Omega drivers face mixed fortunes at Pedavena hillclimb

The Pedavena–Croce d'Aune hillclimb, held over the weekend, delivered contrasting results for the Omega team across the Italian northern mountain championship and IRS Cup categories.

Alessandro Zanoni, piloting a Nova Proto NP03 prepared by Rope Motorsport, qualified seventh overall and third in class on Saturday but saw his weekend derailed in race one. A compression issue unsettled the car mid-run, forcing him off the road and causing substantial damage. "It was a weekend to forget," Zanoni reflected. "Saturday's prospects looked very promising—the battle was decided by tenths and we could have put on a strong performance. The compression threw the car out of balance and I went off, causing considerable damage. Fortunately I'm unharmed, and the car will be repaired."

Renato Marchetto, driving a Fiat Punto in the IRS Cup, suffered a more decisive blow to his title hopes. A flywheel and clutch assembly failure during the opening practice session forced him to retire. Despite efforts by his Gigi Motorsport crew to find a solution, Marchetto decided the risk of further damage outweighed the benefit of continuing. "I was very keen because we were fighting for the IRS Cup title," he said. "The flywheel and entire clutch assembly broke during the first session. I made it back to the paddock, but after consulting with my engine specialist, I decided it was too risky to restart. We chose to stop rather than compound the damage."

Leonardo Chesini provided a more positive note for the team, guiding his Nova Proto NP01 (also Rope Motorsport) to twelfth overall, eleventh in group E2SC-SS, and fifth in the three-litre class despite mechanical gremlins. A fuel leak and understeer in the technical sections hampered his pace, but Chesini praised his crew's rapid intervention. "It was a positive weekend overall," he said. "We had some mechanical issues—a fuel leak and annoying understeer through the corners—but the team was fantastic, responding quickly and expertly. The circuit wasn't ideally suited to our car, but I'm satisfied with the performance because I'm finally matching my times consistently. That tells me I'm getting more comfortable with the NP01."