MATTIA BUCCI LEAVES MONZA WITH A SECOND PLACE
The ace from Abruzzo took second place in Race 1. An unfortunate accident forced him to retire in the final heat
The Italian GT Sprint Championship has officially ended in Monza. The “Temple of Speed” was the scene of numerous brawls and among these there was also the GT Cup, a class in which Mattia Bucci and his teammate Filippo Croccolino compete with the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo of Best Lap racing team.
The weekend started off with excellent auspices thanks to the second and third positions achieved respectively in Free Practice 1 and 2. On Saturday the melody was the same with two third places at the end of Q1 and Q2, results achieved at the end of sessions that saw the Ferrari n.178 in full battle for Pole Position.
Race 1, in which Bucci started by virtue of his participation in the first of the two Qualifying, was the scene of the second podium of the season for him. Mattia took advantage of the restart from the Safety Car and overtook the competitor in front of him with a move on the outside of “Prima Variante”. Due to the poor visibility dictated by the time, the race was then suspended definitively, giving the second place to the youngster.
Sunday’s race was the other side of the coin. The Abruzzese driver was forced to retire following a heavy accident that involved him while he was virtually occupying the podium spot, confirming the leitmotif of the weekend with a top 3 race pace. Following the suspension of activities and the freezing of the ranking due to the red flag, the Ferrari n.178 still managed to classify in eighth position.
In the final standings, Mattia Bucci finished in eighth place with 35.5 total points: the bronze medal in Imola and the second place in Monza stand out.
Mattia Bucci: “It was a fantastic race weekend. We started off strong and were super competitive despite it being my debut in Monza. We narrowly missed out on Pole Position also due to obstacles during our laps. We confirmed our potential in Race 1, where I took advantage of every single moment to maximize the result. Unfortunately in Race 2 I was involved in a big accident after the Safety Car. We could have achieved a double podium which would have done a lot of good in the general standing and for our morale. Motorsport is also this and we have to accept it, now focus on 2025! I would especially like to thank Giovanni Minardi and Minardi Management, Filippo Croccolino who is more than a teammate, the Best Lap team for the work done and for being by my side after the accident, my sponsors, my family, my staff and my trainer Walter Marini together with his entire team.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Foto Speedy & Lorenzo Colangeli
Matteo Gaudieri
Mattia Bucci’s Press Office