Lorenzo Ferrari is preparing to return to the track for the next round of the Italian Gran Turismo Championship (CIGT) Endurance, which will be held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza during the ACI Racing Weekend on 20-22 June 2025.
The Piacenza native will return to the Temple of Speed at the end of the sprint season, which brought him the overall win and a category podium in the last round at Vallelunga. In the meantime, the endurance championship for GT3 cars promoted by ACI Sport continues, with the second round scheduled after the season opener at Misano. Ferrari will therefore return to both Mahaveer Raghunathan and Riccardo Ponzio as team mates on the 296 GT3 of the AF Corse team. After an initial period of adjustment with the Piacenza team, the gears are well-oiled, the 2002-born driver is ready to attack the top of the Pro-AM standings, together with his compatriot Ponzio and the ex-Formula 2 Raghunathan.
On the Misano circuit, bad luck was added in the early stages of the race, forcing the #51 crew to come back from 14th place, but still managed to come back to 6th place overall, on the edge of the Pro-AM class podium. The Piacenza driver's recent history on the Monza track has not been particularly fortunate, with a retirement in the 3 Hours of the GT World Challenge Europe 2024 and an absence from the last round of last year's CIGT Endurance.
The last time Lorenzo Ferrari won on the iconic variants of the Italian track was in 2021 – a season in which he also took the sprint and endurance double of the CIGT – again in the ACI Sport endurance championship.
The Brianza circuit has characteristics diametrically opposed to the scenario of the first endurance round of the season, with long straights, strong braking and relatively low wear on the Pirelli tires, although the hot temperatures will be a variable not to be underestimated throughout the entire weekend. The data acquired from the tests will therefore be fundamental to positively direct the weekend. The program includes two free practice sessions on Friday, and a third additional one on Saturday morning before taking to the track for qualifying at 16:00.
The official tests and the race, lasting 3 hours that will see its green flag on Sunday 22 June at 14:30, and will be broadcast on ACI Sport TV – channel 228 SKY – with Rai Sport, on digital terrestrial channel 58, also giving space to the Sunday race.
Lorenzo Ferrari
“I can’t wait to return to Monza, it’s a track that everyone knows very well; after the victory at Vallelunga we want to try to take the win in the endurance series too. It will obviously be the first time with the Ferrari 296 GT3 on the Brianza track and I’m curious to understand how it will behave under braking, given the top speeds that are reached at Monza and are difficult to find elsewhere. It will be the occasion to celebrate together with all of AF Corse the great success of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last week, which makes me even more proud to link my name to the Maranello manufacturer and the Piacenza team”.
