ILMC 2011 – Round 6 – 14th Annual Petit Le Mans

Ferrari reigns at Petit Le Mans

Posted: 02.10.2011
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 2 October – Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Pierre Kaffer pulled off a flawless performance today to take victory at Petit Le Mans in their AF Corse-run 458 Italia GT2. The car, which has already taken the Le Mans Series constructors’ championship in its very first year in the endurance championship, secured another important result to triumph in the 1000 miles of Petit Le Mans – one of the most prestigious dates in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup calendar. That confirms the Italian squad’s lead in the ILMC teams championship and Ferrari’s lead in the constructors’ championship with just one round left of a calendar that will finish at Zhuhai on November 13. The Maranello company, which already took the laurels in the coveted series last year, moves up to 151 points to take a 28-point lead over BMW, while AF Corse leads the BMW Motorsport team by 14 points with its total of 99.

“Today’s result is very important,” said Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari Corse Clienti, which offers support to the Maranello car company’s motorsport clients who take part in the endurance championships. “To have won one of the most demanding races of the season shows that Amato Ferrari’s team is a great group. The car and the exceptional ability of the drivers did the rest, contributing to a very important – and totally deserved – success for us.”

Giancarlo Fisichella, appearing at the Georgia track for the second time, expressed his delight at bringing the car home just after he took the chequered flag: “It’s been a perfect weekend that started with pole position and has now ended with this win. The result is the fruit both of the team’s hard work and of a great strategy, which took us to the end of a very hard-fought race. This was an absolutely unforgettable experience worthy of the colours of Ferrari.” It was a truly perfect weekend for the team AF Corse , which also took the honours in the GTE-AM Class where Robert Kauffman, Rui Aguas and Justin Bell took the third place at the wheel of the Ferrari 430 GTC.

Of the six 458 Italias on the grid for the GTE PRO category that was also the final event to count towards the American Le Mans Series, the Ferrari of Risi Competizione was forced to retire 20 minutes before the start of the race. On the lap to the grid, Jaime Melo lost control of the car while he was working to keep his tyre temperatures up. Unfortunately the contact with the guard-rail caused damage to the car that forced it to retire.

Petit Le Mans – Ferrari immediately on pole at Road Atlanta

Posted: 01.10.2011
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 1 October – The Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 of Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Pierre Kaffer (AF Corse) took pole position at the US circuit of Road Atlanta, in Georgia ahead of today’s 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans – one of the most prestigious dates in the American Le Mans Series and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup calendars – which will get under way at 11.30 local time. The Italian team, which has already triumphed in the Le Mans Series, now aims to take victory in the final round of the ILMC, which will be replaced in 2012 by the new FIA World Endurance Championship. The best time set by Bruni (1.19.219 ) during the 15-minute qualifying session therefore makes for a perfect starting point as the trio bids to maintain its lead in this important series. Of the six 458 Italias on the grid for the GTE PRO category, Jaime Melo, Toni Vilander and Raphael Matos – at the wheel of the Ferrari run by Risi Competizione – will start from the second row. Melo set the fourth best time (1.19.299) despite having completed only six laps as he preferred to save tyres for the start of the race. In the GTE-AM class pole position went to the F430 GTC prepared by AF Corse for Robert Kauffman, Rui Aguas and Justin Bell to confirm how the much-decorated Ferrari remains one of the cars to beat.

Petit Le Mans – Fisichella meets the press at Road Atlanta

Posted: 30.09.2011
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 30 September – Preparations are in full swing at the US circuit of Road Atlanta in Georgia, where the American Le Mans Series is due to host its big season finale. The 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans – one of the most prestigious dates on the calendar, with a maximum length of ten hours – will be raced in conjunction with sixth and penultimate round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

As many as 58 cars have been entered for the race, of which there are six 458 Italias in the line-up for the GTE PRO category. That includes Jaime Melo, Toni Vilander and Raphael Matos at the wheel of the Risi Competizione Ferrari, fourth in the ALMS championship, and the team of Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Pierre Kaffer for AF Corse, who are currently at the top of the ILMC title race.

Just a few days since the last race in the Le Mans Series, which saw him win the title with a race to go alongside Bruni, Fisichella yesterday took part in the press conference at the Georgia track. “I’m delighted to be able to return to race here,” said the Roman driver at his second visit to the event. “It’s a fantastic weekend both in terms of the nature of the track and the crowds that fill the circuit. Our car has the potential to fight for the win, as we already showed in the Le Mans Series. We must just give our full attention to traffic, which is the main problem here.”

A further 100 Ferrari cars will take part in the event, run at Road Atlanta by their respective owners to celebrate the debut of the 458 at this important motor racing event.