IELASI TUNED INTERNATIONAL CUP, LENO
22-25 March, 2024
After a rather cold winter, racing activity has finally resumed thanks to the trophy organized by Daniele Ielasi, who year after year, with the collaboration of the Italian AMSCI Federation and the Leno Track, has built a solid competitive reputation. An event that this year brought together around a hundred participants from all over Europe and saw the simultaneous presence on the track of four finalists from the last World Championship.
The good weather crowned a friendly atmosphere and allowed the race to proceed smoothly; the A-B-C finals format ensured adequate track time for all participants...
Jonathan Gandin won the B final, joining Tironi, Lorenzi, and Balestri (who obtained the TQ), making it four INF1NITY IF18-3 in the final.
The 45-minute Amain was very exciting: after an initial breakaway in the first 15 minutes where he gained a few seconds' margin, Dario had to struggle with the gradual loss of the Gurney strip from his body shell... Toni and Simon thus closed the gap with the German who took the lead and during the tire change, Balestri decided to tear off the aerodynamic appendage to lose as little time as possible and at least maintain the position on Simon. I believe it is clear to everyone the difficulty of driving a 1/8 at this level without a wing; Dario definitely performed a masterpiece regaining the lead about ten minutes from the end coinciding with a problem for Toni and managing to fend off the attacks of the Swiss who constantly pursued him throughout the last fuel stop... they were only separated by a few tenths at the end with our representative bringing home a well-deserved victory after a spectacular fight. Excellent performance by Francesco who finished just off the podium and applause for Lorenzi who was in the top 5 until retirement; unfortunately, Gandin suffered several problems after only two laps from start and was unable to fully express his potential. See you on this track in a few weeks for the national championship... Well done Dario!
