by Nina Vaclavikova
Trieste’s mayor, Roberto Dipiazza, presented a civic award this morning to Matthias Lodi, winner of the GT CUP Series championship in the Endurance GT4 category. Lodi competed behind the wheel of a Mercedes AMG GT4 for the Lema Racing team. His family and a number of friends attended the ceremony.
Dipiazza offered congratulations to Lodi, noting that he is the first Trieste-born driver to secure an international Gran Turismo title. The mayor presented him with a commemorative parchment and a silver medal on behalf of the city.
Lodi’s latest achievement adds to a long list of titles he has collected over the years, including a regional championship, 10 Triveneto trophies, two Italian championships, and one championship each in Austria, Slovenia, and Central Europe. In addition to receiving a recent trophy in Prague, Lodi has just returned from Germany, where he was invited to the Mercedes AMG year-end gala at the company’s headquarters in Affalterbach, near Stuttgart.
“It is a great satisfaction and a point of pride to have earned this international title after three years of forced inactivity. Returning to racing was anything but guaranteed,” Lodi said.
