Daniel Serra gave the new Ferrari 296 GT3 its first pole position in North American competition Saturday at Watkins Glen International, leading his category in qualifying for the Six Hours of The Glen.
The Ferrari factory driver toured the historic 3.4-mile circuit in 1:44.829-seconds, leading the GTD Pro Class in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Serra will be joined by fellow factory pilot Davide Rigon in the Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3. The pair finished a heart-breaking second in last year’s event, dominating the race until a late caution allowed a rival to finish without a final fuel stop.
“I've been working with this car since last year and doing a lot of testing, and I really like driving the car so it is great to be fast and get the pole,” said Serra. “I really like to drive on this track, it is fast and really nice. We don’t know what we will see with the weather tomorow, but I just hope that it is consistent. The qualifying was tricky with some areas dry and some were wet so that added a challenge. But it will be the same for everyone and we will just try to get back on the podium again tomorrow no matter what the conditions are like!”
AF Corse is also competing in GTD Pro, with factory pilot Miguel Molina joined by Simon Mann and Ulysse De Pauw in the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3. Mann qualified the car, and was eighth in class with a lap of 1:50.642-seconds.
Ferrari also has two teams competing in GTD, a class utilizing identical GT3-spec machinery with Pro-Am driver lineups. Charlie Scardina qualified 14th in class, running 1:489.390-seconds in Triarsi Competizione’s No. 023 Ferrari of Central Florida / Ferrari of Tampa Bay Ferrari 296 GT3 that will be co-driven by Factory driver Alessio Rovera and Onofrio Triarsi.
Roberto Lacorte starts 17th in the blue No. 47 Ferrari 296 GT3, with a lap of 1:48.726-seconds. He will be joined in Sunday’s race by has factory pilot Antonio Fuoco and Giorgio Sernagiotto. The Six Hours of The Glen is set to start at 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday. The race will be streamed live on Peacock. USA Network will also broadcast live from 2-5 p.m.