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02 SepEndurance, WEC

Top ten finish for the 296 LMGT3 in Austin

Cota 02 September 2024

A tenth-place finish for the number 55 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of Vista AF Corse, driven by François Heriau, Simon Mann, and Alessio Rovera, was the best result achieved at the Lone Star Le Mans, the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, held at the Circuit of the Americas. The Texan weekend began positively with third and sixth-place finishes in qualifying but ended in disappointment, as only one car crossed the line following the retirement of the number 54 Ferrari driven by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, and Davide Rigon.

François Heriau got off to a strong start in the number 55 car during the six-hour race, advancing quickly to second place before dropping back a few positions in the first stint. The race was an uphill struggle from the start for the No. 54, which fell 18 laps behind at the beginning due to a clutch replacement after an issue was detected during the installation lap. The car managed to rejoin after about 40 minutes but was eventually retired after completing 54 laps due to the significant time lost.

During the subsequent stints, Simon Mann and François Heriau took turns at the wheel of the number 55 every hour, staying in touch with the podium positions throughout a steady race contested in extremely hot conditions, with air temperatures consistently above 30°C and track temperatures around 50°C. Ferrari official driver Alessio Rovera took over the 296 LMGT3 for the final two hours and 20 minutes, momentarily moving back into third position before a heavy 100-second stop-and-go penalty was imposed in the final hour of the race due to an issue with an axle sensor. This penalty dropped the number 55 Vista AF Corse car down to tenth place, where Rovera crossed the line under the chequered flag at 7 p.m. local time, having completed 163 laps.

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the seventh and penultimate of the season, is scheduled to take place at the Fuji track in Japan from 13 to 15 September for another six-hour race.

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