Imola: Stratia Motorsport leads the Am class before retirement
Some races leave you frustrated and confident at the same time. The 3 Hours of Imola, the third of four rounds of the Italian GT Endurance Championship, will remain for Stratia Motorsport a weekend of strong performance cut short halfway through the race: leading the GT3 Am class and firmly in contention for victory, the Swiss team’s No. 16 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was forced to retire following contact that damaged the left-front corner of the car.
Entered at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari against a 52-car field, the No. 16 was shared by Caresani, Lehmann and Scholze.
The weekend had started in the best possible way. Across three 60-minute free-practice sessions held between Friday and Saturday morning, the Mercedes-AMG improved session after session, eventually finishing the final practice third overall and first in class.
That result was all the more significant as it placed the team ahead of several higher-category crews on a highly technical circuit where even the smallest setup compromise can prove costly.
The CIGT Endurance qualifying format, which requires each driver to set an individual reference time, does not always allow outright pace to translate directly into grid position. The car ultimately started fourth in the Am class, within immediate striking distance of the leaders.
Starting on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. in hot summer conditions, the race was disrupted by several Safety Car periods, including one on the opening lap following an incident under braking at Tosa. Such a scenario, with repeated restarts and compressed gaps, rewards crews capable of delivering clean and consistent stints.
That is exactly what Stratia did. Over the six stints required by the regulations, the No. 16 worked its way through the field and into the lead of the Am class, putting the team in a strong position to secure the first victory in its young history.
At the halfway point, with controlled pace and a well-balanced car, victory was clearly within reach.
Those hopes ended following contact on track. The impact damaged the left-front corner, leaving no realistic possibility of carrying out repairs within the remaining race time. The team therefore made the decision to retire the car rather than expose it to unnecessary further damage.
The retirement was in no way a reflection of the crew’s pace or of the Mercedes-AMG’s reliability.
Attention now turns to Mugello. The Endurance Championship will conclude at Mugello from 30 October to 1 November. Stratia heads into the final round with one clear conclusion from Imola: in a 52-car field, the team demonstrated that it has the pace required to win its class.
Furthermore, with the regulations counting only the seven best results from the season’s eight races, the points impact of this retirement remains limited.
