NEWS
SUNDAY PODIUM FOR DIMITROV AND RICCITELLI KEEPS THEM IN CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION
May 24, 2026
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2026 Italian GT Sprint Championship, Round 2 – Vallelunga
Podium for Dimitrov and Riccitelli highlight of tough Vallelunga weekend for the VSR Lambos
Thirty-one GT3 cars lined up at Vallelunga for the second double-header race weekend of the 2026 Italian GT Sprint Championship. The three VSR Pro line-ups were unchanged from last time out at Imola. In the 19 car were Paul Levet and Marcus Paverud. Imola winners Georgi Dimitrov and Simone Riccitelli continued in the 63 Lamborghini and the 66 was once again in the hands of Mattia Michelotto and Ignazio Zanon.
Hampered by the BoP all nine of the Lamborghinis on the Vallelunga grid struggled in qualifying. The start of race one was taken by the fastest driver of each car. For VSR Levet and Riccitelli lined up on the eighth row and Michelotto on row ten. At the end of lap one Levet and Riccitelli were thirteenth and fourteenth and Michelotto twentieth. On lap three the leading VSR duo swapped places and by lap ten Michelotto was up to eighteenth. The driver change window opened on lap fourteen and Riccitelli was the first to stop, giving the 63 to Dimitrov. Levet bought the 19 in on lap eighteen and after discounting a six second success penalty from the race before, Paverud took over. Last of the VSR cars to box was Michelotto and Zanon jumped into the 66 for the run to the flag. When the pit window closed Dimitrov was lying eighth, Paverud thirteenth and Zanon sixteenth. On lap twenty-six Dimitrov took seventh from Duran but on the final lap Frassineti demoted him back to eighth. Paverud just missed out on a points finish, crossing the line in eleventh. with Zanon sixteenth.
Sunday’s race saw Dimitrov start from the sixth row, Paverud from row eight and Zanon one row further back. At the end of an aggressive first lap Dimitrov was up to sixth and Paverud ninth. The Safety Car was called out on lap two for an accident for Randazzo. Racing went green on lap seven and Paverud pitted immediately to serve a penalty for a collision. The driver change window opened on lap thirteen and Dimitrov boxed for Riccitelli. He was followed in by Zanon, who had risen to fifteenth, and Michelotto took over at the wheel of the 66. Paverud waited until lap seventeen before stopping to give the 19 Lambo to Levet. With all the driver changes done and the success penalties discounted Riccitelli ran in third and Michelotto in seventh. With ten minutes left Riccitelli was running just behind the second placed BMW of Ebrahim and had Albag’s Mercedes all over the back of his Lambo. Michelotto was struggling to pass Mazzola for sixth and Levet had recovered to eighteenth. Riccitelli held off Albag to take a hard fought podium by just two tenths of a second. Michelotto finished sixth and Levet took the flag in sixteenth, the harsh penalty the car received at the start of the race cancelling out the speed both drivers had shown in the race.
2026 Italian GT Sprint Championship
Imola: 24-26 April
Vallelunga: 22-24 May
Mugello: 24-26 July
Monza: 9-11 October
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