Ferrari places three cars in top 10 in rainy Battle on the Bricks

Risi Competizione and Cetilar Racing led Ferrari in the two GT3 classes in Sunday’s six-hour Battle on the Bricks, the penultimate round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship – Endurance Cup held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Daniel Serra finished 26th overall in the 56-car field, placing ninth in GTD Pro. He shared the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 with fellow Ferrari factory driver Davide Rigon.

Antonio Fuoco took seventh in GTD, taking 34th overall in the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Giorgio Sernagiotto and Roberto Lacorte. The team was 15th at the midway point, and worked its way into the top 10.

Two veteran teams made their IMSA debut with Ferrari. Inception Racing placed ninth in GTD with Frederik Schandorff, Brendan Iribe and Ollie Milroy sharing the new No. 70 Ferrari 296 GT3. The team led briefly and spent the middle part of the event running in podium condition. They fell back in the final two hours to place ninth, on the lead lap. Running second at midway earned bonus points good enough to unofficially take the lead in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

DragonSpeed was running second early in the event in the No. 56 of Rasmus Lindh, Henrik Hedman and Toni Vilander. Moments after the race went back to green following a lengthy caution, Hedman was bumped off course and came to a stop in the grass. He was able to return to the race, but lost a lap in the process. Vilander took the checkered flag in 13th position.

An early deluge resulted in a 56-minute caution, with the race run under the yellow for nearly two hours, 40 minutes. While rain slowed the opening two hours, the final four hours were run in dry conditions while attrition cut down the Ferrari contenders.

Conquest Racing’s No. 34 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296, Ferrari’s lone full-season entry, had Albert Costa running third with 1:18 remaining when an apparent suspension issue sent the car off in Turn 10. Costa recovered and drove to the pits, but the car he shared with Manny Franco and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli was forced to retire and finish 19th.

The No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari of Simon Mann, Francois Heriau and factory pilot Miguel Molina was running fifth at the midway point, running in the top-10 throughout the race. Its day came to an abrupt halt when Molina drove the car to the paddock with 2:20 remaining, resulting in a retirement and a 20th-place finish.

Triarsi Competition had its day spoiled by a pair of off-course excursions when Onofrio Triarsi was bumped off in the No. 023 of Central Florida / David SW Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Riccardo Agostini and Charlie Scardina. He was knocked off with four hours remaining, resulting in a broken toe link that sent Triarsi to the paddock. He returned to the race 11 laps in arrears. He was sent off again at the midway point, bringing out the fourth caution as the car was unable to return and was classified 21st.

All seven Ferraris are expected when the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and Endurance Cup concludes with the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 12.