Begun as a one-off race in 1998, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta has developed into a marquee event and is set to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year and once again, Ferrari will be a protagonist in an essential American endurance contest.
The race. A pair of former event winners lead Ferrari’s assault on both IMSA Championship GT classes in Saturday’s season finale while three Ferrari teams are set for the 10-hour event, which also crowns the champion for the Endurance Cup for the four keystone races on the IMSA schedule. Risi Competizione and AF Corse are fighting for the respective GTD Pro and GTD titles in the Endurance Cup, while Cetilar Racing won the Twelve Hours of Sebring earlier in the campaign.
GTD Pro. Risi Competizione seeks its sixth Petit Le Mans victory, dating back to an overall triumph in the 1998 debut race. David Rigon and Daniel Serra are second in the Michelin Endurance Cup, joined by WEC regular James Calado in the No. 62 Pennzoil Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020. The trio was among the second-place finishers in the season-opening 24 At Daytona, the debut of the GTD Pro class. In its most recent IMSA race, Risi looked to be headed to a dominant victory at Watkins Glen before Serra needed to stop for a splash of fuel with less than five minutes remaining. He returned to finish second.
Risi is also second in the Endurance Cup, only two points behind the GTD Pro leaders. Ferrari is third in the manufacturer standings, just four points out of the lead. Risi’s most recent victory at Petit was in 2019, when Calado and Serra were joined by Alessandro Pier Guidi. Wayne Taylor, Eric van de Poele and Emmanuel Collard won the inaugural Petit Le Mans in a Ferrari 333SP.
GTD. AF Corse is a leading contender in the GTD category. Drivers Simon Mann, Luis Perez Companc and Toni Vilander are second in the Endurance Cup driving the No. 21 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, only five points out of the lead. The trio finished third at Sebring and fourth at Daytona, and was running in contention at Watkins Glen before being eliminated by contact shortly before the three-hour mark. Meanwhile, Cetilar Racing will look to follow up its Sebring success with the blue No. 47 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 for Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Ulysse De Pauw. The drivers are fifth in the Endurance Cup, 10 points out of the GTD class lead.
The programme. The start of the 10 Hours of Petit Le Mans, contested on the 2.54-mile-long (just over 4 kilometers) track, is scheduled for 12.10 p.m. local time.