FIA World Endurance Championship also means LMGT3 Class and with it the presence of many brands (9) fighting in the second category of the maximum endurance series.
For years Ferrari fought and achieved success with the glorious 488 GTE, then the transition to the Hypercar Class with the 499P inevitably turned Maranello's spotlight on the prototypes.
But a Gran Turismo car from the Prancing Horse could not be missing also in the newly created LMGT3 and the pair of 296s entered by the Vista AF Corse team are showing off with good performances thanks to a team now very expert in this field, led by two equally great drivers standard bearers of the Emilian House.
Davide Rigon is the Captain of the #54 car sharing the wheel with Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr, while the very fast Alessio Rovera is the reference for the #55 in which Simon Mann and François Heriau also ride.
In the splendid Ferrari hospitality set up in Imola, Motorsport.com and other journalists had the opportunity to have a chat with the Rigon-Rovera duo, taking stock of the situation of this adventure which sees them in action on the silver 296s.
#55 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
After a year of racing, how are you finding the new 296 GT3?
DR: “We have excellent aerodynamic efficiency with good air penetration, even in Imola we saw that we are not super competitive in speed and others are getting away from us. We would like to have more torque at the bottom, but that's the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it. But in view of Le Mans it looks good.”
“From a tire point of view, we haven't yet had the opportunity to run with tires built especially for it, as happened on the 488, because in all the series we find ourselves with a single supplier who gives equal coverage to each participant.”
“In terms of technology, the evolution of the 296 compared to the 488 has occurred in every sense. On the bumps in Sebring it performed well, while in Austin there are too many bumps in my opinion; I hope they fix something otherwise it becomes complicated, especially for the GT3s which have less aerodynamic load than the Hyepercars. Then it also depends a lot on the set-up and the engineers who manage them, sometimes it feels like you're driving two different cars.”
AR: “The first Ferrari I drove was the 488, which was already at the peak of success, the engineers knew the set-up inside out and the car always went well. With the 296 the feeling is good, but many changes from the beginning of the race weekend to the end because we always try to take a step forward in every aspect.”
“I must say that we have reached a good level of competitiveness, having a short wheelbase the 296 is a little more reactive and the V6 engine has less torque at the bottom compared to the 488, so it must be driven in a slightly different way”.
#54 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Davide Rigon
Photo by: Ferrari
In the FIA WEC the tire supplier has changed this year; How are you getting on with the Goodyears?
AR: “Goodyear has done a good job, it is a tire that has performed excellently since Qualifying, with good grip and consistency; clearly it is important to know how to manage it well in the first laps so as not to stress it, but also throughout the race it is very good “.
“We had already seen it in Qatar, doing a double stint, the times remained constant and it must also be said that the warm-up phase out of the pits is quick because you can push already from the second and third lap. The balance of our car is fine, naturally we need to be able to find the right window to make the coverage work as best as possible, but I think that from that point of view we are in good shape.”
DR: “Since there is no pre-warm-up, at Spa and Le Mans it will also be a surprise for us to find out how it will go, but we have seen that the warm-up of the tire is incredibly easy, unlike the Hypercars which make much more effort. It's up to we drivers stay calm and don't stress it too much at the beginning, sending it into trouble at the start means bringing problems with you for the whole driving session”.
“And since they are not confidential, I think an excellent compromise has been found, also because in this way they can be sold to everyone. When you have confidential tires there is the advantage that the tire dealer dedicates a product more to you, which makes velpure in the choice of compounds. Even as it is today, the spectacle will not be lacking”.
#55 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Alessio Rovera
Photo by: Ferrari
GT3s are governed by Balance of Performance: how did you manage to make the 296 competitive after the difficulties of its debut?
DR: “The BoP is there for everyone and it's not easy. As far as we're concerned, we have a very fast, efficient and sophisticated car in corners, but with the smallest engine of the group. So having the same power as the others would mean going too much faster; we may have slowed down on the straight.”
“It's not an easy job because we always receive a lot of weight and, after the development tests, the BoP imposed on the car at the first race of Daytona 2023 gave us a real shock! The whole balance changed, it took us a while time to sort things out, but I think we're all set now. Let's say that the 296 scared everyone!”
“But the BoP must be there to balance the situations, if we think that cars like BMW have 100 HP more than us. Personally I really like the Success Ballast system and the ballasts differentiated based on the results. Unfortunately it is only present in the WEC “.
Alessio Rovera, François Hériau, Simon Mann, Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, Davide Rigon, Vista AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3
Photo by: AF Corse
In the WEC, a Bronze driver is required in the crew: how are your teammates getting on with the new GT3s?
DR: “Thomas has made exponential growth in recent years, he has an enormous quality: he is very intelligent and listens to advice a lot, carefully watching what we do and replicating it. Every time he gets in the car he learns, in general I also think that the GT3s have brought us closer the gentlemen to the PROs. We still make the difference in crucial moments, but now the gap in capacity has narrowed.”
“With the GTEs, we PROs had the opportunity to make more of a difference and these cars are missed by many; they were more similar to formula cars, while the GT3s are more 'dirty' and aggressive”.
AR: “François is fresh from his experiences with the prototypes and is still trying to understand what the limits of both the car and his are. When you race with the LMP2 you have much more speed in corners and the possibility of delaying braking, so you acquire different automatic mechanisms, the GT3 they weigh more and have less aerodynamic load, so he must understand how to make the most of it. The season is still very long and he will be ready too.”
“The difficulty in lapping and overtaking lies entirely in the intelligence of the people, I believe that François and Thomas are very intelligent and smart, the moment you know your limits and learn to decipher the speed with which the Hypercars reach you, everything it becomes easier.”
#55 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Alessio Rovera
Photo by: Alberto Manganaro
In 2023 the greatest achievement of the 296 GT3 was the victory obtained by the Frikadelli team at the 24h of the Nurburgring: would you like to race on the Nordschleife?
DR: “I've never been there, I've only tried it on the simulator and it's really a crazy crazy track… But we're already very lucky to run world class races like Daytona, Le Mans, Spa, Sebring and Petit Le Mans; the Nordschleife is missing from the list, but let's say that's okay!” (laughs, NDR).
“Jokes aside, I don't really like the difference in speed found with the many cars on the track, some are really exaggerated compared to the GT3s if we consider that cars like the Dacia or the Opel Manta race. At times it becomes dangerous, but If the opportunity arose and they asked us to go, there wouldn't be any problem.”
#WEC #RigonRovera #quicksilver #scary #Ferrari #296s
