Cipriani and Il Barone Rampante to compete in Monza with Rubens Barrichello!
Giuseppe Cipriani and Il Barone Rampante secured the Am class title last time out, the third in six years for the Italian driver.
And he will celebrate in a very special way at his, and his team’s home race in Monza: the outfit will switch to the Pro-Am class for the GT Open 500 race and Cipriani will race with none other than Rubens Barrichello!
A double F1 Championship runner-up and winner of 11 GPs, the former Ferrari driver is a true Tifosi hero with a strong bond with the Temple of Speed, where he won the GP three times.
Rubinho has been a popular presence in the GT Sport events’ paddock this year, following the campaign of his son Fernando in the Euroformula Open.
He tested the Lamborghini Huracan that he will race at Monza during the private tests at Barcelona.
Remarkably this will be a return for Barrichello to Il Barone Rampante … thirty-two years after he raced for the Italian squad in F3000 back in 1992.
Giuseppe Cipriani: “It was a great season, crowned by the conquest of the AM class title with one race to go and three victories and seven other podium finishes. Now the team and I have decided to race in Monza in the Pro-Am class in the Endurance race and to do it with a prestigious driver like Rubens Barrichello, with whom we will have the opportunity to perform a great race. It certainly won’t be easy because the competition level is very high, but in Monza we have always achieved excellent results, it is a circuit that I like and where I am convinced that we can do well!”
Rubens Barrichello: “I’m really happy to race in Monza with Il Barone Rampante in the Lamborghini Huracan. I had already raced with them when we were involved in Formula 3000, obviously the team has changed category and members, but they are still an excellent team, they have already won the Am class title fighting for the podium at every race. Competing in Monza is always special for me, here I won twice with Ferrari and once with Brawn GP, I had some wonderful moments when I competed with Ferrari and I can’t forget the tremendous support of the fans, who always followed me with affection even when I changed teams. I’m competing in the GT Open for the first time and so it will all be new for me. I had the opportunity to do some laps with the car in Barcelona and I have to say that I felt good. Now I can’t wait to get on track for the first tests! In Monza my son will also compete in the Euroformula Open, where he is currently third in the standings. It will be a busy weekend and hopefully full of satisfaction for the whole family!”
Optimum Motorsport return for the Monza 500 with young guns Meakin-Porter
The GT Open 500 at Monza will see the return to the series of Optimum Motorsport for the first time since last year’s season finale at Barcelona.
The British squad will enter a McLaren 720S for young stars Zac Meakin and Mikey Porter, both 17-years-old, who were this year’s British GT4 championship title protagonists, battling each other on track throughout the season as rivals, but who will now team up as they both make their GT3 race debut at the Temple of Speed.
The Wakefield-based squad led by Shaun Goff took the Drivers’ overall title last year with Sam De Haan and Charlie Fagg and the Pro-Am crown in 2021 with Brendan Iribe and Millroy.
Newly crowned British GT GT4 champion, Zac Meakin said: “I’m extremely excited to be moving up to GT3 and getting to race against the big leagues now. I can’t wait to race against a new field at Monza and I’m ready to give it all!”
British GT4 Silver drivers’ champion, Mikey Porter, who raced an Aston Martin For Forsetti Motorsport in British GT this season said: “I’m really looking forward to making my GT3 debut with Optimum Motorsport in the McLaren. I’m feeling confident going into the race weekend and with my teammate Zac after our recent success in British GT, I’m looking forward to the challenge!”
