Only six days after scoring the overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari is off to a solid start on another continent in another championship.
Daytona 24 GTD Pro winners Risi Competizione got the Prancing Horse off to a quick start, capturing the class pole in Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying.
In GTD, Triarsi Competizione put Ferrari on the front row in owner-driver Onofrio Triarsi’s first ever qualifying attempt in IMSA competition.
GTD Pro. Daniel Serra captured the pole with a lap of 1:44.203-seconds in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 he shares with fellow factory pilot Davide Rigon. Serra went to the top very early in the session, but fell down the order for much of the 15-minute session.
He went back to the pole with 5:35 remaining, and then went even faster on his next lap to secure the top position. While the weather in the Finger Lakes has been brutally hot in recent days, it began clouding over and cooling to 86 degrees for late afternoon qualifying. Afternoon rain is possible for Sunday’s race.
It was Serra’s second-consecutive pole at the Glen, leading qualifying a year ago with a lap of 1:44.8298-seconds on the 3.4-mile circuit.
“It was a pretty good lap, I was able to put everything together,” Serra said. “I have to say a big thank you to the team, because the track changed and they did the correct modifications. The car felt exactly like this morning, even though the track was quite different and they changed a lot of things. It showed that they did everything the correct way. This track is amazing. It’s good to drive. It’s super nice, and it’s very good for our car. High-speed corners are always very good for the 296. Honestly, I don’t know what to expect for tomorrow, because everything is changing with the weather. I’ll drive and just listen to the calls on the radio and push – and see what happens.
“Starting position doesn’t decide the end position, because it’s a six-hour race,” Serra added. “But track position is quite important, because it’s hard to overtake here.”
Risi Competizione is running the five-race IMSA Endurance Cup, entering the Glen running second with just a two-point deficit following the Florida classics at Daytona and Sebring.
GTD. For GT3 machinery using Pro-Am lineups, Onofrio Triarsi was second fastest with a lap of 1:45.242-seconds in the No. 023 Ferrari of Central Florida / David SW Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 he shares with factory driver Alessio Rovera and Charlie Scardina. Triarsi improved his best time four-consecutive times in the latter half of the session to snag the front row position.
“This was my first time qualifying in IMSA, and it’s exciting to start P2 for the Six Hours,” owner-driver Triarsi said. “The car felt really good out there. It took me a minute to get up to speed, but once I did, I felt comfortable with the car. Each lap, I kept finding a little more speed. I kept pushing to keep that P2 position, and that’s where we are. The Glen is one of my favorite tracks. It’s a lot of fun to drive, and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Triarsi Competizione is third in the GTD Endurance Cup points, four points behind the leader.
Manny Franco qualified eighth for the lone fulltime Ferrari team in the WeatherTech Championship, running 1:46.301-seconds in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrario 296 GT3 co-driven by Albert Costa and Cedric Sbirrazzouli.
Two other Ferraris feature factory drivers Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina, who shared in last weekend’s overall triumph at Le Mans. The third winning driver, Nicklas Nielsen, will drive in the LMP2 category on Sunday.
Fuoco drives the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 with Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto. Lacorte survived an early spin to qualify 15th, taking that position at the checkered flag with a final lap of 1:47.796-seconds.
Molina will pilot the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 that was qualified 16th by Francois Heriau, running a lap of 1:47.965-seconds. Simon Mann will co-drive.
The race begins Sunday at 11:10 a.m. Live flag-to-flag streaming on Peacock begins at 11 a.m., with SiriusXM broadcasting live beginning at 11 a.m. on Channel 206.