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Sebring, 20 March 2022

Two Ferraris on the podium to break a fast dating back to 2016. A fantastic first and third place for the 488 GT3 Evo 2020s of Cetilar Racing and AF Corse at the end of the 12 Hours of Sebring is summed up in the words of the protagonists after the race.

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In the class with the highest number of teams at the start, the team formed by Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Antonio Fuoco, despite a race full of episodes that risked compromising the final outcome, took first place under the chequered flag. The star of the race was Antonio Fuoco who kept an extraordinary pace in each stint, as underlined by the fastest lap of the race in the entire GT class with a 2’01?213. This was the first win in the IMSA series for Cetilar Racing who, after competing in the FIA WEC last season, preferred to take part in the US championship this year. Third position for the AF Corse 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with Simon Mann, Luis Perez Companc and Toni Vilander at the wheel. The trio was consistently competitive throughout the race and finished just over ten seconds behind the runner-up.

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After taking pole position with Daniel Serra, Risi Competizione’s 488 GT3 Evo 2020 ended the 12 Hours of Sebring in ninth place, five laps behind the race-winning Corvette. The Brazilian driver and teammates Davide Rigon and Eddie Cheever III were forced to pit for nine laps due to a power steering problem. After getting back on track, the Risi Competizione crew ran an attacking race and, thanks to some phases of Full Course Yellow, reduced the gap to the leaders by four laps. Without this technical problem, the team of Giuseppe Risi had given the impression of having the right chances to fight for victory.

History is built
Ferrari has won 12 overall at the 12 Hours of Sebring and, with today’s win, 38 in class at the historic Florida track. Not since 2016, the year the 488 GT3 made its debut, has a Ferrari taken a Sebring win in the IMSA Championship. On that occasion, Christina Nielsen, Jeff Segal and Alessandro Balzan won the GTD class for Scuderia Corsa, setting the stage for Balzan and Nielsen to win the title at the end of the season.

Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT
“Seeing a Ferrari on the top step of the podium at the 12 Hours of Sebring is always exciting and I congratulate AF Corse who managed both the Cetilar Racing car and the third placed car for this important result. The 12 Hours of Sebring is one of the hardest races in endurance racing, both for the cars and the drivers, so to celebrate a first and a third place is special. Without the problem on the Risi Competizione car, I’m sure they would have been able to fight for the podium or even a more important result. We’ll learn from this as well, trying to analyze what happened to prevent it from happening again in the future”.

Antonio Fuoco, Cetilar Racing
“It was an up and down race, especially in the early stages of the race. Unfortunately we had some contacts that lost us a lot of time, but luckily the rules in America allow you to stay in the race until the end. Everyone did a great job, starting with the team who taped the car up so we could continue. We showed great pace and I’m happy to have won, especially for Roberto, Giorgio and the team who, after some difficult races, deserved this joy”.

Roberto Lacorte, Cetilar Racing
“This is the result of everything that Ferrari and AF Corse have put at the disposal of Cetilar Racing. We knew, with Amato [Ferrari, ed.], that we would build a team with great potential. At Daytona we missed them, partly due to my responsibility. Maybe this victory made us realise how much we lost at Daytona. We did a good job on the track with all the structure and equipment of Ferrari and AF Corse and this is the result. It is not just the structure, to be honest, but also the “hearts” because when you talk to Amato Ferrari or Antonello Coletta you feel like family. The assistance and the technical and moral support from AF Corse and Ferrari are incredible. I feel like a ‘Pro’ driver racing with Ferrari”.

Giorgio Sernagiotto, Cetilar Racing
“I believe that certain races are legendary because they are difficult and so the 12 Hours of Sebring deserves to be legendary because it is one of the most difficult races I have ever taken part in, probably the most difficult along with Le Mans. I am really excited because it was a tough race, not without mistakes, one of which was mine. The team recovered incredibly. If we hadn’t been able to count on a team like AF Corse and a car like Ferrari, not only in terms of performance but above all in terms of solidity, we would not have been able to bring home the most important trophy of my and Cetilar Racing’s career“.

Toni Vilander, AF Corse
“Yesterday we had the FIA WEC race, so at least in the early hours of the morning the fatigue was felt. During the race the temperatures were very high and this created quite a few problems in managing the tyres but, in the end, we were all in the same condition and some of our rivals had even more difficulty than us. The development of the race allowed us to understand that both our Ferrari and Cetilar’s cars were competitive. I have to thank Luis and Simon for a perfect race, with very little damage to the car despite some small contacts. AF Corse’s adventure in the United States has started very well and racing with them is always a pleasure, also because I have known them for many years“.

Simon Mann, AF Corse
“It was a good race on my debut here at Sebring. The podium is a great result also thanks to a great job done by the AF Corse team, Toni and Luis“.

Luis Perez Companc, AF Corse
“The race was fantastic. I am back in the 12 Hours of Sebring after a few years and to be able to do it at the wheel of a Ferrari with Simon and Toni is really wonderful“.

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 911 GT3 R #9)
“Fifth place was the most we could achieve today. It was already clear in qualifying that it wasn’t going to be easy. Unfortunately, it turned out to be even worse in the race. We just didn’t have the necessary pace. We need to carefully analyse this result and react accordingly. I’m certain that we’ll be fighting for the podium again at the upcoming Long Beach race.”

Alessio Picariello (Porsche 911 GT3 R #79)
“We never really got up to speed the whole weekend. Our race was flawless, without incidents, without mistakes and with really quick pit stops. Our team and drivers did everything possible. Unfortunately, we simply weren’t the fastest on the track today.”

Rob Ferriol (Porsche 911 GT3 R #99)
“It wasn’t our best Sebring result, but 24 hours before the race we pretty much didn’t have a car. Our team built a replacement vehicle in practically no time at all and everything worked. That’s a huge compliment for Porsche. You take the parts that still work from a crashed car, put them on another chassis, start from the back of the grid and finish in the top ten in the toughest race of the season. That’s incredible. Hats off to our team, who demonstrated they can overcome even the greatest challenges.”

Zacharie Robichon (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16)
“Lately, we’ve always been lucky and had a really great run. It was clear that this had to end at some point. Of course, it was a real shame that this happened only a few minutes into the Sebring race. The defect threw us back a long way, but we never gave up. Our team repaired the car quickly, we caught up and finished in the top ten. Not the desired result, but that’s what happens sometimes.”

Result GTD-Pro class
1. Garcia/Taylor/Catsburg (E/USA/NL), Corvette C8.R GTD #3, 323 laps
2. Bortolotti/Mapelli/Caldarelli (I/I/I), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #63, 323 laps
3. MacNeil/Engel/Gounon (USA/D/F), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #97, 322 laps
5. Campbell/Jaminet/Nasr (AUS/F/BR), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, 322 laps
6. Andlauer/Picariello/MacNeil (F/B/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #79, 322 laps

Result GTD class
1. Lacorte/Sernagiotto/Fuoco (I/I/I), Ferrari 488 GT3 #47, 321 laps
2. Skeen/McAleer/Juncadella (USA/GB/E), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #32, 321 laps
3. Mann/Perez Companc/Vilander (USA/ARG/FIN), Ferrari 488 GT3 #21, 321 laps
8. Ferriol/Legge/Wilson (USA/GB/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 R #88, 318 laps
10. Hardwick/Heylen/Robichon (USA/B/CDN), Porsche 911 GT3 R #16, 305 laps

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