Alfa Revival Cup: Round 5

In an atmosphere saddened by the memory of the tragic loss of Emilio Petrone, winner of the previous Alfa Revival Cup race at Vallelunga, the Mugello weekend delivered an intense and thrilling race. A minute’s silence was held in memory of the late racer before the start of the event. One of the most emotional moments came when Giacomo Barri, Petrone’s teammate in the OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team, took to the grid in the #50 GTAm. Their shared mission was to win the championship and honor Emilio by inscribing his name in the history books.

The Race

Right from the start, Barri seized the lead at turn 2, overtaking Walter Ben, with Davide Bertinelli from Team Gatti in second place and Daniele Perfetti from OKP Alfa Delta Racing making an aggressive move at turn 4 to take 3^rd place. Lukas Stojetz, paired with Bernhard Laber of OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team, was 4^th, with Fabrizio Sabatini of Jolly Car Squadra Corse, partnered with Edoardo Caponi, just behind. Caponi executed a textbook start, gaining five positions. Giovanni Serio from the Carrera Team, co-driving the Giulia Sprint GTA with Massimo Guerra, also made a great start, advancing from 12^th to 7^th position.

But the most impressive start came from Antonio Crescenti, also from Carrera Team, paired with Francesco Pantaleo, who propelled their Giulia Sprint GTA from 18^th to 9^th. But the action didn’t stop there: just a few corners in, Davide Bertinelli overtook Giacomo Barri to take the lead. Still in the first lap, Giulio Sordi, co-driving the Giulia Super with his brother Mattia, got stuck in the gravel at Arrabbiata 2 due to an engine issue, bringing out the Safety Car for the next two laps.

The race resumed on lap 3. Giacomo Barri immediately attempted to overtake, locking up his front tires, but couldn’t pull it off. By lap 4, the fight between cars in different classes was heating up: Stefan Rollwagen of OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team in the Giulia Sprint GT Veloce, Fausto Amendolagine of Scuderia Capannone Garage, and Fabio Gimignani of Scuderia Clemente Biondetti in their GT Veloce 2000s, and Marco Milla in the Giulia Super were battling it out between 23^rd and 26^th place.

Close behind was Sergio Sambataro in the Giulia TI Super for Scuderia Etna. Meanwhile, in the H1 T 2000 class, Gianni Acciai of Scuderia Clemente Biondetti, paired with his son Edoardo, and Mauro Bini of the same team, teamed with Carlo Fabbrini, were fighting for the 29^th and 30^th positions.

Bertinelli tried to extend his lead, but on lap 6, he ran slightly off track at Casanova, allowing Barri to take the lead. During the same lap, Stefano Barbieri of the AMG RS team made an impressive overtake at Bucine, passing Christian Ondrak from OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team, co-driving with Massimo Bortolami. On lap 7, Christoph Winkler, driving the GTAm alongside his son Bernd, was in 13^th place and in hot pursuit of Walter Ben.

On lap 8, the pit lane opened, with Bertinelli still tenaciously pursuing Barri. At this stage, Walter Ben’s GTAm began experiencing gearbox troubles, forcing him to return to the pits. The damage was so severe that Fabio Babini was unable to continue. Mechanical issues also struck Dario Inhelder from the Auto Engiadina team, who had been running in 19^th place. Meanwhile, a thrilling battle unfolded between Marco Milla of Scuderia Capannone Garage, co-driving with Umberto Caucci, and Mauro Bini, partnered with Carlo Fabbrini of Scuderia Clemente Biondetti.

On lap 9, Barri pitted, handing the lead to Bertinelli. A gripping battle ensued between Bertinelli and Niccolò Mercatali (Scuderia Clemente Biondetti), who had just taken over from his father Luigi and rejoined the race in 19^th position after their pit stop. The two GTAm cars engaged in a dramatic battle, weaving through the corners with late braking and sudden changes of direction as Niccolò tried every trick to challenge the Arese driver, who held his ground. At this point of the race, Daniele Perfetti was in 2^nd place, Lukas Stojetz 3^rd, and Peter Bachofen 4^th. A clutch failure forced Franz Slama to retire from 20^th place during lap 12.

On lap 15, the pit lane closed, and in the following lap, Luca Demarchi’s GTAm got stuck in the gravel at San Donato due to a driveshaft failure. The Safety Car was deployed for one lap. When the race resumed, Barri, now in 2^nd place behind Bertinelli, was aggressive and determined. Daniele Perfetti put up a tough fight to hold onto 3^rd place, fending off attacks from Niccolò Mercatali, who was closely followed by Matteo Kamata of OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team and Bernhard Laber. From lap 18 to the end of the race, a fierce quartet was created between the 13^th and 16^th positions, formed by Alberto Franceschetti in the GTAm for the Formula GT team, Fabian Körber, co-driving with his father Mathias for OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team in the Giulia Sprint GTA, Mario Salomone from the same team in the GTAm, and Emanuele Benedini, partnered with Marco Guerra of Carrera Team in the Giulia Sprint GTA, who continued at the excellent pace set by his teammate.

On lap 19, drama unfolded: Bertinelli made a mistake at the exit of Arrabbiata 2, handing the lead to Barri. By lap 21, Edoardo Caponi, co-driving with Fabrizio Sabatini for Jolly Car Squadra Corse, had moved into 6^th place after a consistent race in the leading pack, passing Laber and holding his position until the finish. Another retirement followed on lap 22, with Raffaele Raimondi’s GTAm, who was in 9^th place with Carlo Barbolini Cionini of Circolo della Biella, dropping out due to an intake failure.

The race concluded on lap 23 with Barri taking the victory, extending his lead in the overall standings. He was followed by Bertinelli and Luigi and Niccolò Mercatali, who moved into third place after a 10-second penalty was given to Daniele Perfetti for overtaking during the restart under the Safety Car. Bertinelli had the satisfaction of achieving the fastest lap with a time of 2 minutes 12.447 seconds.

Noteworthy was the participation of Riccardo Raimondi of Circolo della Biella, who expertly handled the Giulietta Spider Veloce throughout the race, marking the return of this model to the series. Joachim Von Muschwitz and Matteo Kamata from OKP Alfa Delta Racing Team also performed well.

The Mugello event attracted several participants from the 2024 Modena Cento Ore, who were eager to immerse themselves in the motorsport atmosphere provided by Canossa. Among them was Hans Luginbuehel, who was captivated by the Alfa Revival Cup environment, and Alberto Franceschetti from Team Formula GT. The familiar pairings of Bernhard Laber – Lukas Stojetz and Christian Ondrak – Massimo Bortolami also contributed to the excitement.

Shortly after his victory, Giacomo Barri declared: “We made a good start from second, jumping straight into the lead. At the beginning, we had some handling issues, possibly due to low tire pressure. It was like a qualifying session from the first lap to the last, and Davide really made me work for it. I’m happy for the team and for Emilio, who I’m sure is watching over us from above.”