RISI COMPETIZIONE LEADS AT HALF DISTANCE OF 24 HOURS OF LE MANS12 hours of reliable running for the Ferrari 488

At the halfway mark in the 84th Le Mans 24 Hours, and after completing 165 laps, the number 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro was still leading its class by just under 50 seconds with Matteo Malucelli (ITA) at the wheel of the car. Thankfully, after the rain at the start, the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe had remained dry, and the car had run with no technical problems at all.

Malucelli was piloting the Ferrari as the race entered its second quarter at 21.00 on Saturday. When he pitted after a double stint, just before 22.00 and at the end of lap 94, he was third in class. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) went out in the car for the second time after it had been refueled and new slick Michelin tires fitted. He was third behind the hard charging Fords before pitting for fuel only after 108 laps, and when he was back on track he had advanced to second, four seconds behind a Ford, thanks to another rapid pit stop by the Risi Competizione crew.

The second safety car period of the race started at 23.30, for barrier repairs and to clean the track, and ended after about 20 minutes. Fisichella pitted during this period for a driver change to Toni Villander (FIN) and for new tires and fuel at the end of lap 121. The car was in second class position when it came in and was in the same position when it went out. The next stop, after lap 136, was another trouble-free one with Vilander pitting from second place for fuel only. Shortly after that, at a few minutes before 01.00, the safety car returned to the circuit for the third time for oil on the Porsche Curves. At this point Vilander moved into the lead, as the safety car was out for nearly 30 minutes. After a double stint and just after 02.00 he pitted and handed the Prancing Horse over to Malucelli, in addition to fuel and tires change, at the end of lap 153. At that time the Ferrari was nearly 50 seconds ahead of the second placed Ford.

Giancarlo Fisichella, driver, No. 82 Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro:"That was another good stint. The car is better now; there is more grip, as the track is better, and the car balance is good. It is tough with Ford, as they are quite quick in a straight line. But there is still a long way to go and so far everything is going well. Let's just keep the car on the ground and the guys are doing a very good job, I am happy about that."

Toni Vilander, driver, No. 82 Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro:"It was quite a good stint. I just tried to keep a consistent pace. At night time there are so many variables, so many sudden situations that can happen - one car lost the engine and lost its oil, so it was difficult. At the restart they put a lot of filler on the track, so it was like it was snowing. Apart from that, the car is running pretty well. We cannot back off, we cannot try too much, so we have to try and find a nice rhythm. It is still a long way to go, so we will try to keep the rotation going, keep the car running and see what happens. I cannot wait for the sun to come up."

Matteo Malucelli, driver, No. 82 Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro:

"I had a good stint there and the car is on the pace. We are fighting with the Fords that are really fast on the straights, but we can compete in the corners. However, the race is still very long, so we will keep the pace and see what happens. The guys did an amazing job in the pits when I was able to get out in front of the Ford at my first stop after coming in behind them."

This is the Risi Competizione team's seventh time competing at Le Mans. The first visit for the Houston, Texas (USA) based team was in 1998, its last in 2010 and between those years it won three times.