The Italian-Canadian driver delivers the best performance of his career in Porsche’s premier international one-make series, topping free practice, qualifying seventh and finishing fifth in the season finale.
Monza, September 7, 2026 – Aldo Festante leaves Monza with fifth place overall in the final round of the 2026 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, securing the best result of his career in the prestigious international series held as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix support programme.
The Target Competition driver, behind the wheel of the #28 Porsche 911 Cup (992.2), showed strong competitiveness from his opening laps around the iconic Italian circuit. Festante immediately felt confident with both the car’s behaviour and his performance at Monza, with those positive early impressions confirmed during Friday’s free practice session.
Although aware that he could benefit from a fresh set of tyres — a condition shared by several other competitors — Festante delivered a surprise by setting the fastest time of the session. The result came through strong teamwork with Target Competition, effective driving and excellent traffic management from the pit wall.
The extremely close level of competition in the Supercup was once again evident during Saturday’s qualifying session. Festante joined the battle at the sharp end of the field on his opening run, finishing just one and a half tenths away from pole position. Traffic management during the tyre warm-up phase made track positioning more challenging on his second attempt. On his decisive lap, the Italian-Canadian found himself slightly too close to the car ahead and lost a few tenths in the turbulent air. His time of 1:46.833 nevertheless secured seventh place and a spot on the fourth row of the grid among the 28 starters.
Sunday’s race unfolded in highly unusual circumstances. Festante made an excellent getaway from seventh and attacked from the opening metres, gaining one position before the braking zone and then taking advantage of the hectic action through the opening chicane to move immediately into fifth place. The remainder of the first lap passed without incident for the Target Competition driver, but several accidents further down the field brought out the red flag shortly afterwards.
The time required to recover the cars involved and repair the safety barriers meant that the race could not be restarted within the allocated Supercup time window. The final classification was therefore established according to the running order at the end of the opening lap, confirming Festante in fifth place overall.
Aldo Festante:
“From the moment I went out on track, I could feel that the car was working well and that we had strong potential. After a difficult season, it almost felt as though the stars were finally beginning to align. Topping free practice was certainly unexpected. I knew I was on new tyres and that this would help, although I was clearly not the only driver in that position. I was particularly pleased with both the work we did together with the team and my own driving, and on the quickest lap we also managed to get an almost perfect tow. Qualifying went reasonably well and I made a very strong start in the race. I was aggressive and immediately gained two positions, but unfortunately the race was stopped shortly afterwards. It is a shame, because it would have been interesting to see what we could have achieved over the full distance, considering the pace we showed throughout the weekend. Nevertheless, I end the championship with my best-ever result in the Supercup and with a very positive feeling at last. If I were to repeat this experience, I would certainly want to perform better in several situations and maximise our potential, just as we did this weekend.”
With his 2026 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup programme now complete, Festante will turn his attention back to the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia. The Target Competition driver will return to action at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli from September 18–20 for the fifth round of the Italian season.