No. 63 was the top finishing Ferrari at the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona, the most anticipated sports car race in North American motorsports history. At the debut of Ferrari in the GT Series at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Scuderia Corsa came home fifth in its class in the new F458 Italia Grand-Am specification GT3 challenger. The GT class victory went to the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche followed by the No. 67 TRG while third place went to the No. 59 Porsche.

Daytona-winning, Olivier Beretta of Monaco, as well as two more multiple Championship-winning drivers, Andrea Bertolini and Toni Vilander did a fantastic job representing Risi Competizione this week end.

With 45 competitors in the GT category, and a total grid of 59 cars, the race promised much and delivered tenfold. No 63 Ferrari F458 Italia Grand-Am started from 11th place on GT grid on Saturday, ran free of any mechanical issues and was only slightly delayed in the pits at the very beginning of the event due to a malfunctioning fueling hose. All three drivers drove superbly, maintaining a steady and quick-lapping pace which even put them at the top of the GT time sheets at one point. The 31 pit stops meant there was some see-sawing of position throughout the race, but the car was never out of the top six GTs once dawn broke. There was tight racing and flag-to-flag competition throughout, and the No. 63 challenged for a podium finish in the final hours of the race.

Giacomo Mattioli, Ferrari Beverly Hills/Silicon Valley Scuderia Corsa President commented “I am very proud of our debut in the Grand Am series. Rolex 24h at Daytona is a legendary race and our Ferrari 458 #63 performed well. I would like to thank Ferrari North America and Risi Competizione for their support. We will be back!”

“We lost a bit of time here and there during the race, and at the end the Porsches were quicker in a straight line and I was in a tow”, Ferrari’s most recently-signed driver, and overall winner at Daytona in 2000, Olivier Beretta, reflected after the race. “I was trying to push hard, but avoid any mistakes, and we ended up fifth. Everyone has seen the Ferrari is fast but we have to remember the Porsches have been racing here for many, many years and we just arrived a few months ago.”

Four time FIA GT1 World Champion and Scuderia Ferrari F1 development driver, Andrea Bertolini commented: “I think we all did a good job and we were really consistent and pushed hard in the dark to make up some time and challenge at a high level in the class. If you consider we’re here for the first time, I think everyone at Ferrari should be proud of this result. At the end, after 24 hours we were on the same lap as some very experienced Porsche teams and highly developed cars so I think this will be one of the strongest cars in the Grand-Am series in the future”.

Double FIA GT2 Champion and Risi Competizione regular in North American racing, Toni Vilander: “I must say that it was a hard race! It was our first time here, we learnt a lot and, if and when we come back, we will be quick when it matters.”

Mindful of its promising and very satisfying debut, Scuderia Corsa with Ferrari Beverly Hills/Silicon Valley will await you to the next North America’s premier twice-round-the-clock event, the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January 2013!

For more information about Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 GT3 Endurance Races Programs, please contact Richard Schoenberg at rds@scuderiacorsa.com or 818.782.4691

Houston, Texas, 4 January 2012. With its two-car Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am entry to the Rolex 24 at Daytona recently confirmed, Risi Competizione with American Canadian Racing is pleased to announce its all-star roster of driving talent.

The Daytona effort, backed by long-time Risi Competizione sponsor Motorola as well as QT Technologies, and supported by a consortium of Ferrari dealers including Ferrari of Ontario, Ferrari of Beverly Hills, Ferrari of Silicon Valley, Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale, Boardwalk Ferrari, Ferrari of Vancouver, and Ferrari of Houston, will present a very highly experienced driving team to contest the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The line up brings together drivers who have been successful in Formula One, Indycar and the international GT series in North America and Europe and also includes two former Daytona winners. Representing Ferrari in the 50th anniversary running of the twice-round-the-clock endurance classic to be held between January 26 and January 29 will be:

• Gianmaria Bruni (IT)
• Giancarlo Fisichella (IT)
• Toni Vilander (FI)
• Raphael Matos (BR)
• Andrea Bertolini (IT)
• Olivier Beretta (MC)

While several names are well known as Risi regulars, including Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander, there are some highly talented and experienced additions to the line up for Florida’s 24 hour race.

Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella, who have raced with Risi Competizione previously, had a standout year in 2011 with multiple titles to their names by the time the season ended. Competing in both the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) and the Le Mans Series (LMS), the Italian duo won three of the seven rounds of the ILMC to take for Ferrari the GTE Pro Team and Manufacturer titles, and only narrowly missed out on a coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in June. In the European based Le Mans Series, they won the GTE-Pro Drivers and Team championships. They also drove the winning car in the 2011 Petit Le Mans.

Risi regular, Toni Vilander, a multiple GT race winner for Ferrari in FIA and also in previous ALMS Seasons for Risi, secured in 2011 the Ferrari 458 Italia’s first North American ALMS victory at Road America. Vilander also picked up a win at Imola in Italy in the ILMC series in a 458 Italia. Vilander ran the entire 2011 season for Risi Competizione in ALMS.

Former Indy Lites Champion, Raphael Matos, joined the Risi Competizione team towards the end of 2011 and was one of the first test drivers at Daytona International Speedway for the Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am. The Miami, Florida-based Brazilian won the GT category of the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours and so brings valuable Grand-Am racing experience to the group.

Long time Ferrari GT test and development driver for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team, Andrea Bertolini brings to the team an extremely impressive resumé including four FIA GT championships. Bertolini has also previously raced for Risi Competizione in a Maserati MC12.

Olivier Beretta is a five-time ALMS GTS/GT1 champion and has six class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two FIA GT Championship titles and an overall victory in the 2000 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona to his name. The Monaco resident joins Ferrari after eight seasons with GM’s Corvette Racing team and so is very familiar with US racing.

All six drivers will be present at the Roar before the Rolex 24 at Daytona from 6-8th January.

Credits: Risi Competizione
Picture copyright of: Risi Competizione/Regis Lefebure

Houston, Texas, 24 December 2011. North America’s most experienced and successful endurance racing team, Risi Competizione, is returning to the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time since 2004 with a new association, a new car and what promises to be one of the strongest GT Ferrari driver line ups ever assembled.

Risi will join forces with, and be supported by, two of the key members of the Ferrari North America dealer network and Ferrari Challenge racing series, Ferrari of Beverly Hills/Silicon Valley and Ferrari of Ontario. Risi Competizione with American Canadian Racing will enter two Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am cars in next month’s twice-round-the-clock classic. The 50th anniversary of the 24-hour race will be run between January 26 and January 29, 2012.

Ferrari, the iconic Italian auto company, together with its GT development and manufacturing partner, Michelotto, has designed and developed its latest GT challenger, the Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am, specially for the North American Market.

Based on Ferrari’s European GT3 racer, the new car turned its very first laps at the famous Daytona International Speedway in July of this year under the watchful and experienced eyes of both the manufacturer and its pre-eminent North American racing team, Risi Competizione.

With more production components than the GTE-specification 458 Italia GTC, including different suspension, brakes, gearbox and tires, there will be much for the extremely experienced and able Ferrari squad of drivers to familiarise themselves with. Powered by a higher-output V8 engine than its European GT3 cousin, with over 500 brake horsepower available, the modified braking system helps to balance the regulated absence of ABS and traction control.

The driver line up will boast a five star roster of talent and will be fully confirmed very soon, together with driver pairings for the No. 62 and No.63 entries. Also to be confirmed in due course will be Risi’s further racing plans for 2012.

Credits: Risi Competizione
Picture copyright of: Risi Competizione/Regis Lefebure