Alberto Cona wins in the first absolute race of the Italian Drifting Championship in the Temple of Speed

A good first for the debut of the Italian Drifting Championship at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The race, held in a stretch of the Ascari variant and a novelty of the Temple of Speed calendar, attracted a large number of spectators who watched the pilots drift throughout the day. The event, organized by D-Race and ACI Sport, gave a show to the sound of evolutions and crossings on the track.

The drivers – divided into the two classes in the Pro and Pro2 races – first tested the cars in a long free practice session that began at 8:30, and then battled it out when the stakes really mattered, both in the qualifying heats and in the afternoon races. . All performances were carefully evaluated by the three 2022 race judges: Davide Busi, Nicolò Rosso and Claudio Varrica.

Alberto Cona confirms himself as the best, at least in the debut race of the queen Pro category. After the triumph in the series in 2021, the Italian driver opened the season with a victory, putting behind the other sixteen competitors at the start. Summing up the qualifying and race results, the score of Cona’s BMW M3 was higher than that of Alberto Meregalli, on a Nissan 350Z V8, and of the French Alexander Strano, on another BMW M3.

At the head of Pro2 is Simone Milani. With his BMW M3 E46 he climbed to the top step of the class podium after being the best for the jury even at the end of qualifying, with 81 points. Behind him were Rocco Lopiano in a Nissan S13 and Christian Stocco in a BMW E46. Worthy of note is the performance of Lopiano, able to recover 5 positions from qualifying – which he had finished in seventh place – finishing second. Stocco was fourth at the start of the race and overtook Marco Stellino, grabbing the third position.

At mid-day, during the break of the dynamic activity of the Italian Drifting Championship, the sixteen GT cars that participated in the MonRace GV Cup 2022 , a competition in memory of Gilles Villeneuve, also entered the Circuit. The cars lined up in paddock 1 at 1.30pm and left for a parade both on the historic Monza elevated roads, where they completed a complete lap, and on the road layout, where they completed three laps. Among the entrants, the presence of five Ferraris should be noted. At the end of the day, the participants who best expressed the spirit and style of the event were awarded on the podium of the Circuit, in the year of its centenary.

The sports calendar for the Temple of Speed now continues with the return to the Brianza Circuit of the 1000 Miglia, the most famous regularity race in the world, scheduled for Saturday 18 June. On the same weekend, the Autodrome will also host the dynamic phase of the MIMO – Milan Monza Motor Show, with free access for all MIMO Pass holders and the opportunity to try supercars on Sunday 19 June, on a Track Day dedicated to collectors. and passionate. All information on the event is available on the website www.monzanet.it. (fm )