Ferrari looks to extend Daytona legacy with contenders in two GT classes

Ferrari looks to build on its legacy for America’s premier endurance race when it competes in this weekend’s 60th running of the 24 Hour At Daytona, the beginning of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship season. Three Ferrari teams will compete, giving the Marque of the Prancing Horse leading contenders in both GT categories, GTD-Pro and GTD.

GTD-Pro.  Risi Competizione will field a brand-new No. 62 Pennzoil Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 in the new GTD Pro category, with FIA WEC champions Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, joined by Ferrari veterans Daniel Serra and Davide Rigon. The team will start 11th of 13 cars in the category.

GTD-Pro features cars built or adapted to international GT3 specifications, replacing the previously used GTLM category.“The 24 Hours of Daytona is always on my mind as a race for the team to compete for a victory,” said Giuseppe Risi, Team Principal. “This year we have a new Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 car and a strong line-up again of Ferrari Competizioni GT factory drivers with Calado, Pier Guidi, Rigon and Serra. They all are talented drivers, know the car well and compete regularly at the highest level of racing on a global scale”. “James and Ale won both the FIA WEC championship and Le Mans last year”, Risi added, “so they are at the top of the sport. Davide and Daniel continue to add success to the Ferrari name as well. With the solid driver line-up and always prepared race team, we’re ready to contend for victory at Daytona.”

“The main difference from the GTLM car is the tires,” Serra said. “In GTD-Pro we will be using the commercial tires, while in GTLM we used confidential ones. It’s difficult to know how you are going to do in a race like the 24 Hours At Daytona. We’ve been trying to prepare ourselves as best as we can, and then let’s see how we can do in the race. The car is doing good, but we still need to improve in a few points. Daytona was the first 24-hour race I did in my career, and it’s a race I would really like to win.”

“It’s amazing to be back at Daytona for the race,” Rigon said. “Let’s hope we have a good car for the race. There are so many cars here this year, more than 60 (61), so we have to stay out of trouble, and then let’s fight in the last five hours to go to the top.”

GTD.  AF Corse will have the No. 21 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 for Simon Mann and Nicklas Nielsen, joining qualifying race drivers Toni Vilander and Luis Perez Companc.  AF Corse is looking to compete for the 2022 IMSA Endurance Cup, which showcases the endurance classics at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.

“I think the 24 Hours at Daytona will be a very nice challenge,” Companc said. “There are a lot of cars, and I think it will be a very good race for the people to view. The Ferrari is very capable and dependable, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The team will start 17th in GTD’s 22 car entry – giving the field 35 GT3 entries. Vilander isn’t worried about the starting position. “There are a lot of things that happened in the Roar that will be completely opposite in the 24 Hour,” Vilander said. “Teams that were nowhere in the Roar will come back next weekend battling for the win.”

Meanwhile the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 driven by Roberto Lacorte, Alessio Rovera, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Antonio Fuoco will start 12th in GTD.

“This is my debut here, and it’s been unbelievable,” said Rovera, the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Am winner with AF Corse. “I’m really looking forward to the race. Daytona is incredible, and there are already a lot of people around the track. You can really feel the passion of these fans, and I’m sure it will be unbelievable for the 24-Hour. This is my first time racing on banking, and it’s quite impressive, for sure. We have a good team, with four fast drivers, and I think we can do well”.

History.  The 60th edition of the 24 Hours at Daytona will have six grand marshals representing the different decades of the event. One of them is Mario Andretti, who won the Daytona classic in 1972, co-driving a Ferrari 312 PB in a six-hour race.

Ferrari had an unforgettable finish in 1967, led by Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon in a Ferrari 330 P4 as the red cars took the checkered flag in three-abreast formation.

Ferraris have won the event five times overall in addition to 16 class victories, and have competed in 57 of the 59 Daytona races. Pier Guidi was part of the GTD winning lineup in Ferrari’s most recent Daytona triumph, in 2014.

Schedule. With the grid already set for the 24 through the Roar qualifying race, teams will get to fine-tune their cars in four practice sessions prior to the 24, beginning on Thursday. The race takes the green flag at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday.