Le Mans 24 Hours – Clean Sweep for Ferrari in GT2 – Montezemolo: “I am proud of this all-red podium”
Source: Ferrari

Maranello (Modena) 16th June 2008 – Four cars in the top four places in their class was the result achieved by the 430 GT2 cars in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Victory went to car number 82, run by the Risi Competizione team and driven by Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Gimmi Bruni, who completed 326 laps to finish nineteenth overall. Also on the podium in second spot, the all-Italian crew entered by BMS Scuderia Italia, made up of Paolo Ruberti, Matteo Malucelli and Fabio Babini, with 318 laps to their name. Third was the German Farnbacher Racing team of Pierre Kaffer, Lars-Erik Nielsen and Pierre Ehret, who completed 317 laps. Another 430 GT2, the JMB of Ferte-Aucott-Daoudi crossed the line in fourth place after 312 laps.

“I am particularly proud of this splendid result for the 430 GT2 in the Le Mans 24 Hours,” commented Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo. “Four cars in the top four places at the end of such a difficult and interesting race confirms just how extraordinary a car is the road-going F430, that provides the basis of the race version which is capable of wining the most important grand touring races in the world. It is the continual technology transfer between racing and road cars which has given birth to cars like the 430 Scuderia, the perfect expression of Ferrari’s technical excellence. I would like to thank all our teams who contributed to this fantastic clean sweep in the most prestigious endurance race in the world. It is also down to people like these that the Ferrari legend was created and continues to be upheld on race tracks all around the world.”

The four cars that completed the 24 hours of this endurance race covered a total of 1273 laps, equivalent to 17376.45 kilometres. However, some cars did not see the flag: the Virgo Motorsport car (crewed by Sugden-Bell-Mullen) went out less than three hours from the finish when lying second. The AF Corse machine, in the hands of Biagi-Montanari-Vilander and the second 430 GT2 entered by Giuseppe Risi, driven by Kohn-Jonsson-Vande Poele also retired.

 

Date 14.-15.06.2008
Laps 381
Distance 5.192,649 km / 3.227,252 miles
No Driver Ferrari S/N Team Result
78
Toni Vilander
Thomas Biagi
Christian Montanari
F 430 GTC
F131 EVOGT 2464
AF Corse
retired
           
82
Mika Salo
Jaime Melo
Gianmaria Bruni
F 430 GTC F 131 EVOGT 2606 Risi Competizione
19. overall/ 1. in class
           
83
Tracy W. Krohn
Nic Jönsson
Eric van de Poele
F 430 GTC F 131 EVOGT 2456 Risi Competizione
retired
           
90 Pierre Ehret
Pierre Kaffer
Lars Erik Nielsen
F 430 GTC
F 131 EVOGTC 2612
Farnbacher Racing
23. overall/ 3. in class
           
96 Robert Bell
Tim Sudgen
Tim Mullen
F 430 GTC
F 131 EVOGT 2408
Virgo Motorsport
retired
           
97
Paolo Ruberti
Matteo Malucelli
Fabio Babini
F 430 GTC
F131 EVOGTC 2616
BMS Scuderia Italia
22. overall/ 2. in class
           
99 Alain Ferte
Ben Aucott
Stephane Daoudi
F 430 GTC
F 131 EVOGT 2466
JMB Racing 25. overall/ 4. in class
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