Faggioli takes pole at 53rd Castellana hillclimb

The 53rd Cronoscalata della Castellana will decide the fate of both the northern and southern divisions of the Italian Mountain Speed Championship on Sunday, 27 September, with two runs over the 6,190-metre technical circuit from San Giorgio to Colonnetta di Prodo. The event, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, begins at 09:00 under race director Fabrizio Bernetti. Live coverage will stream on the ACI Sport Official Facebook page, with a repeat broadcast on ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228 and TivùSat channel 52) on Monday.

Simone Faggioli dominated Saturday's reconnaissance and practice session, posting the day's best time of 2'49"56 in his Nova Proto NP01 Zytek—the car with which he recently claimed the 2026 Italian Supersalita championship. The Florentine driver, a five-time winner at this event, leads a strong field of 197 starters. Close behind in the practice order were Stefano Di Fulvio, also in an NP01 but turbocharged, and Luigi Fazzino, fastest among the Osella runners with his PA30 Zytek. Other contenders preparing for the main event include Sicilians Samuele Cassibba and Franco Caruso on NP01s, and Achille Lombardi from Basilicata in a PA30.

Among local drivers, Filippo Ferretti of Orvieto impressed in practice, piloting a GB08 Thunder in the Motorcycle-Derived Engines class. He faces competition from Ivan Pezzolla, a returning Puglia-based driver on a Nova Proto NP03 Aprilia, and Michele Puglisi, the young Sicilian vice-champion in Supersalita. Actor and racing driver Ettore Bassi from Puglia also lines up in the same class with another NP03. The best under-25 driver so far is Fausto Ferretti, Filippo's younger brother, also racing a Wolf.

In the GT category, Giuseppe D'Angelo from Campania leads in his Ferrari 488 Challenge, while Rosario Iaquinta, a veteran from Cosenza who won the overall at Orvieto in 2005, competes this weekend in a 458 Challenge targeting the GT Cup class. Young driver Kadija Mourtaji enters a 296 Challenge. Among Porsche runners, Ezio Bellin from the Veneto region topped practice in a 911 GT3 Cup.

In Touring categories, Salvatore Tortora from Campania, the former Italian TCR champion, has returned to the class with an Audi RS3 LMS. Francesco Lombardo, a Messina-based driver, competes in group E1 with a Peugeot 205 Rallye (1400cc), while Adamo Zaino from Pescara and Giovanni Grasso from Sicily prepare for a duel in the E2SH Silhouette class in their respective Fiat X1/9 and Renault 5.

In the Racing Start groups, Kristian Fiorucci from Gubbio leads the RS Cup turbo category with a Peugeot 308, while Luca Chioccia from the area contests the naturally aspirated division in a Renault Clio. The RS Plus category features Giovanni Tagliente from Martina Franca on a Seat León Cupra ST and Eugenio Francesco Orlando from Catania in a Peugeot 106. In RS Turbo, Marco Magdalone, a Supersalita regular from Puglia, leads in a Seat León Cupra station wagon, challenged by local favourite Francesco Laschino in a Mini Cooper. Lodovico Manni from Todi set the pole in RS naturally aspirated with a Renault Clio, heading a strong group of Umbrian drivers including Daniele Agostinelli from Gubbio and Lorenzo Dell'Innocenzi and Andrea Pepè from Orvieto, all in Citroën Saxos.

Historic car categories will also contest on Sunday. Piero Lottini from Pisa impressed in practice with an Osella PA9/90, while Giuliano Peroni from Florence leads the third grouping in a PA8 BMW. Stefano Peroni, Giuliano's son, competes among the classics in an Osella PA20.