Ferrari 296 LMGT3 starts seventh in the São Paulo 6 Hours

The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 cars from the Vista AF Corse team will start from the fourth and fifth rows in the 6 Hours of São Paulo, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, thanks to the qualifying results achieved by the number 55 and 54 crews.

At Interlagos, Bronze license drivers François Heriau and Thomas Flohr, as per the regulations, were the protagonists of the qualifying session held in the afternoon under dry track conditions, with air and track temperatures of 14.4°C and 19.10°C, respectively, securing the fourth and eighth fastest times with the 296 LMGT3 cars number 55 and 54.

This result earned both drivers access to the Hyperpole reserved for the top ten cars. In this final session, Heriau – who shares the car with Ferrari official driver Alessio Rovera and Simon Mann – stopped the clocks at 1’35’’656, thus achieving the seventh fastest time, 1’’243 behind the number 85 Lamborghini, which will start from pole position.

Three boxes further back was the other Ferrari of the Vista AF Corse team: on his return to the track for the Hyperpole, Flohr went off the track at turn four, without any consequences for the driver, but which led to a red flag, preventing him from improving the previous time. Flohr’s reference time – which will see him start the race alongside Prancing Horse official driver Davide Rigon and Francesco Castellacci – remains the one achieved in qualifying, 1’35’’877, securing the tenth spot on the starting grid.

The 6 Hours of São Paulo, returning to the World Endurance Championship calendar ten years after its last edition, will get underway on Sunday, 14 July, at 11.30 a.m. (local time).

François Heriau, 296 LMGT3 #55: "Qualifying went quite well and, despite the traffic on the track, I managed to get into the Hyperpole, where I couldn't make the most of the tyres as the red flag interrupted the warm-up phase. In the end, we managed to secure a seventh place, which I consider a good starting position for the race. Looking ahead to the 6 Hours, we are quite confident and aware that our 296 LMGT3 suits this track well."

Thomas Flohr, 296 LMGT3 #54: "In qualifying, the feeling with the car was excellent, and we could have fought for a top-three position. Unfortunately, in the Hyperpole, the tyres had not yet reached their optimal temperature, and I went off the track. Nonetheless, we are optimistic for tomorrow's race because the car did not sustain any damage."