+ Result, Pre-Qualifying, Monza
Josh Miller emerged on top of a red flag-interrupted Pre-Qualifying session at Monza, putting the #5 Mirage Racing Aston Martin out front.
After a near-faultless first practice session, three red flags punctuated the second session, making timing the ideal run a challenge. Regardless, Miller’s late effort was enough to put the Vantage he shares with Ruben del Sarte at the head of the times. Finn Zulauf and Max Kronberg led Pro-Am in their title-chasing W&S Motorsport Porsche, while Andy Cantu and Charles Dawson made it two from two by taking the top Am time in their NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG.
When running got underway, Josh Rattican made the first move, going fastest in the #78 Elite Motorsport McLaren that heads the Silver championship heading into this weekend. However running was soon halted when the #96 Mahiki Racing Lotus hit trouble and beached in the gravel.
When things resumed, Erik Evans put the Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang out front, before Lluc Ibañez took a turn in the #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG. A second stoppage was needed to recover the Teichmann Continental Racing Toyota, and Mateo Villagomez had just enough time to lower the benchmark in the #83 Racing Spirit of Lèman Aston before a third red was needed when the #60 Razoon – More Than Racing Porsche found its way into the gravel.
Only a few minutes remained when the track went green for one last run and Zulauf looked to spring a surprise by going fastest in the W&S Porsche, only for a late flurry of times to deny him. Best of the late improvers was Miller, who managed to pull 0.2s clear. Coincidentally, the results of the Friday sessions mirror those of qualifying at this track last season, with the Team Speedcar Audi that topped practice and Mirage Aston sharing the front row of the grid for the first race of 2023.
A fine effort from Tom Lebbon moved the #78 McLaren into second, ahead of Evans/Marco Signoretti’s Mustang, with Zulauf and Kronberg settling for fourth overall and top Pro-Am time. Tom Emson and Alex Denning were fifth in the sister Elite McLaren, with Villagomez and Jamie Day rounding out the top six in the #82 Aston.
With W&S well clear in Pro-Am, their title rivals led the chase as Aleksandr Vaintrub and Stanislav Safronov were second fastest in their points-leading Mirage Aston. Jon Lancaster and Rafael Martinez again performed strongly with their RAFA Racing Team McLaren in third.
Cantu left it late to set the Am pace, striking in the final moments to put himself and Dawson on top and complete a class sweep for NM Racing Team. He narrowly beat the Team Speedcar Audi of Adrien Paviot and Nicolas Markiewicz to the top time, with Kevin Jimenez/Florent Grizaud third in their GPA Racing Aston Martin.
Qualifying for the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club is set to take place at 12:00 CEST on Saturday, September 21.