Risi Competizione will return with the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 in the new GTD Pro category with
drivers Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon and Edward Cheever III.
Serra and Rigon– partnered with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado– placed second in the class in
the 2022 season-opening Daytona 24 Hours. The team led many laps and ran in podium contention
throughout the race, which was run in near-record chilly temperatures. The team took second with a pass
by Pier Guidi on the final lap of the race.
Cheever raced in the 2018 Sebring 12-hour event, driving a DPi for Spirit of Daytona. He also competed in
the 2019 FIA WEC 1,000-mile race, placing fifth in LMGTE Am in an MR Racing Ferrari 488 GTE.
“We have a great deal of history at Sebring, including three victories,” said Giuseppe Risi, Team Principal.
“Returning to a track we have experienced much success over the years certainly gets everyone excited. It
will be a big weekend with the WEC (World Endurance Championship) teams competing on Friday and our
12-hour race on Saturday. Fans should enjoy many hours of good racing, and particularly with the Ferrari
battles in both series.”
GTD
AF Corse returns in the GTD category, fielding the No. 21 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 for Simon Mann, Luis
Perez Companc and Toni Vilander.
Joined by Nicklas Nielsen, the three drivers opened the year by running in the Daytona 24 Hours, just
missing the podium by 10 seconds with a fourth-place finish for AF Corse after the team was required to
serve a drive-through penalty in the final 30 minutes.
The Ferrari was the car to beat in the early hours of the race before being slowed slightly by on-track
contact. AF Corse is looking to compete for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which showcases the
endurance classics at Watkins Glen and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in addition to the races at
Daytona and Sebring. Vilander and Mann will both also compete in the World Endurance Championship.
Completing the Ferrari attack is the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with an all-Italian driver
lineup of Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Antonio Fuoco.
The three drivers joined Alessio Rovera in placing 14th in the 24 Hour. That was the team’s IMSA debut with
Ferrari, extending a European partnership with AF Corse.
A Historic Contest
Seven of Ferrari’s overall triumphs came from 1956 through 1964 for the Italian-based factory team. Juan
Manuel Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti gave Ferrari its first victory in 1956, sharing a Ferrari 860
Monza, while Phil Hill won back-to-back in 1958 and 1959, driving a Ferrari 250TR. Hill added a third victory
in a similar car, opening a streak of four consecutive Ferrari victories from 1961 through 1964.
Mario Andretti won the 1970 race in a Ferrari 512S with Ignazio Giunti and Nino Vaccarella. Andretti
and Ickx completed the Daytona-Sebring double for Ferrari in 1972.
The venerable Ferrari F333 SP won the event three times from 1995 through 1998. Gianpiero Moretti, Mauro
Baldi and Didier Theys backed up their Daytona 24-hour victory in 1998 for Kevin Doran’s Momo team, while
Andy Evans and Fermin Velez won twice for Scandia Motorsports in 1995 and 1997.
More recently, Ferraris tallied four class victories in five years from 2007 through 2011, including three by
Jamie Melo. The most recent victory was in 2016, when Christina Nielsen, Jeff Segal and Alessandro
Balzan won GTD for Scuderia Corsa in a Ferrari 488 GT3 on the way to Balzan and Nielsen securing a
history-making IMSA championship.
Schedule
Practice for the Twelve Hours of Sebring begins at 10:15 a.m. (all times ET) on Thursday. Qualifying begins
Friday at 9:20 a.m., followed by a 1,000-mile/eight hour FIA World Endurance Championship race at noon.
The main event takes the green flag at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday.
Related Material
Search Anamera's Archive for History
e.g.
Gianpiero Moretti, Mauro Baldi and Didier Theys
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