Tudor United SportsCar Championship 2014 – Round 1 – Rolex 24 at Daytona

Ferrari first in GTD at the Daytona 24 Hours

Posted: 27.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 27 January –The first of this year’s major endurance races ended with a great win for the Ferrari 458 GT in the Daytona 24 Hours. The American Level 5 Motorsport team triumphed in the GTD class at the end of a race that was, to say the least, exciting. Car number 555 with Italy’s Alessandro Pier Guidi at the wheel at the time, was first past the flag, having always been in contention for victory. A heart stopping finale, featuring a duel between the Ferrari and an Audi brought the closing laps to life. Then, a penalty imposed by the Stewards for an incident that occurred on the last lap then robbed Alessandro Pier Guidi, Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler, Scott Tucker and Jeff Segal of the chance of celebrating on the podium. However, after the race, IMSA then overturned the decision restoring the well deserved win to the team. “It was a great win, at the end of a very intense day. To come out on top ahead of very strong opponents such as Audi, Porsche and Aston Martin, shows how competitive is the 458, not just in GTD but also in GTLM, where it could certainly have been in the fight for the win, confirming that it is bound to be a front runner again in 2014. I want to thank Level 5 Motorsport and the whole team at the track for this first round of the USC Championship,” commented the Director of Ferrari Corse Clienti, Antonello Coletta. “It’s thanks to the efforts of the private teams that Ferrari can hold its head high in the field of GT racing all over the world.”

Daytona 24 Hours – IMSA turnaround: Ferrari first in GTD

Posted: 26.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Daytona, 26 January – Common sense prevailed in the end and the decision that had deprived the Level 5 Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT of the class win at the Daytona 24 Hours was overturned. Thus, Alessandro Pier Guidi, who had a very close fought duel with Winkelhock in the Audi was able to finally enjoy the taste of victory sharing it with his four colleagues, Townsend Bell, Jeff Segal, Scott Tucker and Bill Sweedler and the entire team.

“We are very pleased with this outcome: it would have been a real shame that such a great and exciting race like the one we just witnessed, should be decided in the stewards’ room,” commented the Corse Clienti chief Antonello Coletta, when speaking to www.ferrari.com. “IMSA acted very sensibly, firstly in reexamining the Stewards’ decision to give Pier Guidi a 75 second penalty and then in overturning it, reassigning the win to the Italian and his team.”

It had been a very intense 24 hours of racing, first with the frightening accident which involved Matteo Malucelli after not quite three hours of the race, followed by the relief at the positive progress in the Italian’s condition. Then came the racing disappointment as the chance of fighting for the win in the GTLM class too slipped away, given how competitive the Risi Competizione car had been up to that point.

Then came the uncertainty over the outcome of the GTD class, which had seen the Scuderia Corsa number 63 car in contention for the win, before it was delayed after a collision with a backmarker. Then came the suspense right at the end: with 20 minutes remaining, a neutralization period wiped out the slender lead Pier Guidi had over Winkelhock. On the final lap, the Audi mounted its last assault, which was correctly warded off by the Italian. The penalty handed out at the time had left a really bitter taste in the mouth, but in the end, justice was done.

“The most important thing is that Matteo is relatively alright, given how heavy the impact was,” continued Coletta. “He will stay under observation in the Halifax hospital, but his condition is not cause for concern. On the technical front, the 458 confirmed it is really quick and I think we had the ability to do the double in both classes. However, in a 24 Hours race there are always unknown factors lurking round the corner, especially at Daytona. The priority is to make it to the final stages and then give it everything. This year more than ever before we had to wait until the very last minute to get the final answer, and in fact this time, it actually took
a bit longer than that…

“I would like to thank Level 5 Motorsport and the whole team who got the 458 to the track in the first race of this new and interesting championship,” concluded Coletta. “It’s thanks to the efforts of the private teams that Ferrari can hold its head high on the GT racing scene all over the world. And I must also thank Michelotto Automobili for its usual great contribution in the technical preparation of a car that continus to enrich the Prancing Horse’s racing roll of honour.”

Daytona 24 Hours – Level 5 Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 wins in GTD

Posted: 26.01.2014
Source: Daytona International Speedway

Daytona, 26 January – The GTD class (GT Daytona) victory came down to an intense last lap battle between the No. 555 Level 5 Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia and the No. 45 Flying Lizards Motorsports Audi R8.

A last-lap judgment call by IMSA officials made winners of Audi drivers Spencer Pumpelly, Markus Winkelhock, Nelson Canache Jr. and Tim Pappas.

Winkelhock appeared to have been forced off the track in the infield by No. 555 Ferrari F458 Italia driver Alessandro Pier Guidi as the cars streaked through the infield. Though the Ferrari was first to the checkered flag, IMSA initially imposed a stop-plus-75-second penalty on the No. 555, enough to give the victory to the No. 45 Audi.

But after further review, IMSA reversed the ruling and awarded the win to the Ferrari team, which also included Scott Tucker, Jeff Segal, Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler. The Audi team was relegated to second place.

“The winning team is now declared the winner,” Sweedler said following the announcement in the Infield Media Center.

Daytona 24 Hours – A penalty denies Ferrari victory in GTD

Posted: 26.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Daytona, 26 January –To be first past the chequered flag at the end of a 24 hour race that was very close from start to finish and then see the victory slip away because of a questionable penalty, is painful in sporting terms. That’s the blow that befell the Level 5 Motorsport team, who were contenders all the way in the GTD class with car number 555 crewed by Tucker-Sweedler-Bell-Segal-Pier Guidi. In the end, they had to settle for fourth place, having led for much of the race. It was Pier Guidi who was in the lead when, with around twenty minutes of the race remaining, it was neutralised, which allowed Winkelhock’s Audi to close right up. At the restart, battle raged between them with the Ferrari man getting the upper hand, but then came the decision of the Stewards, which overturned the result.

Therefore, there was only one Maranello car in a podium position, the one entered by the Russian SMP/ESM Racing team crewed by Finland’s Mika Salo and the Italian Maurizio Mediani, who gave strong support to the Russian trio of Boris Rotenberg, Sergei Zlobin e Mikhail Aleshin, which finished third behind the Porsche number 58.

In the GTLM Class, the Risi Competizione entered 458 GT was a front runner in the early stages. Having started from the back of the grid, the number 62 car had staged a great climb up the order, to the point where it was fighting for the lead. Then after almost three hours of racing, came the accident involving Matteo Malucelli and Memo Gidley, whose Corvette drove straight into the Ferrari at great speed, as it was circulating very slowly because of an electrical problem. Both drivers were taken to hospital in Halifax: Gidley underwent an operation on his left arm and leg and will have to undergo further surgery on his back, while Matteo suffered cerebral concussion but his condition should not be cause for concern.

Matteo was alert and conscious throughout and staying with him were the head of Ferrari Corse Clienti Antonello Coletta and his team-mates, Gianmaria Bruni and Olivier Beretta, while the Risi team made sure the driver and his family had everything they needed.

Not much luck either for the second Ferrari in the GTLM class, run by Krohn Racing. Tracy Krohn, Andrea Bertolini, Nic Jonsson and Peter Dumbreck ended the race in 37th place overall and seventh in class. They were penalised for overtaking under a yellow flag, but more significantly had a collision that broke a front left suspension component, which dropped the car down the order from even before half distance.

The other Ferraris taking part, all in the GTD class finished as follows: sixth Tucker-LaMarra-Borcheller-Cosmo (Level 5 Motorsport), tenth Longo-Negrao-Gomes-Serra (Scuderia Corsa), eleventh Vilander-Balzan-Westphal-Casé (Scuderia Corsa), fourteenth Randall-Farano-Wilden-Empringham (Scuderia Corsa), seventeenth Griffin-Cioci-Rugolo-Gerber (Spirit of Race) and eighteenth Perazzini-Roda-Ruberti-Rigon (Spirit of Race).

Daytona 24 Hours– Ferrari leads GTD

Posted: 26.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Daytona, 26 January –After a long night, what with the concerns followed by slight relief regarding the condition of Memo Gidley and Matteo Malucelli, after their terrifying crash around the third hour of racing, the sun shone brightly once again over the Daytona circuit, where the first round of the USC championship is now in its final quarter.

Ferrari is still a top contender, thanks to the number 555 458 GTD entered by Level 5 Motorsport, currently leading thanks to the crew of Tucker-Sweedler-Bell-Segal-Pier Guidi who are putting up a great showing in this very difficult race.

An accident took the number 63 Scuderia Corsa car out of the running for victory. Shortly after 8, the 458 was hit by a Porsche while overtaking it which resulted in it having to pit for repairs to be effected on the steering box. A real shame, as Balzan, Vilander, Westphal and Casé would definitely have been in with a chance right to the end.

Daytona 24 Hours – Good news after the scare

Posted: 26.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Daytona, 26 January – When there’s a serious accident on track, everything else becomes of secondary importance and the wellbeing of the drivers is the priority, especially for the team-mates.

The accident which took place just coming up to the three hour mark and involved the prototype Corvette of Memo Gidley and the 458 GT of Matteo Malucelli, was horrifying and both drivers required treatment on the spot before being taken to hospital in Halifax. Gidley underwent an operation on his left arm and leg, while Malucelli remains under observation with severe cerebral concussion, but the situation is not critical, as the doctors told his wife and Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari Corse Clienti, who are both with him in Halifax. Matteo’s team-mates, Gianmaria Bruni and Olivier Beretta also rushed to see him and only when hospital staff confirmed the positive evolution of the Risi Competizione driver’s condition, did they return to the race track.

Everyone got a very big scare, but things are calmer now in the team’s garage, because while necessarily remaining cautious, the worst seems to be over. Naturally, that sense of relief is more important than the disappointment on the racing front. The early stages of the race had confirmed the potential of Giuseppe Risi’s team, because even though it had started from the back of the grid, thanks to the efforts of Bruni and Malucelli, car number 62 had fought it’s way up to the front end in the GTLM class.

Still fully in the fight for victory are the Level 5 Motorsport 458 GT number 555 and the number 63 car run by Scuderia Corsa, which are in first and third places respectively in the GTD class after 13 hours racing.

Daytona 24 Hours – Concerns for Matteo and Memo

Posted: 25.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Daytona, 25 January –A horrible accident caused the Daytona 24 Hours to be interrupted just on the three hour mark. The Risi Competizione 458 GT, with Matteo Malucelli at the wheel, was heading for the side of the track with a technical problem, when it was hit full on by the Corvette DP driven by Memo Gidley. The impact was very hard and at first the race was neutralised, but then it had to be red flagged so that the Corvette driver could be extracted from the cockpit. Both Gidley and Malucelli were taken by helicopter to the hospital in Halifax, but at the moment, around 18h00 local time, we do not have any definite news as to their condition.

A new challenge for Ferrari at Daytona

Posted: 16.01.2014
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 16 January –After a foretaste in the shape of the Dubai 24 Hours last weekend, the engines are being fired up for the first major round of the this year’s GT racing.
Off the back of last season’s successes, which culminated in a triple victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 458 GT is back on duty for the new season with the aim of proving its dominance at the highest level as more and more of the major motor manufacturers are entering the field. Top notch drivers will be flying the Ferrari flag in the Daytona 24 Hours, which is the first of 13 rounds of the USC (United Sports Car) championship, that this year brings together the Grand-Am and ALMS series. It goes to show the level of commitment the Maranello marque puts into supporting customer teams that compete with its cars.
Two teams, Risi Competizione and Krohn Racing, will line up in the GTLM (Le Mans) class. In the first car which bears the number 62, will be the FIA WEC world champion, Gianmaria Bruni, along with a highly rated trio: Giancarlo Fisichella, who played such an important role in AF Corse’s and indeed in the aforementioned Gimmi’s wins last year, Olivier Beretta, who won this race outright in a GT car in 2000 and Matteo Malucelli, winner of an ALMS round last year teamed in fact with the Monegasque driver.
In the running for victory in the Pro-Am category is car number 57, entered by Krohn Racing. Joining the well-proven duo of Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson will be British driver Peter Dumbreck and Ferrari man, Andrea Bertolini.
There’s a full pack of Reds in the GTD (Daytona) class. No less than three 458s are entered by the reigning champions in the Grand Am championship. The winner of the Drivers’ title, Alessandro Balzan will drive car number 63 sharing it with Jeff Westphal, Lorenzo Case and Toni Vilander, while number 64 will have an all-North American crew made up of Canada’s John Farano, Ken Wilden and David Empringham and, from the USA, Rod Randall. There’s an all-Brazilian quartet in the number 65 458: Francisco Longo, Daniel Serra, Xandinho Negrao and Marcos Gomez.
There’s a multinational crew entered by the Russian SMP/ESM Racing team, with Finland’s Mika Salo and Italy’s Maurizion Mediani providing a strong backbone to the Russian trio of Boris Rotenberg, Sergei Zlobin and Mikhail Aleshin. The Spirit of Race team, whose cars are prepared by AF Corse, are relying almost entirely on Italian drivers: car 49 will feature Scuderia Ferrari test driver Davide Rigon, Gianluca Roda, Piergiuseppe Perazzini and Paolo Ruberti, while car 51 is in the hands of Italian duo Marco Cioci and Michele Rugolo and the Irishman Matt Griffin and South Africa’s Jack Gerber. Still to be finalised however is the driver line-up for two cars, with race numbers 555 and 556, entered by the Level 5 Motorsport team, which has gone from the prototype category to the GTD one showing the strength of the appeal of the Prancing Horse at Daytona.
The cars first take to the track on 23 January with the first free practice and qualifying sessions. The race starts at 14.10 local time on Saturday 25.