The race was heavily affected by rain during the night, which generated a lot of aquaplaning, reducing visibility, due to the Safety Car being on the track for a long time, working for a total time of just under five hours.
The initial stages of the most anticipated endurance race of the season saw the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of JMW Motorsport number 66 take the lead with Larry Ten Voorde, who did well to take advantage of the excellent qualifying of his teammates Salih Yoluc and Giacomo Petrobelli, with the latter in Hyperpole grabbed third place on the starting grid.
The first part of the race was also positive for the Vista AF Corse car number 55: the crew made up of François Heriau, Simon Mann and Ferrari official Alessio Rovera pushed up to fourth position, before losing ground due to a puncture before midnight, when the rain was now heavy and the French driver was behind the wheel, with the air temperature dropping to 13.9°C and the asphalt temperature to 16.3°C.
Excellent start also for the official driver of the Prancing Horse, Daniel Serra, who, driving the 296 LMGT3 number 86 prepared by GR Racing, managed to climb up to ninth place in the very first stages, having started from the back of the grid due to the problem that occurred in qualification which did not allow him and his teammates to set chronometric references. However, the crew led by Serra had to stop less than half an hour from the end.
#86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Michael Wainwright, Daniel Serra, Riccardo Pera
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Little luck also for the 296 LMGT3 number 54 driven by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and the official Ferrari driver Davide Rigon, forced to retire during the third hour due to the damage suffered by the Swiss driver in the impact with the barriers in the first sector.
“Unfortunately, racing is like this, sometimes it goes well, sometimes not so much! We were super ready for this race and we hoped to do well by trying to take advantage of all the variables such as, for example, the rain or the night phase”, Rigon regrets.
“Thomas lost the car in the first sector, the used tires certainly didn’t help, but the most important thing is that he is well. From now on we’re thinking about Brazil, we have to put this stage on the back burner even if with a little earlier than we wanted.”
The rain was the real protagonist of the night, the long intervention of the Safety Car left no room for activity and big surprises, with the number 66 of JMW Motorsport out of the running due to a technical problem around the ninth hour.
The morning dawn, in addition to bringing the first rays of sunshine, gave way to flashes of clear sky: the Safety Car in fact left the track at around 8:00 and gradually all the crews returned to dry tyres, before rain appeared again during the 22nd hour with the air at 16.7°C and the asphalt at 17.5°C.
#155 Spirit: Race Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Johnny Laursen, Conrad Laursen, Jordan Taylor
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
No upheavals in the final stages of the race: on a wet track the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 number 55 finished in sixth place with Alessio Rovera at the wheel. Eighth and twelfth place respectively for the 296 LMGT3s number 155 of Spirit of Race (Taylor at the wheel) and number 86 of GR Racing.
“This 24 Hours of Le Mans was better than the premises with which it started after the Hyperpole. We recovered many positions and in the final laps we tried to attack the Top 5”, explains Rovera.
“Even in the wet, in fact, we were fast and the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 performed well. Reliability was a strong point of the car, a shame about the puncture which slowed us down on Saturday evening, causing us to lose a lap.”
“We recovered again, but it’s clear that being forced to chase each time complicated the job. The result obtained still allows us to score important points for the season, now new international commitments await us and we will face them with maximum motivation as Always”.
Serra adds: “Having closed the race a few minutes from the end due to a problem leaves a bad taste in the mouth, but I am really happy with the car, the team and the performance shown in this very important WEC event. We had a “Excellent start and we were competitive in every phase of the race.”
“The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 gave me a really good feeling and I’m satisfied with the balance we found here at Le Mans. So now we look ahead, despite the result I’m optimistic.”
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