What is genius? “It is imagination, intuition, glance, decision and speed of execution”.
To run in IMSA it is now clear: on each wall you need a character from ‘My friends’ and the 60th edition of the 24h of Daytona confirms this.
The US series regulations for prototypes and GTs are built to perfection as all of America commands. Rule number 1: give priority to the show.
And so it was also in 2022 because in Florida what is an Endurance race has turned into a full day Sprint.
Always mentioning the fantastic ‘My friends’, here every now and then one wonders if one is dealing with a car competition regulated by precise rules, or by … ‘Supercazzole’.
Without wanting to disrespect anyone, but rather underlining the skill of managing the controversial situations that occur on the US tracks of the IMSA events, it seems really difficult to understand something about the values on the field when a final classification like that of Daytona sees cars divided by handfuls. minimum of seconds.
Beyond the fact that, as mentioned above, everything is done to make the issue spectacular, it is curious to note how every slightest smudging committed on the track by the competitors triggers the neutralization process with Full Course Yellow to make everyone proceed slowly and then enter the Safety Car.
We also add that the pit stop windows open for each category and that the restarts take place by detaching each Class, this inevitably determines the cancellation not only of the gaps, but also of every small strategic plan that an engineer may have thought of.
And here we need precisely that ‘Genius’ we were talking about at the beginning, clarity in understanding how to adapt to more or less uncomfortable situations that can make you win or lose what you have worked for and spent so much for in economic terms and psychophysical commitment.
Atmosphere
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
An ‘encore’ missed by a whisker
In a fight at the last braking point between the Acura of Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing for the overall success and between the DPi, the whole world of endurance has remained open-mouthed and wide-eyed for the last 10 ‘they have seen. the Porsche of KCMG and Pfaff Motorsport contend for the supremacy of the GTD PRO Class.
Long live the sport, of course: but raise your hand to the Ferrari driver who would not have hoped for the … patatrack between the two 911s to see Alessandro Pier Guidi’s 488 mock everyone and go to triumph.
In Maranello they have entrusted their drivers to the skilled hands and minds of Risi Competizione, which know a lot about endurance racing and IMSA. If after the week of the ‘Roar Before the 24’ there was some headache among the riders of the Prancing Horse on the subject of pure performance, it was evident that Pier Guidi and his companions had something in their pocket.
Starting from the rear, the # 62 GTD PRO Ferrari patiently reassembled until it reached the podium area about halfway through the race. From there she never moved, always trying to aim for the top with excellent times printed by the Piedmontese, James Calado, Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra in their driving shifts.
# 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R: Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr, # 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, # 2 KCMG Porsche 911 GT3R: Laurens Vanthoor, Patrick Pilet , Dennis Olsen, Alexandre Imperatori
Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images
Everyone has noticed the leap in quality, even the rivals on the track, with Raffaele Marciello who on his social networks immediately highlighted an improvement of almost 2 “in the time trials by the Reds in just 6 days.
Tactics aside, since everyone applies them (more or less well …), the Porsches have still had a little more on the Ferraris, which have had to think and hope for a stroke of luck in order to achieve success.
The reasoning led to the choice of Pier Guidi as a driver who had to take the car to the finish line, with the dream of repeating an overtaking as the pearl of the 24h of Spa 2021. The stroke of luck, on the other hand, came only halfway.
The braking at the ‘Bus Stop / Le Mans’ chicane between the Porsches of Mathieu Jaminet and Laurens Vanthoor saw the latter hooking up to the opposing car and turning in the grass, while the Frenchman masterfully controlled the skid by pulling straight ahead and going to seize the deserved success.
At that moment Pier Guidi was recovering by exploiting the tussle between the two, but was unable to close the gap sufficiently, also thanks to a necessary slowdown to pass some prototypes that came behind him in the very last laps.
For this reason the FIA WEC Champion only surpassed Vanthoor, having to be content with passing second under the checkered flag for just 2 “1. Which with that extra bit of luck could have been filled, quietly for a historic feat, but at this lap we can also put aside the sentence of the Drake Enzo Ferrari ‘The second is the first loser’ and leave it to Vanthoor & C., third parties.
# 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
the good, the bad and the ugly
Remaining in cinematic citations, let’s apply the characters from Sergio Leone’s film to the three Ferraris involved in concluding Maranell’s analysis of the Daytona 2022.
‘The Good’ it is obviously the # 62 of Risi Competizione, perfectly conducted by Pier Guidi / Calado / Rigon / Serra in a truly compelling comeback and also the result of the skill in managing the vehicle and the conditions by all involved, as mentioned above.
“It is nice to finish with a second place, even if in a strange situation at the end, after we managed to recover at the beginning and fight for the top with the best – says Serra – We did everything possible, I think we were at the pace. a bit behind the other cars, but we worked well “.
Calado adds: “Second place is a bit of a mix of emotions because the team worked great, even considering how we did last year. But the regret of the final remains, with a little luck we could have won, but that’s okay “.
# 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon
Photo by: Ferrari
‘The Ugly’ it turns out the 488 # 21 of AF Corse. This was engaged in the GTD Class and was practically imitating the little sister PRO, when she ran into an oversight as minimal as it was deleterious for the fortunes.
Climbed to second place and with the possibility of undermining the Porsche # 16 of Wright Motorsports which he then celebrated, the car entrusted to Nicklas Nielsen / Toni Vilander / Simon Mann / Luis Perez-Companc was ‘caught’ in overtaking with flags yellow exposed, just when we were near the restart from the last Safety Car 30 ‘from the end.
The inevitable Drive Through imposed on her made the quartet fall off the podium, which had also been very good at catching up on a lap of delay accumulated in the night, when an LMP3 gave Mann an absurd twist to return to the pits, as if the English did not exist on the track at the time.
“We could have won, or at least been on the podium, so it’s a great shame, but sometimes these things happen. I’m still proud of everything we’ve done and happy to try again next time,” comments Nielsen.
# 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3: Simon Mann, Luis Perez Companc, Nicklas Nielsen, Toni Vilander
Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images
‘The bad’ finally it’s up to the car of Cetilar Racing / AF Corse, the only one not being able to play for anything. A real shame because the debut of Roberto Lacorte’s team among the IMSA GT3s could have gone much better if it hadn’t been for a slight flaw committed by the Tuscan.
As mild as it was fatal, because the spin in turn 1 put the 488 # 47 in the trajectory of the Lexus # 12 following it, without Frankie Montecalvo being able to do anything to avoid contact.
While trying to discard Lacorte, the guy from Vasser Sullivan Racing hooked the rear left of the Ferrari and broke everything, so it took several hours of work for the men from Cetilar / AF to fix things.
At that point, Lacorte with Giorgio Sernagiotto, Antonio Fuoco and Alessio Rovera were by now too late to hope for something positive, which we can still find – not without regret – in the temponi printed by Rovera in the night, when with only 1 ° C of temperature was able to lap in 1’45 “1 and to be the fastest of Ferrari drivers.
“With Daytona I discovered the world of IMSA and learned about an exciting but complex circuit, where, due to the variability of the grip, it is necessary to drive with precision – explains the driver from Varese – I felt comfortable even in night shifts and the car is it was perfect, so much so that at a certain point I had the fastest lap in the dark. “
“Unfortunately, however, too early in the race things did not turn out as we would have liked. For a long time the team had to restore the car as a result of contacts that forced my teammates to return to the pits. A pity also for the many fans we found here in the States, but these are racing. “
“The team was not lucky and I took the wheel for the first time when the chances of a result were already compromised. I concentrated on completing my stints in the best possible way and helping to get the car to the finish line, like the rest of the team did, whom I thank. “
“For me it was an opportunity to gain experience and overall I can be proud of my first competitive commitment as an official Ferrari driver”.
# 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3: Roberto Lacorte, Alessio Rovera
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
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