The popular Risi Competizione Ferrari team returns to Petit Le Mans with an impressive driver line-up again this year. The 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class winners for 2019, James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra, will pilot the No. 62 Ferrari GTLM at the 22nd annual Motul Petit Le Mans, October 10-12.
Having only competed in the inaugural International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series race this year, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with a second-place finish, the Risi Ferrari team is back with its Rosso Red Prancing Horse for the IMSA finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. The Houston, Texas-based team also combined with Frenchman Jean Guikas and the prestigious 50-plus year-old Club Ferrari France, for their 15th entry over 21 years in the 87th annual 24 Hours of Le Mans in June and finished in 12th place.
Returning to the iconic 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta road course with its 24th entry over 18 years, the Risi Competizione Ferrari team is seeking their fifth victory in the 10-hour classic.
The 22-year-old Risi Competizione team, with Team Principal Giuseppe Risi, has extensive history at Petit Le Mans, including winning the first ever Petit Le Mans race in 1998 with drivers Wayne Taylor, Eric van der Poele and Emmanuel Collard in the Doyle-Risi Ferrari 333.
Three additional victories were captured by the Risi Team at the popular IMSA season finale. In 2008 Jamie Melo and Mika Salo won from pole position in the Ferrari 430 GT2 and again in 2009 with Melo, Salo and Pierre Kaffer, also in the 430 GT2. In 2016 Giancarlo Fisichella, James Calado and Toni Vilander took the Risi Ferrari 488 GTLM to victory.
Calado won in his one and only effort at Petit, while Pier Guidi finished third with the Risi Ferrari Team in 2017 and also drove in 2016 with Scuderia Corse to an eighth-place finish.
Serra is new to Risi Competizione but no stranger to the Ferrari 488. Last year he earned the pole and victory with Scuderia Corse in the GTD class at Petit Le Mans. He has two other Petit entries with Scuderia Corse in 2015 and 2016 with Top 10 finishes in GTD.
The first practice session for the 2019 running of the Petit Le Mans begins Thursday morning, October 5 at 10:50 a.m. for one hour with Practice 2 running from 2:50-4:05 p.m. with the GTLM class participating from 3:05 p.m. for one hour. Thursday night Practice 3 is from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Friday morning Practice 4 will run at 11:15 a.m. for an hour and GTLM class qualifying is 4:20-4:35 p.m.
The 22nd annual Motul Petit Le Mans 10-hour race begins on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. after morning warm up from 9:30-9:50 a.m. Live timing and scoring is available for all on-track sessions at IMSA.com and the IMSA Smartphone app.
