296 LMGT3 wins at Bahrain

Sakhir, 2 November 2024 - The FIA World Endurance Championship closed with another Ferrari win. Following Vista AF Corse number 54’s victory in Fuji, the sister car, number 55, driven by official Prancing Horse driver Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Heriau, triumphed in Bahrain after an intense and eventful race. The other 296 LMGT3, crewed by Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci, and Thomas Flohr, finished seventh.

This brings Ferrari’s total GT class victories to 55 since the World Endurance Championship began in 2012. The 296 LMGT3 ended the season on a high, with pole position in the penultimate event and two consecutive wins.

Starting from third on the grid, Ferrari number 55 stayed in the top positions early on, driven by François Heriau, before slipping back when the right door needed replacing. Simon Mann took over for the middle stint, engaging in several on-track duels. A pivotal moment for the two 296 LMGT3 cars came with around two hours remaining, as a safety car intervention reshuffled the order and compressed the field. After the restart, official driver Alessio Rovera executed a series of rapid overtakes, seizing the lead and holding it down to the finish. Car number 55 crossed the line at 10 p.m. local time, completing 214 laps with a margin of around three seconds over the runner-up. This marked the Italian driver's fifth GT class victory in the FIA WEC and the first win for his teammates, Heriau and Mann.

The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 number 54, started from seventh position with Francesco Castellacci at the wheel. The Italian driver gained several positions before handing the car to Thomas Flohr, who kept it in the points during his stint. As with its sister car, the safety car proved crucial, allowing Davide Rigon to close in on the leading group. The Italian climbed back to second place, on the heels of his teammate Rovera, before a drive-through penalty with less than an hour remaining dropped car number 54 to seventh place overall. It finished just under a minute behind the winners.

The season concluded with François Heriau, Simon Mann, and Alessio Rovera securing third place in the drivers’ standings with 97 points, while Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, and Davide Rigon finished in seventh with 57 points.

Alessio Rovera’s results across the eight FIA WEC races also earned him the “Goodyear Wingfoot Award” as the fastest driver in the LMGT3 class.

François Heriau, Vista AF Corse #55: “In the first part of the race, the aim was simply to stay in contention and conserve as many sets of tyres as possible. I started with the qualifying tyres and completed a double stint. With this strategy, more tyres were available for the final stint, which proved decisive after the Safety Car. We’re delighted with this result, which rewards the entire team for all the hard work put in.”

Simon Mann, Vista AF Corse #55: “We had to endure a bit initially by double-stinting the tyres, but we could take advantage of the fresh tyres at the end. We achieved many excellent results this season, and this victory is truly the best way to close the season."

Alessio Rovera, Vista AF Corse #55: “I’m thrilled to have claimed my first win with the 296 LMGT3 in the World Championship; it’s a special joy. We’ve been close to the podium all year. The team worked incredibly well here in Bahrain, especially during the pit stops, with the last stop being five seconds faster than the others. Congratulations, above all, to François (Heriau, ed.) and Simon (Mann, ed.) for managing the tyres in the opening part of the race, as the key really lay in those last three to four hours.”

Davide Rigon, Vista AF Corse #54: “It was an interesting race. I had a lot of fun at the restart after the Safety Car when Alessio Rovera and I overtook everyone—I moved from ninth to second. Unfortunately, we received a drive-through penalty for a restart after the Full Course Yellow. I wouldn’t have had the pace to win, but I’m delighted for our teammates’ success. It’s been a positive year for us, particularly for Thomas (Flohr, ed.) and Francesco (Castellacci, ed.), who both did an excellent job.”