Maranello, 12 July 2010

Thanks to the efforts of the crew of Gimmi Bruni – Jaime Melo, the Risi Competizione Ferrari took victory in the fourth round of the American Le Mans Series, held yesterday at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City. The Ferrari men had the upper hand over the BMW M3 of Bill Auberlen – Tommy Millner and the Corvette C6 of Jan Magnussen – Johnny O’Connel, maintaining the number one slot they secured in qualifying. The formidable pairing currently heads the Drivers’ classification with this second win of the season, following on from the one taken at the Sebring 12 Hours back in March. Less fortunate was the other F430 GT2 entered by the Houston based Ferrari squad, driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander who, having started third on the grid after a surprising performance in qualifying, finished sixth, after incurring a stop and go penalty, following a collision during an overtaking manoeuvre. All the same, speaking the day after this new adventure, Fisichella felt it had been a positive experience. “I am pleased, because finishing sixth despite the penalty is a great result. I had some problems with traffic, but when I had a clear track ahead of me, it was fantastic, as I had a good race pace. The team did a great job and I hope I can repeat this experience soon.”
The prestigious American series is back in action over the weekend of 25 July at the Lime Rock Park circuit, in Connecticut.