Risi closes 2024 IMSA campaign second in GTD Pro
Ferrari took a dramatic victory in Saturday’s Petit Le Mans, with Conquest Racing wrapping up its full-season campaign by winning Road Atlanta’s 10-hour classic that closed out both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Endurance Cup.
Albert Costa took the GTD lead in the No. 34 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296 GT3 with 31 minutes remaining, and held off constant pressure down the stretch to join teammates Manny Franco and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli in the winner’s circle after taking the checkered flag with a 0.718-second advantage.
Risi Competizione put a Ferrari on the GTD Pro podium with a second-place finish, while Triarsi Competizione, AF Corse and Inception Racing taking top-10 finishes in GTD for the Marque of the Prancing Horse.
Head of Endurance Race Cars, Ferdinando Cannizzo remarked: ”Today at Petit Le Mans was quite a good day. We struggled during the weekend to find the right set up for the car especially with the tire degradation which was quite big but we spent a lot of time with all of the teams to find the right balance and the right set up. At the end of the day it seems most of the teams were able to find a good set up. We started with perhaps not the best pace in the first stints, but while the race was going on we found some good pace. Our strategy was quite good in the last hour so we could fight for the podium. Being P2 in GTD Pro was definitely a very good result especially considering where we started and to be P1 in GTD after this fantastic fight after the safety car was also paying off all of the effort that our teams put in for this race. In the end, I’m very happy and we can look forward to next season.”
The event had only five caution flags with two very long green-flag stretches. The final caution ended with only 57 minutes remaining, with Ferrari second in GTD Pro and second and third in GTD.
Manny Franco ran two solid stints early in the race, running as high as second for 22 laps. Sbirrazzuoli then came in and led nine laps during his opening stretch.
But it was Costa who brought the team to its first triumph, bettering its second-place showing at Watkins Glen and third in the Daytona 24 Hours. He took over with two hours, 40-minutes remaining in seventh place. He worked up to second at the nine-hour mark, and dominated the final hour despite steady pressure.
“Our car was a rocket,” Costa said. “We’ve been fighting all year to be where we are now. We were third at Daytona and P-2 at Watkins Glen. The guys did an amazing job. They gave me the car almost three hours to the end. I knew the pace was there. I moved my way to P-1 and stayed super calm inside the car, and everything went our way and I brought it home.”
Costa and Franco finished fourth in the final GTD standings.
“Amazing, for Conquest Racing and all the guys here.” Franco said. “It’s an feeling, and it’s going to go down in our memories for all of us.”
Risi Competizione was in the fight for the victory throughout the event with the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Ferrari factory drivers Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi. An issue in qualifying resulted in 13th on the starting grid.
Pier Guidi led Pro for 19 laps before pitting near the four-hour mark, and quickly regained the lead under the fourth caution four minutes later, and paced 40 laps before pitting shortly after the midway point. Rigon then took a 29-lap turn out front, and then gave the Ferrari back to Pier Guidi, who led another 18 circuits. The final two hours saw Serra running second behind the eventual winner, staying close but unable to make a pass. He finished 2.361-seconds back at the checkered flag.
Daniel Serra explained, “We tried to win the IMEC championship, but we just weren’t able, but it was our third podium in five races so it’s been a very nice season. It’s always great to race with Risi and I’m happy for the team that we could do a nice season.” While Alessandro Pier Guidi added, “We tried to win the race and the IMEC championship and unfortunately we couldn’t do it. We made some small mistakes at the fourth and eighth hour to get the points needed, but we still earned a podium which is a great result. Every time at Petit we show our performance. We began the year with the win at Daytona and finished it with a second place here, so it’s been a positive season and we can look forward to the future.”
Triarsi Competizione was in podium contention entering the final hour, with owner/driver Onofrio Triarsi joining Charlie Scardina and factory driver Alessio Rivera in a fifth-place finish in the No. 023 Ferrari of Central Florida / David SW Ferrari 296 GT3. The car failed to qualify due to a fuel injector o-ring issue, and had to start at the back of the 53-car field. The car worked its way into contention with Triarsi leading several laps using an alternate fuel strategy, Rovera ran the fastest race lap in the class, 1:29.683-seconds, with the team winning the Bronze Cup. Alessio Rovera discussed “Yeah, basically, the race was good and bad. We finished P5, which is a good result, but the potential was a podium. We were a bit vulnerable on the straights, and so it was too easy to be overtaken. But in general, the cars was really strong in free air. We showed that the potential was there with the quickest lap of the race. The target was to finish on the podium. We'll see next year.”
AF Corse finished seventh in GTD with Simon Mann, factory driver Miguel Molina and Francois Heriau in the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3. The team’s chances took a blow late in the race when Mann was hit from behind by a GTP contender. Miguel Molina described the race as a
“Tough race. We had a couple of hours where we were one lap down and we could not recover the lap. And that make the life a bit difficult. The pace was not good enough. It's always difficult, here in IMSA, the competition is really high. There are a lot of good drivers. In general, it was a good experience with the guys of AF and we have to take in account that we finished second in Daytona. That was the best result for us.”
The No. 70 Inception Ferrari for Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff and Ollie Millroy finished eighth in GTD in its third race for Ferrari in GTD. Starting a full season with another manufacturer, Inception unofficially finished second, one point in arrears, in the GTD Endurance Cup.
Running its second race with Ferrari, DragonSpeed moved up to GTD Pro for the eventy and scored a 10th-place finish with Ferrari Ambassador Toni Vilander, Thomas Neubauer and Vincent Abril in the No. 82 10Star/Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale Ferrari 296 GT3. The team had its door fall off during the second hour, resulting in a long pit stop and lost laps that could not be made up with the long green flag runs. Toni Vilander explained “This was a tough race especially compared to the Indy race. That was my first race with the 296 but this one was harder. This track has normally suited me really well, but overall it was a good effort from the team. We measured our level, and there is some work to do, but this is a tough category and the racing is difficult. I felt good in the car, and it was great to be back and see Ferraris going fast. Overall a good day for Ferrari, so lets see for the future. I’ve had the chance to do a few races, so lets see what the future holds.”
Cetilar Racing's No. 47 Ferrari 296 GT3 got off to a promising start when Georgio Sernagiotto took the GTD lead following the first caution and led for 15 laps. However, the strong start in the car shared by Antonio Fuoco and Roberto Lacorte was spoiled when the car went down a lap early on with three green flag pits stops. That was compounded by a penalty for a pit speed violation and later being bumped off course by the race leader near the midway point, resulting in additional lost laps and a 16th-place finish in the competitive class.’ Antonio Fuoco explained: “Obviously, it's difficult to take some positive out of this weekend, but I think overall, we had a good season. We improved race by race, but today, we just did some mistake, which cost us. I think it was a good fight at the end, but I think it's part of the game. We take we take this as experience, and we try to be back next year.”