Ivan Bellarosa and Guglielmo Belotti in an Avelon Formula entered Wolf GB08 Honda took the overall win in the 25th edition of the 6h Di Roma, the Vallelunga Gold Cup.
The winning duo of Avelon Formula completed 211 laps in 6h00’34 “485 at an average of 143.426 km/ h beating the AF Corse Ferrari 458 GT3 of Giancarlo Fisichella, Motoaky Ishikawa and Michele Rugolo. Third overall were Vito Rinaldi and Marco Biffis in a Tatuus Py012 fourr laps further back.
It had been pole though for the Oregon Team Renault RS01 and the Renault initially fended off both Fisichella and Bellarosa before the Wolf found a way by, followed through by the Ferrari man plus Rangoni, Cioci and Camathias.
The first retirement came as early as the 20th minute when Joel Camathias’ Autorlando Porsche suffered a fire.
Into the second hour and pitstops for driver changes began, Ishikawa and Grber in for Fisichella and Cioci in the AF Ferraris. Soon afterwards though Gerber was pitched into the wall, his race (and that of team-mates Cioci and Matt Griffin, was done.
Olivier Beretta was now aboard the Renault and was lapping very quickly, but so too was Bellarosa who had stayed aboard the Wolf with a second GB08 also in the mix as Pirri took third from Ishikawa.
The storming run from the RS01 though was curtailed as the car pitted, losing three laps with a fuel pump issue, then later a further nine laps as the issue returned.
That left a two car ding dong battle for the lead between the Wolf pack, Bellarosa from Pirri until the second placed man pitted for full.
Rugolo was by now aboard the remaining AF Corse Ferrari and moved up to second place.
As the clock ticked down it was still the Wolf leading, by now with Belotti at the wheel ahead of Fisichella who had reduced the deficit to the CN car thanks to better pace and better fuel consumption. Third place was the Luca Rangoni /Daniel Mulacchiè Ebimotors Porsche but that position would be lost with retirement as the race started its final hour.
A Safety car in the fifth hour closed the lead gap right up but AF Corse’s hopes of a hat trick of wins disappeared almost immediately as the Ferrari headed to the pits with a broken rear shock absorber, seven minutes and three laps would be too much of a mountain to climb.
They didn’t give up though and by the flag the deficit was reduced to just a single lap. Ferrari’s five race winning streak though was over, Avelon Formula lifting the Gold Cup with a prototype, the first since Racing Box’s Lola Judd won the 2009 race
