be overtaken on the straight from the cars in its wake and to occupy before the refueling stops that shuffled the ranking several times, a position valid for world points.
The championship will return to action in mid-May in Belgium. The famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit is another track that the two young drivers of the crew, Antonio Serravalle and Carl Wattana Bennett, do not know and they will therefore have to learn it quickly during free practices while the team studies the set-up for qualifying and the race.
Claudio Berro, Isotta Fraschini Milano Motorsport Director: «The home race is always important; for us, it was even more important as it was Isotta Fraschini’s first time in action in front of the Italian public after more than seventy years. As in Qatar, the aim was to finish the race to collect further data useful for developing the car. Seeing the checkered flag was very important, as well as facing different weather conditions that allowed us to acquire information on rain tires. Now we have to reprocess all the data gathered, using them to gain even more tenths of a second and to improve the position in the standings at the Spa-Francorchamps race».