Max Lanza and Roberto Benedettii scored more Trophy podiums in Vallelunga, giving them crucial points in their plan to play the long game in the standings.
More success came to the CAAL Racing pairing of Max Lanza and Roberto Benedetti after they secured more podium finishes in both the Challenger Trophy and the Legend Trophy in their home race at Vallelunga.
The Italian round is always the one that Lanza waits for the most in the EuroNASCAR calendar. Not only was it the round where his passionate fans and family can watch him race live, it’s also one where Lanza regularly scored Trophy podium finishes – much to the joy of his supporters.
The 2024 edition of American Festival of Rome continues this good track record with a Challenger Trophy runner-up on Saturday. Lanza performed strongly and gained a few positions to finish 15th, two places behind Trophy winner Riccardo Romagnoli.
“Racing in front of such a crowd is simply magnificent!” said Lanza on racing at home. “Vallelunga is always special and for me who was born just a stone’s throw away it is even more so!”
“There were so many friends, supporters, partners and everyone on the track who believed in my racing dream. To be able to share the joy of the podium with them is simply unparalleled!”
Unfortunately, results for Race 2 were less than satisfactory. Lanza finished a minute behind race winner Vittorio Ghirelli and 16 seconds behind Davide Dallara, the third placed driver in the Challenger Trophy.
The 43-year old said that he would love it if he was able to score better results, but acknowledges that the points that he collected will play an important role later in the season.
“I would have liked to give everyone who came to the track a better result, but I didn’t want to risk it and thought about the championship,” added Lanza. “The season is still long and every point counts.”
A similar story can be told by Benedetti, who went from the highs of winning the Legend Trophy on Saturday to the lows of a DNF on Sunday.
After an impressive Qualifying where he put the No. 88 Avangarde Group Camaro in the third row of the grid, Benedetti took advantage of Claudio Remigio Cappelli and Melvin de Groot’s retirement to win the Trophy in eighth place overall.
The Sunday race then saw him battling for third in the early stages, but sadly he wasn’t able to make it to the finish due to a gearbox issue that forced his retirement at the start of lap 6.
Despite this, Benedetti’s results were enough to give him the overall lead in the Legend Trophy. With 100 points to his name, the 49-year old currently has a five point advantage to Race Planet Team Bleekemolen’s Michael Bleekemolen in the sub-championship.
For Lanza, he’s currently twelfth in the overall standings with 92 points. He’s also second in the Challenger rankings with only eight points separating him from Race Art Technology’s Thomas Toffel.
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