The Ferraris enjoyed an excellent debut in the 4 Hours of Monza, the opening round of the Le Mans Virtual Series, with seventh place for the FDA Esports Team's virtual 488 GTE, driven by the trio of Nielsen-Stoltze-Zwiers. The result could have been better without the two drive-throughs suffered by the Ferrari drivers during the race, but the performance and excellent aptitude for duelling bode well for the rest of the season.
First act. The 38 crews benefited from sunny weather conditions on the Lombard track, putting on an intense show throughout the event in both the LMP2 and GTE classes, enjoying the best possible start to the championship organised by Motorsport Games in partnership with ACO - the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. The Ferrari Driver Academy's 488 GTE raced well, starting from ninth after a challenging qualifying session.
Comeback. Jordy Zwiers immediately went on the attack. Thanks to some decisive and spectacular overtaking, he moved up to fifth before slipping to ninth due to contact with the #71 BMW driven by Kevin Siggy. The Dutchman was given a drive-through at the first stop and took the #51 car back to sixth before the second stop on lap 49. With Nicklas Nielsen at the wheel, the Ferrari rose up the standings but, after the official GT driver’s successful manoeuvre against the #57 Porsche to take seventh place, the race officials punished a contact with the German car with a drive-through.
Sustained pace. The final two stints involved Kasper Stoltze who took over from Nielsen on lap 78. The Dane started to rack up some high-speed laps, climbing to sixth and locking horns with the #77 Porsche. However, the Porsche’s fresher tyres allowed it to get the better of him, leaving the 488 GTE to cross the line in seventh position. The other Ferrari in the event, fielded by SIMMSA Esports, finished 11th, while the Porsche Esports Team won the GTE class.
Appointments. The second round of the Le Mans Virtual Series, scheduled for 16 October, will be a six-hour race at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.