Alessandro Pier Guidi and Côme Ledogar claimed the drivers’ title in the last round of the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge, with their second place in the 9 Hours of Kyalami. The series organised by SRO features the toughest endurance races for GT3 cars. The 2021 racing season officially concluded with the South African event. It was Ferrari’s most successful ever, with 24 titles, including two FIA WEC world crowns, won in the main national and international championships.
The race progressed smoothly with the Ferraris always in the top positions, engaged in a duel with the eventual winner, the Akka-ASP Mercedes of Marciello-Gounon-Boguslasvski, until the number 71 488 GT3 Evo 2020 retired in mid-race due to a transmission problem. This was a pity for Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Alessio Rovera, who had up to then put in a compelling performance. The Dane, who had teamed up with Pier Guidi and Ledogar in previous rounds, was the first to congratulate his teammates at the end of the race, a sign of the positive atmosphere among the drivers.
After the Mercedes pulled away towards the fifth hour, the crew of the number 51 AF Corse Francorchamps Motors Ferrari tried to contain the gap to the leader while at the same time managing their advantage over the two Audis still in contention for the title. All this without taking any unnecessary risks on a very demanding track for drivers and vehicles.
Alessandro Pier Guidi, who shared the Ferrari’s cockpit with Côme Ledogar and an excellent Miguel Molina, crossed the finish line in second after a race embellished in the first hours by a spectacular overtaking on the outside against the Italian Drudi. With this result, both Pier Guidi and Ledogar claimed their first-ever Intercontinental GT Challenge title, while Ferrari finished third in the Constructors’ standings. The Italian driver closed an extraordinary season. He claimed the FIA WEC World Championship title, the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, the two victories at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This is title number 107 for the 488 GT3, in its standard and Evo 2020 configurations, with 429 victories from 770 starts, an extraordinary result that confirms it as the most successful Ferrari in history.