Weekend notebook: victories abound in August

Despite being the typical holiday period, the month of August saw numerous Ferrari cars engaged on circuits worldwide, achieving significant successes and prestigious results. The first title of the season has also arrived: at Okayama, in the Japan Cup, the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 98 of K-Tunes Racing, with Daisuke Yamawaki and Shinichi Takagi, was crowned champion in both the overall and Pro Am categories. In Europe, at Spa-Francorchamps, the podium was entirely painted in Ferrari colours with a triple victory in the European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Cup.

Triumphs also came at Phillip Island in the GT WC Australia, Magny-Cours in the GT WC Europe Sprint, Okayama in the GT World Challenge Asia and the Japan Cup, on the track at Road America in the GT WC America, and at Mugello in the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship.

ELMS. A splendid triple victory for Ferrari in the fourth round of the European Le Mans Series, held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit over the weekend of 24 and 25 August. Celebrating on the top step of the podium for the first time this year was the 296 LMGT3 number 57 with Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson, and official driver Daniel Serra. The only potential setback was a tyre pressure check by the race directors, which luckily ended with no more than a simple reprimand.

Finishing second over the line was the number 86 of GR Racing with Michael Wainwright, Riccardo Pera, and fellow official driver Davide Rigon, who, thanks to this result, is now just one point off the head of the overall standings. Third place went to the number 51 of AF Corse with Charles-Henri Samani, Emmanuel Collard, and Nicolas Varrone, who captured the podium spot just a few laps before the chequered flag from the Aston Martin of Racing Spirit of Leman.

The next race will be the 4 Hours of Mugello on Sunday, 29 September, the penultimate round of the season.

Le Mans Cup. This series, also contested at Spa-Francorchamps, featured a Ferrari podium lockout. Celebrating the win, their first of the season, was the 296 GT3 number 88 of AF Corse with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, who shaved a few points off the leaders in the overall standings, alongside their teammates Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan in the number 51, who remain in the lead with a 27-point advantage. The number 51 had initially crossed the line first, but a post-race 30-second penalty for exceeding track limits handed the victory to Toledo and Agostini’s number 88 car.

Third was the Ferrari number 74 of Kessel Racing with Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos. The next round is on 29 September at Mugello.

GT WC Europe. The fourth round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint took place on the French track of Magny-Cours during the weekend of 24-25 August. Race-1, held in the fading light of sunset, saw the two Ferrari 296 GT3 cars from Emil Frey Racing placing just off the podium, with the number 69 of Giacomo Altoè and Thierry Vermeulen in fourth position ahead of their sister car, number 14, driven by Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen, an innocent party in a contact that cost them time in the early stages of the race. Fourth in the Silver Cup was the 296 GT3 of AF Corse number 71, driven by Thomas Fleming and Eliseo Donno, while the sister car, number 52, driven by Sean Hudspeth and Jef Machiels, finished sixth. Finally, the race was one of recovery for the number 93 car of Sky Tempesta Racing, competing in the Bronze Cup with Jonathan Hui and Eddie Cheever, who finished sixth in their category.

In the second race of the weekend, the two cars competing in the Pro class faced more difficulties, with the number 14 of Lappalainen and Green involved in contact and a puncture at turn one, finishing thirteenth over the line, while the number 69 of Vermeulen and Altoè came in tenth. A great performance by Eliseo Donno and Thomas Fleming, winners in Silver with the 296 GT3 of AF Corse, while the sister car driven by Machiels and Hudspeth finished fifth in their category. Lastly, the number 93 car of Sky Tempesta Racing was fourth in the Bronze class with Hui and Cheever.

The next round of the GT World Challenge Europe is at Monza from 20 to 22 September for the Endurance championship, while the Sprint series concludes in Barcelona from 11 to 13 October.

GT WC Australia. It was an almost perfect weekend for Ferrari in the fifth round of the GT World Challenge Australia at Phillip Island. The two 296 GT3 cars of Arise Racing shared the victories, with the number 1 of Liam Talbot and Chaz Mostert winning Race-1 and finishing second in Race-2, while the number 8 of Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans took victory in the second race after finishing ninth in the first. In the championship, the Talbot-Mostert crew leads, 30 points clear of second place, while Schutte and Evans are third, 34 points behind the leader.

The Australian season continues from 18 to 20 October 2024 at Sydney Motorsport Park.

GT WC Asia. At the Okayama track during the weekend of 24 and 25 August, the fifth round of the GT World Challenge Asia took place, featuring four Ferrari 296 GT3 cars. In Race-1, the best result was achieved by the number 296 of Absolute Corse, driven by André Canard and Finn Gehrsitz, finishing eleventh overall and third in the Silver Am class. Fifteenth over the line was the number 77 of Harmony Racing, driven by Weian Chen and Jiatong Liang, who secured third in Silver. Twentieth place overall was enough for the number 75 of Garage 75 to win the Am class with David Tjiptobiantoro and Christian Colombo, while the number 60 of LM Corsa, driven by Kei Nakanishi and Shigekazu Wakisaka, finished twenty-fourth overall and ninth in the Pro Am class. In Race-2, rain shuffled the deck as it began to fall shortly after the start. The best Ferrari under the chequered flag was the number 77 of Harmony Racing, driven by Chen and Liang, finishing fourteenth overall and fourth in the Silver class. Nineteenth overall and tenth in Pro Am was the number 60 of Wakisaka-Nakanishi, while Canard and Gehrsitz in the number 296 of Absolute Corse were unfortunately involved in a contact. Another podium for the Garage 75 car, which finished third in Am, consolidating the championship lead for David Tjiptobiantoro. The final round of the GT World Challenge Asia is scheduled from 13 to 15 September at the Shanghai circuit in China.

Japan Cup. Concurrently with the GT World Challenge Asia at Okayama, the final round of the Japan Cup took place. A second-place finish in Race-1 was enough for the crew of the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 98 of K-Tunes Racing to claim the title in both the overall and Pro Am categories: Daisuke Yamawaki and Shinichi Takagi staged a spectacular comeback from fifth on the grid. Fourth overall and third in Pro Am was a debuting car in the championship, the Ferrari 488 GT3 number 555 of Maezawa Racing, driven by Yusaku Maezawa and Naoki Yokomizo, while the 296 GT3 number 7 of Comet Racing finished seventh overall and fourth in Am with Yorikatsu Tsujiko and Yusuke Yamasaki. In Race-2, the newly crowned champions Yamawaki and Takagi secured another win, their fourth, ahead of the 488 GT3 of Maezawa and Yokomizo. Fourth place overall and third in class was not enough for the Comet Racing car of Tsujiko and Yamasaki to clinch the title in Am: they had to settle for the runner-up spot, 15 points shy of the title. 

CIGT. The Sprint series of the Italian Gran Turismo Championship held its third round of the season over the weekend of 24 and 25 August at the Mugello track. On the Tuscan circuit, a Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo took victory in Race-1 of the GT Cup: the number 250 of AF Corse, with Lorenzo Casè and Edoardo Borelli at the wheel, secured second place overall, which equates to victory in the 1st Am division. In the same race, fifth place overall was enough for the final step of the podium in the Pro Am class for the number 111 of Best Lap, driven by Lorenzo Casè and Lorenzo Pegoraro.

In the GT3 class, it was an unfortunate race for Luka Nurmi and Jasin Ferati with the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 52 of AF Corse. After starting from pole position, they were in the fight for victory for a long time but then went off the track, crashing into the barriers. They quickly bounced back in Race-2, where Nurmi and Ferati finished third.

The Italian Gran Turismo Championship returns in September, from the 6th to the 8th, with the third Endurance round at Imola. For the Sprint series, the next event will take place on the weekend of 4-6 October at the Vallelunga circuit.

DTM. The two Ferrari 296 GT3 cars from Emil Frey Racing participated in the fifth round of the 2024 DTM at the Nürburgring over the weekend of 17-18 August. In Race-1, which was affected by rain, Jack Aitken in the number 14 car finished in fifth place, while his teammate Thierry Vermeulen in the number 69 car crossed the line in sixteenth. The second race of the weekend was marked by several incidents, with Vermeulen finishing sixth, while Aitken faced more difficulties and ended up in thirteenth place.

The next DTM round is scheduled for 6-8 September at the Sachsenring circuit.

GT WC America. Only one Ferrari 296 GT3 was on the track in the fifth round of the GT World Challenge America at Road America in Wisconsin over the weekend of 17-18 August: the number 163 car fielded by AF Corse for Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri, competing in the Am class. In Race-1, they finished eleventh overall and second in class after starting from fourteenth position. In the second race of the weekend, the 296 GT3 started from eighth place overall and maintained a strong position, to cross the finish line in thirteenth, securing a class win in Am.

The American series will be back on the track over the weekend of 6-8 September at Barber Motorsports Park.