Weekend notebook: triumphs in Barcelona in the ELMS and Le Mans Cup and at Philip Island in the GT WC Australia

An extraordinary double-win for the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of Formula Racing, with Nicklas Nielsen, and AF Corse, with Davide Rigon, kicked off the 2024 European Le Mans Series season in Barcelona. At the Catalan circuit, the Prancing Horse cars took all of the top 4 places in the opening round of the Le Mans Cup. Among them, AF Corse clinched victory with Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan behind the wheel of the number 51 296 GT3.
Ferrari made a triumphant entry into the GT World Challenge Australia, securing a one-two finish for Arise Racing GT in the inaugural round at Phillip Island. The Maranello machines gave promising performances with podium places in both the Super GT opener in Japan and the qualifying rounds at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

ELMS. In the 4-hour race in Barcelona, Prancing Horse’s official driver Nicklas Nielsen, along with Johnny and Conrad Laursen, secured the first historic win in the LMGT3 class for the Formula Racing’s number 50 Ferrari 296 LMGT3. This win is significant as it marks the debut of the LMGT3, replacing the LMGTE, in the European Le Mans Series. Moreover, it represents the first ever triumph for the Ferrari 296 in LMGT3 configuration.

After maintaining second position for a considerable duration, the Danish team capitalised on the retirement of Iron Dames’ Porsche to clinch victory, crossing the finish line first. They managed to secure a 12-second lead over the number 86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of GR Racing, crewed by Michael Wainwright, Riccardo Pera, and another Maranello official driver, Davide Rigon.

The red-letter day for Ferrari was capped off with the number 55 Spirit of Race securing fifth place, driven by Duncan Cameron, Matthew Griffin and David Perel. In eighth place came the second car in AF Corse colours, the number 51 with Charles-Henri Samani, Emmanuel Collard and Ulysse De Pauw at the steering wheel, one spot ahead of the number 57 of Kessel Racing, with Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson and the third Ferrari official driver in the race, Daniel Serra. The number 66 Ferrari from JMW Motorsport, driven by British drivers John Hartshorne, Ben Tuck, and Philip Keen, concluded the race ahead of time.

Second round of the season on 5 May at Paul Ricard in France.

Le Mans Cup. Ferrari dominated the first round of the championship held at the Barcelona circuit. With Matthew Kurzejewski securing pole position, a familiar face from the Ferrari Challenge North America 2023, the 296 GT3 number 51 of AF Corse, driven by the experienced Italian driver Alessandro Balzan, successfully held onto the leading position throughout the entire 110-minute race, clinching the inaugural win of the season. Sharing the podium was the first of the two Kessel Racing vehicles, handled by Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos, who persisted until the very end in their bid to challenge for first place. Taking third position in the standings were Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, aboard the second car belonging to the Piacenza-based squad, the number 88, clocking the fastest time of 1'40"743. Ferrari’s triumph was rounded out by Frederic Jousset and David Fumanelli securing fourth place in the number 12 Kessel Racing entry.

The next round of the championship is scheduled for 4 May at the French circuit of Le Castellet. 

GT WC Australia. Arise Racing GT recorded an extraordinary one-two in the first of the two races held on the Phillip Island circuit. Following their pole position start, courtesy of a qualifying time of 1'25"170, Chaz Mostert and reigning series champion Liam Talbot secured victory in the number 1 Ferrari 296 GT3, holding off their competitors’ comeback challenges in a race cut short by adverse weather conditions. After a penalty imposed on the Audi that initially finished second, it was the Arise Racing GT’s sister car, the number 8 driven by Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte, that claimed the runner-up spot.
Sunday’s race proved to be more unfortunate for the two Ferraris. The number 1 Ferrari of Arise Racing GT, which had maintained second position in the early stages of the race with Chaz Mostert behind the wheel, encountered trouble in the pit lane, losing valuable time during the pit stop, forcing Liam Talbot into a challenging comeback drive, ultimately resulting in a fourth-place finish. Three places further back in the standings was the number 8 car of Evans and Schutte.

The next round of the series is scheduled for the weekend of 2 June at the Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

Super GT. At the opening round of the championship held at the Okayama circuit, the two Ferraris concluded the race in the GT300 class in tenth and eleventh positions. Initially starting from twelfth on the grid, the duo of Kei Cozzolino and Lilou Wadoux, a Prancing Horse official driver at the wheel of the number 45 Ferrari 296 GT3 for Ponos Racing, managed to gain one position by the end of the race. They finished just behind the number 6 car of the Uni-Robo Bluegrass team, driven by Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan, who began the race in seventh position.

The second round of the series is scheduled on the Fuji circuit on 3 and 4 May.

24 Hours of Nürburgring, qualifying races. The Ferrari 296 GT3 entered by Frikadelli Racing Team, adorned with the iconic number 1 livery to commemorate its historic triumph in 2023 at the Green Hell, wrapped up the pair of four-hour races with a sixth-place finish in one and a twentieth-place finish in the other, both in the SP9 Pro class. In the German team’s car were Felipe Fernandez Lazer, Daniel Keilwitz and Luca Ludwig. The event anticipated the next edition of the 24 Hours, allowing a limited number of cars to enter the top-30 qualifiers that will be held a few days before the endurance race.