Ferrari spent a couple of days in Monza to carry on development work on the 499P which will make its debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship in about twenty days.
The Maranello Hypercar was driven by the pilots who will have it in their hands in the World Championship starting from the Sebring stage, scheduled for March 17 and preceded by the Prologue on the Sunday before which allows the competitors in the series to prepare collectively.
The protagonists of crews #50 – formed by Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen – and #51 – with Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi – have also worked on refining the blend between them, while the trials will continue even in these three weeks that separate them from their debut in the championship, as always in the name of the technical management of AF Corse.
“Testing our Hypercar on a historic track like Monza, less than a month after its debut, is a precious opportunity to continue fine-tuning the car,” commented Molina.
“We are satisfied with the work done, even if each test highlights those details that still need to be understood and resolved in view of the official competitions”.
“The Italian track is a good test bench both in terms of performance, considering the high speeds that can be reached, and in terms of overall balance, being a track that includes two variants that require heavy braking”.
Ferrari 499P LMH
Photo by: Ferrari
At the same time as the 499P, development tests also began for the brand new 296 Challenge, i.e. the car that will be used in the Prancing Horse one-make championship from next year to replace the 488.
Already in the presentation phase of the Ferrari World Finals last year, the head of GT Sports Activities, Antonello Coletta, had anticipated that the works to put the successor model of the ‘Rossa’ on the track were already underway.
“At the 24h of Spa-Francorchamps we presented the 296 GT3 and at the Finali Mondiali in Imola for the first time we will take it into action in front of the Italian fans and on the track, since it will be on display in the paddock and for the Sunday exhibition”, he had said Coletta to Motorsport.com’s question.
“The Challenge model of this car is not yet planned for 2023, so we will continue with the one we currently have, but the 296 will certainly also arrive in the future because it is the natural heir to the 488”.
The 296 in the white-grey-black camouflage livery, the same used for the 499P before the official presentation to be clear, whizzed along the straights of Monza and new information is now awaited from Ferrari regarding its characteristics and work programmes.
From the first images circulated on the web you can already see some features that distinguish it from the ‘little sister’ GT3 which debuted at Daytona. The car is quite sophisticated and refined in detail compared to the previous model, i.e. the 488 which still fills the grid of the Maranello series.
The front splitter has two central support rods and a pair of lateral aerodynamic appendages, with the lower one forming a real mini-wing, while the ‘mouth’ of the central air intake is narrower, in order to leave space to the side ones for the brakes.
Six-slot air intake also appears much larger above the front bonnet, with wing mirrors displaying a differently shaped holder compared to the GT3.
In the lower part of the side you can see a different ‘sidewalk’ where there is another air intake; the rear shape of the wheel arch also changes, equipped with slits connected to a side bulkhead, while the diffuser has a different design and the spoiler is much wider with larger supports.
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