02 May 2016
Salinas, 1 May 2016 – Both racing versions of Ferrari’s new GT racer brought home hardware after Sunday’s pair of IMSA SportsCar Championship races at Laguna Seca. Both of the Ferrari 488 GTEs in the GT-LeMans class took turns leading Sunday morning’s race. From pole position, Daniel Serra led the field throughout the opening stint in the no. 68 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GTE, while the middle part of the race saw the no. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE that was started by Toni Vilander and taken over by Giancarlo Fisichella lead the field.
External factors. After cautions and fuel strategy came into play, the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari which had been taken over by Alessandro Pier Guidi finished the race in second position just behind the Ford of Chip Ganassi Racing driven by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. This was the second straight podium in GT-LeMans for Ferrari, after Risi Competizione finished in third position at the previous round in Long Beach. Fisichella and Vilander finished in fifth position.
The Scuderia Corsa Ferrari also captured the Dekra Green Award for being the most clean, fast and efficient team through a scoring system developed in partnership between IMSA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and SAE International.
GT-Daytona. Scuderia Corsa drivers Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen jumped to the lead of the GT-Daytona championship with a trouble-free run to second position in Sunday afternoon’s race. Starting from the second position, the Ferrari remained in that place throughout the two-hour contest crossing the finish line less than three seconds behind Mario Farnbacher and Alex Riberas (Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Porsche). Combined with their victory in Sebring, Balzan and Nielsen have emerged as the clear championship leaders after three rounds. The next race for IMSA will be on June 3-4 at the Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.