RISI COMPETIZIONE SETS UP NEW FERRARI 488 EVO FOR 2022 ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA DURING ROAR ACTIVITIES
The Risi Competizione Ferrari team took their brand-new Ferrari 488 EVO to the track during the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Roar Before the 24 activities this past weekend in preparation for the 60th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona.
IMSA started the 2022 season on the 3.56-mile (5.73 km), 12-turn Daytona International Speedway road course with a jam-packed field of 61 entries, including 13 in the newly formed GTD Pro class, which replaces GTLM.
The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo completed the Roar Before the 24 this past weekend with its impressive line-up of Ferrari factory GT drivers, James Calado of Worcester, UK, Alessandro Pier Guidi of Tortona, Italy, Davide Rigon of Thiene, Italy and Daniel Serra of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Rigon qualified fifth in class for the Sunday, January 23 Daytona qualifying race but had an unanticipated drive train issue that had them start the race from the back of the field. In the end, he and Serra finished 11th in GTD Pro and thus will start the IMSA season opener Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance race this Saturday, January 29 from deep in the GT field, along with their two other co-pilots, Calado, and Pier Guidi.
Risi Competizione will be making the team’s 20th entry in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with one of those a class victory in 2002. The Risi team will once again be the only Ferrari at The World Center of Racing’s twice-around-the-clock endurance race in its class.
The quad of Ferrari Competizioni GT factory drivers combines for a total of 29 Rolex 24 At Daytona starts. Calado will be starting his seventh Rolex 24 race, six of those with Risi and four finishes in the Top 5. Pier Guidi will be making his ninth Daytona 24-hour appearance, four previous with Risi, and the only current Risi driver with a GTD class victory (2014). Rigon will also be making his ninth Rolex appearance and seventh times with the Risi team. Serra will be making his eighth appearance and second with Risi.
The Risi Competizione team has been on the Daytona 24-hour podium on five occasions, most recently in 2019 with a second-place finish. Their class victory came in 2002. The other second-place finishes were in 1999 and 2003 and a third-place class finish in 2017.
Rick Mayer, Risi Competizione Race Engineer:
“All the drivers were happy with the car during the Roar sessions. We went through a run program just to make sure everyone had laps and that ergonomics are correct. We made a few set-up changes. I think we’re in a good window for the event start and we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll do well this year.
“We’re glad to have these four drivers back – Ale, James, Davide and Daniel are all pros and know how to drive fast and how to keep a car for an endurance race.”
Davide Rigon, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo:
“Our practice sessions this weekend went well. And Saturday I did the qualifying in half wet and half dry conditions. We finished P5 and were quite happy. Sunday morning we had some drive train issues so we fixed it and didn’t go out for the warm-up and started the qualifying race from the last position. Starting from the back was difficult to overtake with the large field. We were missing some speed on the straight-line and we need to work a little more on the balance of the car. The pit stop and driver change went very well, and we gained another position.
“So now the team will continue to prepare for the long race. I’m glad to have the driver line-up we have again and always happy to be back racing with the Risi Competizione team. Our goal, as always, is to fight for the victory.”
Daniel Serra, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo:
"I think we have enough data to study and see where we can improve for the race. I think the Roar was a few good days of testing and each of the drivers could produce a few good laps. It was also important that we worked together with the Risi team since it was a whole year since we all worked together. I think it was a productive a few days here and now it’s time to see where we can improve for the race next week.”
James Calado, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo:
“The Roar is not really relevant for the 24-hour race but it’s good. We were at the back of the grid due to some issues before the start of the qualifying race, but our main goal was to get some laps, make sure the car was okay and to improve the reliability because it’s a brand-new car. We think we’re fine for the race and we’ll see next week. We don’t know what the others are doing, as usual. Historically we’ve never really performed as well in Daytona but we’re all staying positive, and we’ll see where we are at the end of 24 hours next Sunday.”
Alessandro Pier Guidi, driver No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo:
“It was good to get some laps in and work on the set-up of the car with the team. In terms of balance and the work we did at the Roar was quite positive. We are happy with the car, even if we are not the strongest in terms of performance with the current BoP (balance of performance) and we are trying to manage some of the issues we had. It’s a new car so that was important in order to be ready for the race next weekend.
Davide and Daniel did the Roar qualifying race. There is more traffic this year with 61 cars and a larger class than in past year with the new GTD Pro class and with many manufacturers. It should be an exciting race for the fans. For the drivers passing will be more difficult for sure.”
Three practice sessions take place Thursday, January 27, 11:05 a.m.-12:35 p.m. (all classes), 1:00-2:15 p.m. (GTD Pro and DPi classes) and night practice from 7:15-9:00 p.m. (all classes). Friday will feature a morning practice session from 11:20 a.m. for one hour (all classes). The race starts at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 29 and runs for 24 hours.
Rolex 24 At Daytona U.S. Broadcast Schedule:
Saturday, January 29, 2022:
NBC 1:30pm-2:30pm ET
Peacock 2:30pm-4:00pm ET
USA 4:00pm-7:00pm ET
Peacock 7:00pm-10:00pm ET
USA 10:00pm – 3:00am ET
Sunday, January 30, 2022:
Peacock 3:00am-6:00am ET
USA 6:00am-12:00pm ET
NBC 12:00-2:00pm ET
Flag-to-Flag Coverage: Live on Peacock
IMSA Radio will have live coverage throughout the weekend on imsaradio.com RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio. See imsa.com for live timing and scoring.
