Le Mans, 13 June

A Ferrari F30GTC, maybe the least expected one, made it to the podium in the LMGT2 category in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Hankook Farnbacher car numer 89, crewed by Simonsen-Farnbacher-Keen, finished second behind the Porsche of Lieb-Lietz-Henzler.

The cars from Maranello did not have much luck in this race. First, the two Risi Competizione cars dropped out, then the AF Corse one, driven by Fisichella-Alesi-Vilander went off the track, requiring a long pit stop which meant any chance of fighting for the win had gone.




Problems with the gearbox and engine during the night meant the two F430s run by the American team had to retire. There was great disappointment, especially for car number 82 which, having started from the back of the grid, staged a great climb up the order until it was duelling for the lead with the two Corvettes. The other Houston team car had to retire with engine failure.

The only AF Corse car in the race was lying second this morning, shortly after dawn whe, because of a brake problem, it went off the track at 280 km/h. Giancarlo Fisichella, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro’s third driver was at the wheel at the time. “It looked like being really bad, but luckily, there is an escape road at that point and I was able to limit the damage. Unfortunately, we had to spend a long time in the garage to repair the car and after that we could not make up the time lost. All the same, fourth place is a very good result. I am happy to have had this unique experience: it was a tiring race, without any sleep, but it was unforgettable. I want to thank the team for all their efforts and my team-mates in this adventure, Toni and Jean who were really fantastic.”