The Risi Competizione Ferrari Team experienced its fair share of drama in the first six hours of the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway today.

A pit stop fire, tire puncture, driver's door that would not close and rain kept the Risi crew and drivers on their toes. Both the GTLM and GTD cars cycled through their drivers with mostly single stints after the race start at 2:40 p.m. EST.

The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM, with qualifying driver Toni Vilander at the wheel, had a good start and elevated from seventh to fifth on the first lap. He settled in, although noted the brakes and tires were not what he desired for his starting stint. He turned the car over to David Rigon on Lap 28, approximately 50 minutes into the race. He, too, noted that he struggled a bit on track before he handed off the driving duties while under caution to James Calado on Lap 57 in second place in class.

For him first there was an issue putting the net in place during the driver change. When a caution flag was flown around 5:15 p.m. the No. 62 Ferrari pitted for fuel and water bottle replacement on Lap 86 and unfortunately, the left side driver's door would not shut properly. Calado attempted repeatedly to shut it on track while under caution but had to pit again for a door replacement when his efforts were thwarted but an uncooperating door latch. Calado then suffered a tire puncture about 22 laps later and pitted for tires, fuel and driver change to Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Alessandro drove a clean double stint and just as his shift was nearing an end the rain started at the five-hour mark at 7:40 p.m. He pitted five minutes later, on Lap 167 to give the reins to Vilander, who had to deal with both heavy and light rain and the back-and-forth discussion about whether to pit for rain tires or not with Race Engineer Rick Mayer. He managed to stay out on slicks throughout his stint despite the slippery track.

The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTD started on the front row in the second position by qualifying driver Miguel Molina, who shot into the lead on the first lap and kept it there his entire stint. He then turned over the driving duties to Santiago Creel on Lap 28 in the lead. Creel kept clean in his drive but lost positions before pitting as scheduled to give the car to Ricardo Perez on Lap 60. As the pit stop was ending and the fueling hose was removed, fire ensued and fire extinguishers were used in the pit to put out the fire. Everyone was fine, and Ricardo was able to drive the Ferrari to the garage where it was thoroughly checked and cleaned before being cleared to return to the track. The questionable fueling hose was replaced and the No. 82 GTD car was back on track attempting to make up the laps it lost.

QUOTES:
Miguel Molina, driver No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTD:
After first stint as starting driver in car -
"Actually, it was quite a smooth starting stint. I tried to get my rhythm and the car was feeling okay. At the end of the stint we struggled a little bit, but it's still a long way to go and it's all good. I gave the car back at the pit stop in position one, so it was all okay."

Toni Vilander, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM:
After first stint as starting driver in car -
"The start of the race was clean, and we got through the first laps of the race okay. The brakes and tires are not where they should be for me to gain more speed, but hopefully as the hours go by they will improve and we'll work our way up to compete for better position."

Davide Rigon, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM:
After first stint as second driver in car -
"It was not easy with the car. It was not gripping. I don't know if the track is changing from the practice and I especially struggled with the slower GTD cars. I was trying to overtake very safely, but maybe for the next run I will try to be a bit more aggressive because I think I lost a little bit too much time when I go through traffic. I think we could have the speed, but now it is not easy to drive the car. I think later it will be better."

Santiago Creel, driver No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTD:
After first stint as second driver in car -
"My stint was the second stint. It was a very difficult one because I had a lot of fuel and used tires so that made it difficult to drive. At the end we entered the pits fine, but there was a fire and they had to go to the garage to check what caused the fire. Looks like it might have been a problem with the fuel nozzle. T cost us some time but we got back out."

James Calado, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM:
After first stint as third driver in car -
"Obviously there is quite a bit of action. The first thing was the net wasn't put in properly, then the door broke in the next one and then we had a tire puncture all in under two hours. It's not ideal, but there's still a long way to go. It was my first wave-by so I enjoyed going past everyone."

Alessandro Pier Guidi, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM:
After first stint as third driver in car -
"It's quite a difficult race. It's rainy and we just pitted. The pace is good, the car is good. There is incredible traffic out there. There are too many cars and the problem is we have almost the same speed as the GTD (class cars). That's the problem. I think we should be quicker to split more of the class. If not, it's like fighting between us and the GTD, especially in the straight. We should be quicker than GTD."

Tune-In Information:
Saturday, January 27 on FS2 from 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. EST
Saturday into Sunday, January 28 on FS1 from 11:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sunday, January 28 on FS1 from 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Sunday, January 28 on FS1 from 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

The entire race is also streamed live on FSGO with FS1 authentication. Fans can also listen in with audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio and follow the race live with in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing and scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA App.