Ferrari made a strong opening salvo in the final round of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship on Friday as qualifying came to a close. With GTD Pro and GTD cars running in a single fifteen-minute session, track position was at a premium for the three Ferrari entrants as they looked to maximize their starting position ahead of the 10-hour contest on Saturday. After a week of weather concerns, driven by Hurricane Ian, the forecast now projects for a dry race and qualifying as well ran under dry, if blustery conditions that are sure to be repeated during the race tomorrow.
GTD Pro. James Calado wheeled the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 to 4th place in the category with a 1:19.352 lap time after two issues curtailed the effort. The first was an unseated front-left tire that forced the Ferrari into the pit lane perhaps a bit earlier than expected. At that point, the car was sitting comfortably in third in its category. However subsequent analysis by IMSA officials found an over-boost condition on that lap and thus deleted that time. The car’s second fastest lap was good enough to earn 4th.
GTD. Simon Mann led the two Ferraris taking part in the GTD category with a 1:20.022 lap time around the Road Atlanta circuit in the No. 21 AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020. That time was good enough for 8th in the GTD category after a flawless qualifying session that saw Mann complete 10 laps in the 15-minute session. Meanwhile Giorgio Sernagiotto set the qualifying pace for the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with a 1:20.041, or just two hundredths off of Mann’s time, lending credence to the competitiveness in the GTD category. Likewise the No. 47 ran without incident for the full 15-minute qualifying session and so is well prepared for tomorrow’s race.