Weekend preview: Ferraris on track at Indianapolis and Sugo

Seven Ferrari 296 GT3s will compete in this weekend’s Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis round of the IMSA, and two of the Maranello-based manufacturer’s cars will race at the Sportsland Sugo circuit in Japan’s Super GT.

IMSA. Ferrari will have its best representation in major 2024 North American endurance racing competition this weekend when seven teams field the Ferrari 296 GT3 in the Battle on the Bricks at iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Indianapolis round has grown to a six hour format and has moved to be a part of the IMSA Endurance Championship this season. 

Six Pro-Am GTD teams join Daytona 24 Hour-winning Risi Competizione in GTD Pro for the fourth round of the IMSA Endurance Cup and the 10th of 11 races in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The GTD lineup includes two teams racing with Ferrari for the first time.

Risi Competizione followed up its GTD Pro class victory at Daytona with a second-place finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring in the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 with factory pilots Daniel Serra and Davide Rigon. They currently ran second in the Endurance Cup, only two points behind the leader.

Conquest Racing continues a full-season GTD effort with the No. 34 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296 GT3, with regular drivers Albert Costa and Manny Franco joined by Cedric Sbirrazzuoli. The team is fourth in the Endurance Cup, trailing by seven points, and fifth in the GTD championship after finishing second in the Watkins Glen Six Hours and placing third at Daytona.

Triarsi Competizione has the No. 023 Ferrari of Central Florida / David SW Ferrari 296 GT3 that placed fourth at Daytona. For Indianapolis, Riccardo Agostini joins Onofrio Triarsi and Charlie Scardina. The team is third in the GTD Endurance Cup points, four points behind the leader.

Cetilar Racing returns its blue No. 47 Ferrari for factory driver Antonio Fuoco, Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto. The team is sixth in the Endurance Cup, 10 points out of the lead. The team finished second at Sebring, an event the team won in 2022.

AF Corse took second at Daytona in the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 for factory pilot Miguel Molina, who will rejoin Simon Mann and Francois Heriau at Indy. They are seventh in the Endurance Cup.

Inception Racing switches to Ferrari for the Indianapolis event, with Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff and Ollie Milroy driving the No. 70 296 GT3. The team ranks second in the Endurance Cup and 10th in the GTD standings after beginning the season with another manufacturer. Iribe and Schandorff have podium finishes in two of the last three races, while Iribe was the LMP3 pole winner for Inception at Le Mans in June.

DragonSpeed also joins Ferrari for Indianapolis. Henrik Hedman, Rasmus Lindh and Ferrari Ambassador Driver Toni Vilander will pilot the No. 56 10Star/Flexbox Ferrari. DragonSpeed switches to GTD after running the three Endurance Cup races in the LMP2 category.

Ferrari has two major sports car victories at Indianapolis. Jeff Segal and Max Papis won the 2013 Grand-Am race, with Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship winners in 2014, with both victories coming with the Ferrari 458.

The Indianapolis schedule opens with a 90-minute practice session on Friday at 11:15 a.m. (all times ET). Final practice is set for Saturday, with a 90-minute session at 8:55 a.m. Qualifying for the GTD Pro and GTD classes begins at 3:40 p.m. Saturday, with the race beginning Sunday at 11:40 a.m. Live flag-to-flag streaming on Peacock begins at 11:30 a.m., with live coverage on NBC runs from 3-6 p.m. SiriusXM will broadcast live beginning at 11:40 a.m. on Channel 206.

Super GT Japan. Super GT Japan is back this weekend for round six at the Sportsland Sugo track in Miyagi Prefecture. The championship returns after a long break due to the postponement of the Suzuka leg caused by the typhoon that hit the area. 

Two Ferrari 296 GT3s will compete in the GT300 class in the 300 km race on the 3.586 km track. Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan will drive the Uni-Robo Bluegrass team’s number 6, while Kei Cozzolino and official driver Lilou Wadoux will pilot Ponos Racing’s number 45. In the last event on the track, held at the Fuji circuit, Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan crossed the line in ninth place, while car number 45 finished in eleventh.