Early incident costs Risi Competizione shot at pole
Ferrari teams posted competitive laps in both GT3 classes in qualifying for Saturday’s Petit Le Mans, the 10-hour classic at Road Atlanta that closes out both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Endurance Cup. The event will see another strong presence for Ferrari as several IMSA titles are in play at the traditionally intense endurance event set at the high-speed Georgia circuit.
Simon Mann will start sixth in GTD for AF Corse, running a best lap of 1:19.087-seconds in the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 in the red flag-shortened session. He will co-drive with factory driver Miguel Molina and Francois Heriau in the No. 21 Ferrari.
Manny Franco held the GTD pole with only three minutes remaining in the 15-minute session, but had to settle for eighth with a lap of 1:19.249-seconds in the No. 34 Corsa Horizon Ferrari he shares with Albert Costa and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.
Ferrari Ambassador Toni Vilander led the two Ferraris in GTD Pro, running 12th in the class with a lap of 1:19.368-seconds in DragonSpeed’s No. 82 10Star/Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale Ferrari 296 GT3. He is co-driving with Thomas Neubauer and Vincent Abril.
The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 of Daniel Serra set the fast lap in GTD Pro early in the session. Serra was coming up on two slower cars when one of them turned into the Ferrari, causing damage to the slower car.
Both cars were penalized for being involved in bringing out the red flag, costing Serra his two best laps. He had to settle for 13th in class with a lap of 1:19.581-seconds. He co-drives with fellow Ferrari factory drivers Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Cetilar Racing’s No. 47 Cetilar Ferrari with start ninth in GTD, with Georgio Sernagiotto running 1:19.396-seconds. He will be joined by Antonio Fuoco and Roberto Lacorte.
The No. 70 Inception Ferrari for Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff and Ollie Millroy will line up 11th in the team’s third race for Ferrari in GTD. Iribe qualified with a lap of 1:19.678-seconds.
Triarsi Competizione’s No. 023 Ferrari of Central Florida / David SW Ferrari 296 GT3 of Onofrio Triarsi, Charlie Scardina and factory pilot Alessio Rivera did not participate in the session following a fuel issue.
The race takes the green flag Saturday at 12:10 p.m. Live flag-to-flag streaming on Peacock begins at noon. Live coverage on NBC runs from noon-3 p.m., followed by USA Network from 6 p.m. to the finish. SiriusXM will broadcast live beginning at noon on Channel 206.