Weekend notebook: Ferraris win in France and Great Britain

Ferraris enjoyed a positive outing in France, securing wins at Le Castellet in the European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Cup. The Prancing Horse also achieved victory and podiums in the UK at the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. Additionally, Maranello cars did well in Italy in the opening round of the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship at Misano.

Super GT Japan. Fuji International Speedway was the venue for round two of the Super GT Japan championship. In the GT3 class, the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 45 of Ponos Racing, driven by Kei Cozzolino and Prancing Horse official driver Lilou Wadoux, finished in ninth place. The other Ferrari, Uni-Robo Bluegrass’s number 6, piloted by Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan, came in thirteenth. The next round will take place at Suzuka from 1 to 2 June.

ELMS. The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 number 55 of Spirit of Race won in the LMGT3 class in round two of the European Le Mans Series. After an intense 4 Hours at Le Castellet, Duncan Cameron, David Perel, and Matthew Griffin crossed the line first. Starting from second position, Cameron initially took the lead but only held it briefly due to contact with another car. The gap to the leaders widened until, after two hours and 20 minutes of racing, following a dangerous situation, the stewards decided on a Virtual Safety Car, followed by the Safety Car, which recompacted the group. At the restart, the race dynamics changed once again. From fourth position, Spirit of Race capitalised on various situations to regain the lead, maintaining it until the chequered flag. With this result, Duncan Cameron, David Perel, and Matthew Griffin now top the standings with 35 points. Meanwhile, the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of GR Racing, which finished fourth at Le Castellet with Michael Wainwright, Riccardo Pera, and Ferrari official driver Davide Rigon, remains in third place, trailing by seven points.

The third round of the 2024 European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Imola, will run on Sunday, 7 July. However, before that, some teams and drivers will participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15 and 16 June.

Le Mans Cup. At Le Castellet, another Ferrari, the 296 GT3 number 51 of AF Corse, climbed the top step of the podium. Drivers Alessandro Balzan and Matthew Kurzejewski, winners of the opening round of Le Mans Cup in Barcelona, triumphed again in the second round, held in the south of France. Starting from second position, the Ferrari number 51 kept pace with the race leader throughout. However, a 10-second pitstop penalty for the leading car allowed Alessandro Balzan to move in front and pull away from the rest of the field to pass under the chequered flag first. Claiming third place at the finish line was the number 88 Ferrari driven by Riccardo Agostini and Custodio Toledo, who pipped their opponents to the post after a lengthy duel. A 45-second post-race penalty levied on the AF Corse car due to multiple contacts with the number 18 ultimately benefitted the number 74 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Kessel Racing, with Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos securing a podium spot in third place.

The next round of the Le Mans Cup is the Road To Le Mans with Race-1 scheduled for Thursday 13 June and Race-2 on Saturday 15 June.

GT WC Europe – Sprint Cup. Positive results were also achieved in England, specifically at the Brands Hatch track, where the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup was held. In Race-1, the number 14 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Emil Frey Racing, driven by Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen, secured second place overall, before finishing fifth in the second race. Their teammates also succeeded in climbing onto the podium: Indeed, in Race-2, Giacomo Altoè and Thierry Vermeulen secured second place in the number 69 Ferrari 296 GT3.

In the Silver Cup, Eliseo Donno and Thomas Fleming, prominent figures in the 2023 season of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe (with Donno winning the Trofeo Pirelli title and Fleming the Finali Mondiali), at the wheel of the number 71 Ferrari 296 GT3 of AF Corse, took third place in the Race-1 and clinched the win in Race-2. The third round of the GT world Challenge Europe Sprint Cup is scheduled for 17-19 May at the Misano circuit.

CIGT Sprint. The Italian GT Championship Sprint Series which kicked off over the weekend at Misano, brought the first triumphs for the cars of the Maranello manufacturer. In Race-1, Daniele Di Amato and Timur Boguslavskiy, in the number 88 Ferrari 296 GT3 of AF Corse, finished on the podium with second place overall. In the GT3 Am, the number 74 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Rossocorsa took third place in the standings with Stefano Marazzi and Samuele Buttarelli. The same outcome was achieved in the Pro Am category by the number 23 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Best Lap, driven by Vito Postiglione and Luigi Coluccio. In the second race of the weekend at Imola, Luka Nurmi and Jasin Ferati claimed second place overall in the number 52 Ferrari 296 GT3 of AF Corse.

In the GT Cup reserved for single-marque cars, in the Prima Divisione, Edoardo Borelli and Lorenzo Casè came third in Race-1 in the Am class with the AF Corse Ferrari 488 Challenge, while in Race-2 they occupied second spot.

The next championship engagement is scheduled from 31 May to 2 June at Imola, again with the Sprint Series.