28 September 2017
Maranello, 27 Sept 2017 - Andrea Bertolini and Giorgio Roda secured their first win of the season, triumphing at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps along with Rino Mastronardi. The penultimate round of the European Le Mans Series also saw the other Ferrari team, JMW Motorsport, reopen the title fight.
Spa-Francorchamps. After an imperfect qualifying, the Ferraris proved competitive from the start with car no. 51 of Spirit Of Race immediately head of the pack. Bertolini put in some excellent stints, as did Mastronardi and Roda whose domination was almost total. The Swiss team's 488 GTE finished nearly a lap ahead of Will Stevens, Rob Smith and Jody Fannin of JMW Motorsport. Fourth place went to the third 488 GTE in the race, Spirit Of Race no. 55 crewed by Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin and Aaron Scott.
Situation. With only one race to go all the Ferrari teams are vying for the title. JMW Motorsport holds their destiny in their own hands, just needing to finish in front of the Aston Martin of TF Sports to claim victory. In fact, only one point separates the two crews. The win would also come as some compensation for the British team after the disappointment they suffered in 2016, when the title slipped from their grasp in the last race due to a mechanical failure and an accident. Spirit Of Race are also fielding two cars. Scott, Cameron and Griffin are 11 points off the top while Bertolini and Roda are 17 behind, and so they need a win along with bad results for several rivals. The race takes place at Portimao on 21-22 October.