After the points scored in Misano, Solaris Motorsport prepares Monza GT Open round
Misano Adriatico, Italy - In Misano World Circuit the Solaris Motorsport Corvette Z06R ended the Race 1 in points, one more time after the Vallelunga round, and closed a tricky Race 2 in P13, recovering some positions from the starting grid. No break for the Italian team, that it's already on the way to Monza for the International GT Open round, once again with the Corvette and the Francesco Sini and Marcello Puglisi talent.
In Misano the Solaris Motorsport Z06R used the two free practice sessions trying different solutions of setups on a track with no landmarks for the Corvette and with very variable grip conditions due to the unstable weather conditions that characterized the sixth round of the Italian GT Championship. Thanks to a good progression session by session, Sini almost entered the Top 10, far just 0.06 seconds, in the Q1 while Puglisi conquered the 8th row in the Q2.
The first race of the weekend was definitely eventful, after a good start Sini fought hard with Berton's Ferrari and Biagi's Porsche all the stint long, taking advantage of the safety car period to move up the driver's change stop. When the race resumed Puglisi was able to pass quickly all the lapped drivers and to defend the position from the Camathias 997 attacks in the final laps,conquering the ninth place under the checkered flag. In the Sunday Race, the Trescore Balneario native driver made a great start, gaining 5 positions in the first laps. At the end of a tricky race due to some setup problems, the Corvette passed under the finish line in P13. A not satisfying result, but the Solaris Motorsport guys can console with a weekend without technical problem that permits them to look positive to Monza round.
"They were two difficult races but the result in Race 1 tells us we are on the right way. It's a tricky season, we still have to work, but something of good begins to come." commented Francesco Sini, ready to rejoin the GT Open, where he debuted in April with the Corvette: "I'm really happy to be back in the GT Open! I'm excited to race in Monza, in the Italian round in May we gained the second step of the podium and we arrived so close to the victory. Now we come back knowing better the car, but it will not easy to repeat the same results, the level of the championship is very high. Furthermore, accord to the weather forecast it may rain and all can become harder."
"With all these slow corners, Misano maybe is one of worst track for our Corvette, but despite this we were able to score some points once again. It's a good signal. Obviously we cannot be satisfied about it, but we are working in the right way." said Marcello Puglisi, and about Monza he adds: "The Autodromo Nazionale is always a special race for me, I was born not too far from here, it's my home race. Track should be in favour to our car, after a lot difficult races we can reach some positive result and score an important goal for our season. I'd like to give to the Solaris guys a great result to thank them for their efforts. I raced in the GT Open in the last years, it's a tuff championship and I know the the battle for the top position will be very hard."
Roberto Sini, Solaris Motorsport Team Principal: "Misano was a tricky weekend but it brought a lot of good news. But we have to be already focus on Monza. It's a last minute opportunity and we take it immediately. To be back in an european championship and to fight with new opponents is always very exciting. We worked hard all the season on the car and we are more ready respect the race in May. But this year we learned we can take nothing for granted. And the weather can be a further variable."
The International GT Open weekend in Monza will start with two free practices session on Friday, October 2nd, scheduled at 12:40 and 4:30 PM. The green light for the Q1 is on Saturday morning at 11:05 AM and the 70 minutes 'endurance' race will start at 4PM. Same scheme on Sunday, with the qualifying session at 9:40 AM and the green light for the 60 minutes 'sprint' race at 2 PM. Both the races will be live streamed on the International GT Open website:
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