Circuit | Long Beach Street Circuit |
Date | 20.04.2013 |
Laps | 80 |
Distance | 253,321 km / 157,440 miles |
No | Driver | Ferrari | S/N | Team | Result |
23 | Bill Sweedler Townsend Bell |
458 Italia GT | F 142 GT xxxx | Team West/ AJR/ Boardwalk Ferrari | 14. overall / 7. in class GT |
62 | Olivier Beretta Matteo Malucelli |
458 Italia GT | F 142 GT xxxx | Risi Competizione | 16. overall / 9. in class GT |
Maranello, 21 April – Highs and lows for the 458 GT on a busy Stars and Stripes Saturday of racing, with two events on the calendar yesterday. At Road Atlanta in Georgia, it was the Grand-Am series and in Long Beach, California, the American Le Mans Series was taking place.
At Long Beach the best result was a seventh place for Sweedler-Bell (West/AJR/Boardwalk Ferrari,) while the Risi Competizione car, in the hands of Beretta-Malucelli, finished ninth. The Houston team’s result was largely determined by a stop-and-go plus a minute penalty, handed out by the Stewards after half an hour of racing following a collision with a Viper, when the number 62 458 GT, with Beretta at the wheel at the time, was battling strongly for second place after staging an impressive initial climb up the order. “On a street circuit like this, collisions happen often,” said the Monegasque driver. “At the hairpin, I was hit by another car and that pushed me into the Viper: the Stewards decided to punish me and we have to accept the decision even if it is very hard to take. Then, clearly in such a short race, an 80 second penalty means your race is ruined.” It was a real shame for the Risi Competizione duo, who had every chance of finishing on the podium, in a race that ended with a one-two for BMW ahead of the same Viper involved in the collision in question.