Three official Ferrari 488 GTEs will take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual. This race will be the first-ever where crews compete at the wheel of digital replicas of the cars they would have driven on the 13,626-metre La Sarthe track. The 88th edition of the French marathon has been postponed until 19-20 September.
Four cars. Ferrari will officially be there with three cars entered as usual with AF Corse, three times winner in the LMGTE Pro class on the French circuit (2012, 2014, 2019). They will be joined by one more 488 GTE in the colours of the Strong Together team. The Maranello-based company only received the 488 GTE with which it will compete last Thursday, when the car was virtually shaken down by James Calado and Miguel Molina.
The official crews registered for the event are as follows:
Ferrari 488 GTE no. 51: Nicklas Nielsen, Federico Leo, Kasper Stoltze, Amos Laurito Ferrari 488 GTE no. 71: Miguel Molina, David Perel, Danilo Santoro, Jordy Zwiers Ferrari 488 GTE no. 52: Charles Leclerc, Antonio Giovinazzi, David Tonizza, Enzo Bonito
The Prancing Horse will line up a new mix of talents with drivers from different disciplines and fields, who will face an unprecedented challenge in the world of virtual competitions.
The 488 GTE no. 54 of Strong Together will also be there, registered by the foundation of Princess Charlene of Monaco. The princess had the honour of kicking off the 2019 edition that saw the triumph of the 488 GTE crewed by James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra. The quartet of Giancarlo Fisichella, Felipe Massa, Francesco Castellacci and Tony Mella will share the wheel of the car that will race in the colours of the Principality of Monaco.
Historic event. The race is organised by ACO, FIA WEC and Motorsport Games. Over 50 crews will be present, with championship participants, drivers from other categories, including Formula 1, and sim racers, such as David Tonizza and Enzo Bonito, sim drivers from the FDA Hublot Esports Team (the Ferrari Driver Academy division dedicated to Esports) gunning for victory in one of the most anticipated virtual events of the year. The French flag will be waved at the participants on Saturday 13 June at 3 pm local time. As always, the race will be preceded by free practice on Wednesday and Thursday, from 10 am to 10 pm, while on Friday the session will end at 5 pm, just before the official qualifying which, for GTE class cars, is scheduled from 6:10 pm to 6:25 pm.
Ferrari will also take part in various secondary initiatives that will be announced over the coming days, together with more information about the official crews.