India’s Mahaveer Raghunathan kicked off his Italian GT Sprint Championship bid on a strong note, picking up a race win in the opening round. Together with his AF Corse teammate Lorenzo Ferrari, he now leads the standings in the GT3 Pro-Am class.
- Raghunathan scores double podium finish in the opening round
- Leads GT3 Pro-Am standings
Raghunathan wins Race 2
Indian driver secures double podium finish in the GT3 Pro-Am class
Raghunathan is perhaps best known for his controversial F2 ban, but he’s now looking to prove himself in GT racing. This year, he’s driving a Ferrari 296 GT3 in the Italian GT Sprint Championship, where he is the only Indian driver on the grid featuring 36 cars.
Lorenzo and Raghunathan finished seventh overall in the first race, held at the Vallelunga Circuit. This was enough for the duo to take second place in the GT3 Pro-Am class. They followed this up with a spectacular win in Race 2.
Starting from pole position, Lorenzo led the field into Turn 1 but dropped to second early in his stint. He held on to P2 before handing the car over to Raghunathan, who capitalised on a delayed pit stop for the lead car and rejoined the track in first place.
Once in the lead, Raghunathan managed to pull a gap over the chasing pack and crossed the chequered flag over five seconds ahead of Andrea Frassineti and Edoardo Liberati. The result places him second overall in the championship and first in the GT3 Pro-Am class.
“Lorenzo started the race from P1 but lost the lead at the start and stayed in P2 through his stint. During the pit stop, we were able to gain time and jump into the lead. From there, I just focused on clean, consistent laps and was able to pull away. Really proud to bring it home with a P1 overall finish for the team. Big thanks to my whole team for a fantastic strategy and a great car throughout the weekend,” said Raghunathan.
