Ferrari at the Petit Le Mans

By Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright American Le Mans Series

With the F1 season all wrapped up, Karen and I decided to head to an American Le Mans race to see some real racing (you know, where people are passing each other) and also to catch up with some long time friends in the sport. What better a race to do this than the season finale at the Petit Le Mans?

Road Atlanta is still one of my favorite tracks. There are some technical sections to it with very nice straights to hit the loud pedal. Having most of the Le Mans grid go around for 10 hours or 1000 miles is always a spectacle. Unfortunately, Bentley has met their goal of winning Le Mans and told everyone it was a 3 year program. Guess what? They’re not coming back for the near turn. So surprise, surprise, an Audi won the top spot this weekend. I bet nobody saw that one coming.

Ferrari was well represented by several privateer teams that really have developed top-notch race programs and, in some cases, put factory efforts to shame. The red cars weren’t competing in the LMP 900 or 675 classes, but they were well represented in the GTS and GT classes.

The first two places in the GTS class were the Prodrive 550 Maranellos of Kox/Enge/Menu (5th overall) and Magnussen/Brabham/Davidson (6th overall).

Both cars, in the hands of privateers, beat the factory supported Corvettes in their own back yard. In fact, the only time a Vette lead was when the pace car was called out. The result means that the team has achieved victory at two of the greatest sports car endurance events in the world this year - Enge and Kox having won the GTS category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The teammate car of Dor/Lammers/Policand finished fourth in class and 11th overall. Thomas Enge summed up the event with "the car was so fast through the whole race and we were able to drive without any mistakes. The guys in the pits were brilliant, no mistakes at all, and we were fast all the time so I think we deserve this victory. Last year we were a bit unlucky and this year we have finished the unfinished business - just as we did at Le Mans."

Finishing 2 laps back of the 11th place 550 Maranello was the Risi Competizione entered 360 Modena of Kelleners/Lazarro in 13th overall and 3rd in GT class. While 3rd may not seem like much to some, it was a strong third behind to factory supported teams and to only be 5 laps down after 1000 miles is a lot to be said. The results were good enough for both drivers to tie for 5th in the championship and the team to finish second, behind Alex Job racing.

With these, and the rest of the season’s results, Ferrari finished second behind Porsche in the constructors championships. Several teams hinted that they would be stronger next year and are looking forward to going forward in the series. And with increased manufacturer’s presence, the racing is only going to be more exciting.