Looking at the tally that concludes the trip to the Autodromo Vallelunga, one could think of half a misstep, and instead Filippo Fant has accumulated a wealth of experience that will undoubtedly be useful to him in his future.
The driver from Belluno, who made his absolute debut on the Capitoline circuit, was on the starting line of the second round of the Mini Challenge with the Mini JCW Challenge Evo provided by CZ Bassano Racing and shared with Roberto Gentili.
“It was my first time at this track,” says Fant, “and as I shared the Mini with Roberto, I was only able to do nine laps in free practice to get to know the track. Despite everything, I found a good feeling and the times were interesting.”
In the second challenge of the weekend, the Xmotors team flag bearer struggled to make room in qualifying traffic and finished fifth on the grid.
“I struggled a bit in qualifying,” emphasizes Fant, “due to traffic problems on the track, but also because the only clear lap I managed was not perfect. I finished fifth but was confident for the race because we had good pace.”
On Sunday, the Maser Team rider started Race 2, losing a few positions at the start after two rivals in front of him touched.
Fant reclaimed fifth place and could not find the right gap to be able to overtake, content with a result that makes him one of the protagonists of the series.
“I had a good start to the race,” adds Fant, “but contact between the two in front of me forced me to brake and was eventually passed by Palazzo. My pace was better and I took advantage of the fight between him and Giorgi and managed to pass him at the hairpin and came back in fifth. From that moment I got stuck in the wake of the runner-up, made up of Maccari, Silvestrini and Giorgi. I tried several times to overtake Giorgi and even touch him, but unfortunately I couldn’t overtake him even though my pace was much higher. I’m definitely happy with my performance because the race pace was excellent. It wasn’t easy competing against competitors who had been competing in this category for years and only had nine laps to familiarize themselves with the track. I’m a little disappointed because the result could have been better and I need to improve my attacks on my opponents for the next few races. I am sure that with experience everything will become much easier. Now it’s off to Monza.”
As he awaits the third chapter of the Fant trademark, he falls to third place in the Mini Challenge Evo, six lengths behind second and twenty-two lengths behind the current provisional leader.
