During a wet qualifying at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium Michelle Gatting, the championship leader for Iron Lynx, qualified in third position but was frustrated by a red flag which halted qualifying early. Race one of the Ferrari Challenge was on a dry track and Michelle took third place – her eleventh podium of the season.
With the Trofeo Pirelli title a real possibility at the end of race two, Michelle just needed to retain her podium form – but an electronics issue on her Ferrari in fog-delayed morning qualifying left the Dane without power. The safest solution was a last-minute car change and the whole team went to work to prepare the car for the race. Starting last on the grid of 21, Michelle had serious work to do in an unfamiliar car, but stormed through the field in the early stages, making up ten positions in four laps. Unfortunately, her charge had taken its toll on the tyres, and without a safety car to close the field up, Michelle finished eighth overall and sixth in class, with Arno also taking sixth in Trofeo Pirelli Am after starting seventh.
Meanwhile in the Italian Formula 4 round held at Spielberg in Austria fellow Iron Dame Maya Weug finished sixth in class in race one, and sixth again in race two, having won ten positions in a race interrupted by multiple safety cars. Maya is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and the the first female driver to have ever joined the academy.
“We are all behind Michelle as she strives to become Trofeo Pirelli champion. The teamwork to recover from the technical issue suffered in quali and her recovery drive on Sunday were proof that we never give up. Our F4 challengers also delivered strong results – Leo was fastest in quali with a magnificent pole position and drove three strong races to put himself third in this very competitive championship. Maya and Pietro suffered a bit in qualifying but despite that, they managed to show good pace in all three races, making some great moves and recovering many places,” said Iron Lynx Team Principal Andrea Piccini.
Michelle continues to lead the championship with 152 points and a 29-point lead with 35 points available at the final rounds at Mugello in November. Two more points finishes will make Michelle the first woman ever to win the Trofeo Pirelli Europe.
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