The event on the Georgia track marked the end of both the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the Endurance Cup.
Albert Costa took the GTD lead in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 with 31 minutes to go and withstood constant pressure to cross the finish line with a lead of 0.718 seconds, taking the win alongside teammates Manny Franco and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.
Risi Competizione took the 296 GT3 to the second step of the podium in GTD Pro, while Triarsi Competizione, AF Corse and Inception Racing ranked in the top 10 in GTD.
Conquest Racing’s success in GTD developed right from the start, with Manny Franco putting in two solid stints at the start of the race, climbing up to second place and holding it for 22 laps, before handing over the wheel to Sbirrazzuoli who he is also brought to command.
#34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: Manny Franco, Albert Costa Balboa, Cedric Sbirrazzuoli
Photo credit: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
Albert Costa had the task of closing the race and took home the success, improving on the second place obtained at Watkins Glen and the third in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
The Spanish driver took the wheel with two hours and 40 minutes to go in seventh position, and then climbed up the rankings and took the lead during the final hour, maintaining it despite constant pressure from his rivals. Costa and Franco thus finished in fourth place in the final GTD classification.
“Our car was very fast,” Costa said. “We fought all year to be where we are now. We were third at Daytona and second at Watkins Glen. The guys did an amazing job. I knew I had pace, I took the lead and kept calm, everything went right and we managed to bring it home.”
#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
Risi Competizione was fighting for victory in GTD Pro for the entire duration of the event with the Ferrari 296 GT3 number 62 of official Ferrari drivers Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi, after starting from 13th place on the grid for a problem in qualifying.
The car was always the protagonist in the initial and central stages of the race, with Pier Guidi and Rigon finding themselves in the lead several times during their stints. The last two hours saw Serra in second place behind the eventual winner, with a reduced gap but never managing to pass. The gap under the checkered flag was 2.361 seconds.
Triarsi Competizione were in contention for the podium in the final hour, with owner/driver Onofrio Triarsi finishing fifth in GTD in the #023 Ferrari 296 GT3 alongside Charlie Scardina and works driver Alessio Rovera. The car had started from the back of the grid due to a problem in qualifying. Rovera set the fastest lap in the class in 1:29.683 and the team won the Bronze Cup.
#023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3: Onofrio Triarsi, Charles Scardina, Alessio Rovera
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
AF Corse finished seventh in GTD with Simon Mann, works driver Miguel Molina and François Heriau in the number 21 Ferrari 296 GT3. The team’s chances suffered a serious blow late in the race, when Mann was hit from behind by a GTP class competitor.
The Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 number 70, driven by Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff and Ollie Millroy finished eighth in GTD. Starting the season with another manufacturer, Inception Racing unofficially placed second, one point behind, in the GTD Endurance Cup.
In its second race with Ferrari, DragonSpeed switched to GTD Pro for the event and achieved a tenth place with Ferrari Ambassador Driver Toni Vilander, factory Thomas Neubauer and Vincent Abril in the number 82 296 GT3. The team suffered the loss of a door during the second hour, resulting in a long pit stop and accumulating a gap that could not be recovered.
The 296 GT3 no. 47 of Cetilar Racing, driven by Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Ferrari official Antonio Fuoco, had a promising start to the race but was slowed down by a penalty and a contact, which led it to lose numerous laps and finish in 16th place in class.
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