Ferrari returns home from the 3h of Paul Ricard celebrating a victory and a podium in the Bronze Cup Class in what was the first stage of the Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe.
The Le Castellet track was not particularly friendly to the 296 GT3s, especially as regards the PRO category and the great suffering they suffered on the two long straights, where the Maranello cars often saw their rivals pass by at speed, while in the mixed sections (sectors 1 and 3) the competitiveness was very different, but there was little space to pass through traffic.
The fact is that the blue car #8 of Kessel Racing was the author of a great comeback from the 14th place in which it found itself after the start, being patient to reach the Top10 during the second hour and managing to climb the rankings with a excellent strategy which after the last round of stops brought David Fumanelli, Niccolò Schirò and Nicolò Rosi ahead of everyone, with the trio also protagonist of some nice overtaking on the track.
#8 Kessel Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Nicolò Rosi, Niccolò Schiro, David Fumanelli
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
“The start was very eventful, but definitely surprising. There were a lot of laps and cars around me, so I just concentrated on feeling the gaps and the opportunities I had,” says Rosi.
“Although there were many Safety Car phases, each time felt like a fresh start to the race. I enjoyed my first weekend with Kessel Racing and to end the weekend with a win is truly special and an amazing feeling.”
“I thank my teammates who have followed me in races for some years and have allowed me to improve as a driver. Winning with the 296 GT3 has a special flavor for me, considering that my journey with Ferrari began with the Club Challenge and then developed into the single-make Ferrari Challenge.”
“It was a journey that allowed me to grow as a rider gradually, always being able to benefit from extraordinary support, also from a technical point of view.”
#8 Kessel Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Nicolò Rosi, Niccolò Schiro, David Fumanelli
Photo credit: Kessel Racing
Schirò, the great protagonist of the central phase, adds: “After Nicolò's good start, I tried to do my best in the second stint and managed to take the lead of the race. All of this is obviously not the result of chance, but of the incredible work done by the team since the first sessions on Friday. This is a collective victory.”
“I don't want to say it was an unexpected result, because I expected our car to be fast, as the team set it up very quickly and very well.”
“However, I didn't expect to get such a good result, especially after the difficulties of qualifying. I thank the team and my teammates, given that Nico recovered eight positions in the first stint. In mine I gave everything I had and David helped me replaced to finish the job by taking the car to the checkered flag”.
Fumanelli admits: “It was a crazy, unforgettable and in some ways unexpected day with this epilogue, considering that we started from 15th position on the grid. Even though we knew we had good potential in qualifying, with some difficulty we started from the back and certainly not I expected to finish the race on the top step of the podium after three hours.”
“The result is the result of the great work done by the whole team and my teammates, especially Niccolò who overtook 16 cars halfway through the stint and handed me the car in the lead, with the aim of managing the position in track conditions that were becoming very bad. I want to thank everyone, for us to win on our debut in such a competitive championship with the Ferrari 296 GT3 is an incredible joy; we couldn't have asked for more.”
#8 Kessel Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Nicolò Rosi, Niccolò Schiro, David Fumanelli, #52 AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3: Andrea Bertolini, Jef Machiels, Louis Machiels, #11 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO: Job Van Uitert, John De Wilde, Kobe Pauwels
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
The #52 AF Corse Ferrari of father and son, Louis and Jef Machiels, assisted by the evergreen Andrea Bertolini, finished behind the Kessel trio with a beautiful climb.
For them too, the climb from the back took place with great patience and the veteran from Sassuolo, once he reached the second place, became the protagonist of a strenuous defense against the attacks of the Aston Martin of Comtoyou Racing.
“How to describe this 3h of Paul Ricard? As always in the GTWC we see close racing and this year the Bronze category is really competitive. We had fun and the final result fills us with pride”, explains Bertolini.
“The team didn't make any mistakes and had an excellent strategy, gaining positions at the pit stops. I'm happy for this podium and I congratulate Louis and Jef.”
Louis Machiels adds: “We leave Paul Ricard with a smile at the end of a really hard-fought 3 hours in our class. We started from ninth position on the grid so the first part of the race was not easy, but we did a great job as a team, without making any mistakes, thus obtaining a great result which allowed us to get on the podium here in Le Castellet for the second consecutive year.”
Jef Machiels comments: “I am very happy with this race, also considering the fact that after qualifying perhaps we didn't think we could compete for a podium position. We worked for a long time looking for useful solutions to optimize the car and we had a great test.”
“After my father's excellent stint, when I got behind the wheel I tried to do my best, finding myself at the center of a very close competition. I concentrated lap after lap on doing my best and the team's result, ultimately at the end, it was exceptional. As always Andrea completed the job, recovering some positions in the last stage.”
#52 AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3: Andrea Bertolini, Jef Machiels, Louis Machiels
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Teeth gritted for the official Reds
As we said at the beginning, the two Ferraris of AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors tried to do everything possible to bring home a good result, but the official 296 GT3s had to face rivals who were at times unstoppable.
Alessio Rovera with the #51 started with a knife between his teeth, climbing from 11th to 5th place, but the ease with which the BMWs overtook the tough Varese driver on the straight, who despite everything remained glued to those who led him, was disarming. he preceded looking for the gap to pass.
Davide Rigon replaced him and did everything he could to at least regain the Top5, while Alessandro Pier Guidi suffered a crescendo from his rivals at the end, finishing in ninth place under the checkered flag.
“At the start of Le Castellet I managed to overtake five times and closed the first lap in sixth position, starting a long phase in which I gave my all within a very competitive leading group as is the norm in the GTWC,” he says Oak.
“I did my best to fully exploit the potential of our 296 GT3 on a track where we suffered most in terms of top speed on the long straights.”
“However, we start the championship with a solid Top10 and the first points in the standings, we can improve and we will try to do so already in the prestige of the 24h of Spa”.
#51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors, Ferrari 296 GT3: Alessio Rovera, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Rigon is bitter: “We knew since Saturday that this 3h would be a difficult race, where we didn't have many chances to fight for the top positions, and it proved to be so.”
Pier Guidi concludes: “The weekend wasn't easy for us, right from the tests, and unfortunately the race also didn't end as we would have liked. We therefore look to the future and to the next event, the 24h of Spa, a legendary race which celebrates its centenary this year”.
Their teammates in the #71, Thomas Neubauer/Vincent Abril/David Vidales, also tried to climb from 27th position in qualifying, but at a certain point the traffic did not allow further gains in position, relegating the trio out of the zone points.
#71 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors, Ferrari 296 GT3: Vincent Abril, David Vidales, Thomas Neubauer
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
“I'm not very happy with the final result, obviously, nor with my stint: there are still aspects of the car that I need to better understand and I will work in this direction in view of the next race. Let's turn the page and look to the future,” Neubauer said.
“At the end of June we will go to Spa for the 24h, the most awaited race of the whole season: I can't wait to compete in Belgium and I am sure that the team will do everything possible to make us ready for that event.”
Abril ends like this: “I drove in the first stint giving my all and trying to avoid any contact, considering that I started from a rear position after qualifying which hadn't gone well for us.”
“I returned to racing with AF Corse and with Ferrari, a fact I'm really happy about, and in this spirit I faced the first race of a season in the GTWC which I expect will be very close.”
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