Racingpixels – 12H of Mugello – 24H Series
Italy’s glorious Tuscany region will welcome the cars and stars of the Michelin 24H SERIES little more than a month from now, when the always sensational Michelin 12H MUGELLO takes place over the weekend 21/22/23 March.
Forming the opening race of the hotly anticipated 2025 Michelin 24H SERIES European season, next month’s event is expected to feature an entry north of 40 cars across all classes, as the globe’s most exotic and exquisite marques do battle under – hopefully – sunny, blue Italian skies.
Additionally, the race meeting will also mark an important piece of history for organisers Creventic and the 24H SERIES as it will be the category’s first ever event on European soil with new official tyre supplier Michelin.
Round one of the campaign marks the 11th staging of the 12H MUGELLO, the 10th as part of the hugely popular 24H SERIES, and it is a race meeting which has delivered some outstanding action during the previous editions.
As in past seasons, the Mugello race will be split into two six-hour contests – one taking place on the Saturday, the concluding part on Sunday. Providing an opportunity for even more unpredictability, the format has long proved popular with competitors and teams.
Last year Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) power won overall, with the GP Elite squad leading the way at the flag at the end of both parts of the encounter and Herberth Motorsport’s Porsche 911 finishing second and winning GT3 Am as well. In GT3 Pro-Am, Ferrari emerged victorious with Kessel Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3.
In the 992 class, Red Ant Racing’s Porsche 992 GT3 Cup won outright while Centri Porsche Ticino claimed the spoils in 992 Am. The GT4 win went the way of Buggyra ZM Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT4 and in GTX it was Porsche to the fore with 9und11 Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup II MR.
Porsche was also the winning marque in 2021, success earned by Herberth Motorsport’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, while BMW and Audi were victorious overall in the two subsequent Mugello visits – ST Racing’s BMW M4 GT3 winning in 2022 and HAAS RT’s Audi R8 LMS EVO II successful in 2023.
For this year’s edition, entries in GT3, GTX, 992, GT4 and TCE-TCX are expected and a diverse array of marques as always. As the first 24H SERIES race since January’s incredibly successful Middle East Trophy concluded, organisers Creventic are expecting many familiar faces to be on the grid in Italy.
Mugello International Circuit, of course, has a long and storied history encompassing all varieties of racing on both two and four wheels. Set among the beautiful Tuscan Hills, the inviting 5.2-kilometre and 15-turn track promotes great racing and some key challenges for drivers and race engineers.
With notable undulation, there are many highlights to the rollercoaster-esque track. The two Arrabbiata corners at the lowest point of the circuit, the second offering variable height and angle, stand out as do the curving last corner at Bucine and the long straight over the start-finish.
Don’t forget, of course, beginning the European campaign in Italy also means food – absolutely incredible food! As ever at Mugello, Creventic will be providing free pizza for competitors and teams during the event to, quite literally, add some mouth-watering extra flavour to proceedings.
Provisionally, the current timetable for Mugello begins with Creventic Track Days on Wednesday, 19 March, and Thursday, 20 March, ahead of free practice and qualifying on Friday, 21 March. Part one of the Michelin 12H MUGELLO is set to begin at 11.30 local time on Saturday, 22 March, with the second six-hour portion of the race beginning at 09.30 local time on Sunday, 23 March.