Isotta Fraschini completed the two-day test with her Tipo 6 LMH-C on the Monza track, in what was the second real test for the Hypercar of the Milanese brand.
After the first Shakedown held a month ago in Vallelunga, the team returned to the wind tunnel to approve the first changes to the project, then Tuesday and Wednesday were used by the Michelotto Engineering technicians to collect other useful data in different conditions. as there were also some drops of rain to wet the track and force the use of grooved Michelin tyres.
Marco Bonanomi, test driver for the car manufacturer from Veneto, took the wheel of the prototype, while Andrea Montermini, who will be Isotta Fraschini’s coach for the Track-Days dedicated to customers, also did some laps.
Isotta Fraschini Type 6 LMH-C
Photo by: Isotta Fraschini
Tuesday brought some further unforeseen events in addition to the rain, given that the well-known technical problems caused by the Vedano power plant continue to blow out the lights intermittently in the area, as had already happened during the GT World Challenge weekend, forcing the teams to interrupt the work.
During the tests, however, we concentrated on electronics and aerodynamics, as Sporting Director Claudio Berro had already anticipated last week, and the positive fact is that there were no setbacks or particular problems.
While not pushing to the max, Bonanomi also managed to set the second fastest time overall on Wednesday, stopping the times at 1’38″762 less than a tenth from the day’s best set by the Prema Racing Oreca #63.
The driver from Lombardy has not only put together useful information, but has also found the car with good foundations and capable of responding in a very natural and sincere way to the modifications that the technicians tried over the two days of testing.
Isotta Fraschini Type 6 LMH-C
Photo by: Isotta Fraschini
“Definitely a positive test after a somewhat difficult first day in which only a few kilometers were covered. Wednesday, however, we had a very productive second day, in which we did many laps and tried many different configurations and car balances, which gave all of good results”, underlines Bonanomi.
“Considering that it’s my first test and the second for team and car, we managed to lap consistently and at an interesting pace in the afternoon. I think we can all be happy because the car seems to have started well, even if obviously there is still a lot of work to do and data to analyse. A good start!”
Berro added: “We’re talking about the car’s second test session ever, which proved to be very interesting after Tuesday’s rain and track logistics problems.”
“Wednesday we lapped regularly and this allowed us to do a lot of aerodynamic and electronic checks. We also started to discover the car’s performance and study it sector by sector, so as to understand how to improve it little by little. It was truly a test satisfying”.
Team on track for Le Mans
As mentioned above, other teams in Monza also took advantage of the availability of the circuit to better prepare for the next engagement of the 24h of Le Mans.
Algarve Pro Racing, Jota Sport and Prema rode their respective Oreca 07-Gibson entered in the LMP2 Class at what will be the fourth event of the FIA WEC 2023.
As for the LMGTE AM teams, the two Ferrari 488s of Kessel Racing and the Aston Martin Vantage of Heart of Racing also drove in Brianza, a team we saw making its debut at Spa-Francorchamps in place of NorthWest AMR, from which they inherited registration for the championship.
The Circuit Paul Ricard instead hosted Porsche Motorsport, which rode the 963s managed by Team Penske and Jota.
Monza test: times on Tuesday afternoon
Monza test: times on Wednesday morning
Monza test: times Wednesday afternoon
