That result also confirms the Italian squad’s lead in the ILMC GT teams championship and Ferrari’s lead in the GT constructors’ championship with just one round left of a calendar that will finish at Zhuhai on November 13. The Maranello company, which already took the laurels in the coveted series's GT2 class last year, moves up to 151 points to take a 28-point lead over BMW, while AF Corse leads the BMW Motorsport team by 14 points with its total of 99.

“Today’s result is very important,” said Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari Corse Clienti, which offers support to the Maranello car company’s motorsport clients who take part in the endurance championships. “To have won one of the most demanding races of the season shows that Amato Ferrari’s team is a great group. The car and the exceptional ability of the drivers did the rest, contributing to a very important – and totally deserved – success for us.”

Giancarlo Fisichella, appearing at the Georgia track for the second time, expressed his delight at bringing the car home just after he took the chequered flag: “It’s been a perfect weekend that started with pole position and has now ended with this win. The result is the fruit both of the team’s hard work and of a great strategy, which took us to the end of a very hard-fought race. This was an absolutely unforgettable experience worthy of the colours of Ferrari.” It was a truly perfect weekend for the team AF Corse , which also took the honours in the GTE-AM Class where Robert Kauffman, Rui Aguas and Justin Bell took the third place at the wheel of the Ferrari 430 GTC.

Of the six 458 Italias on the grid for the GTE PRO category that was also the final event to count towards the American Le Mans Series, the Ferrari of Risi Competizione was forced to retire 20 minutes before the start of the race. On the lap to the grid, Jaime Melo lost control of the car while he was working to keep his tyre temperatures up. Unfortunately the contact with the guard-rail caused damage to the car that forced it to retire.

14th Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta, Braselton) Provisional Race Results

1. (3) Franck Montagny, Grandvaux, France; Stéphane Sarrazin, Ales, France; Alexander Wurz, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Peugeot 908 (1, LMP1), 394.
2. (5) Nicolas Lapierre, France; Nic Minassian, London, England; Marc Gene, Barcelona, Spain; Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP (2, LMP1), 389.
3. (8) Adrian Fernandez, Paradise Valley, AZ; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Stefan Mucke, Germany; AMR/Lola Coupe B09 60 Aston (3, LMP1), 388.
4. (7) Alexandre Premat, Juvisy-sur-Orge, France; Jean-Francois Yvon, Le Mans, France; Olivier Pla, France; Oak Pescarolo Judd (4, LMP1), 384.
5. (6) Andrea Belicchi, Parma, Italy; Nicolas Prost; Neel Jani; Lola B10/60 Coupe (5, LMP1), 381.
6. (15) Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Christophe Bouchut, Paris, France; Joao Barbosa, Portugal; HPD ARX-01g (6, LMP2), 375.
7. (10) Guillaume Moreau; Pierre Ragues; Mattieu Lahaye; Oak Pescarolo Judd (7, LMP1), 370.
8. (19) Ryan Lewis, Indianapolis, IN; Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, CA; Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Oreca FLM09 (1, LMPC), 368.
9. (17) Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON; Tomy Drissi, Los Angeles, CA; Chapman Ducote, Miami Beach, FL; Oreca FLM09 (2, LMPC), 368.
10. (24) Giancarlo Fisichella , Rome, Itlay; Gianmaria Bruni, Rome, Italy; Pierre Kaffer, Salenstein, Germany; Ferrari F458 (1, GT), 367.
11. (28) Jörg Bergmeister, Langenfield, Germany; Patrick Long, Bellaire, FL; Patrick Pilet, Le Chesnay; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2, GT), 367.
12. (25) Dirk Werner, Kissenbruck; Augusto Farfus; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; BMW M3 GT (3, GT), 367.
13. (18) Stefan Johansson, Marina Del Ray, CA; Mark Patterson, Bronxville, NY; Zak Brown, Carmel, IN; Oak Pescarolo Judd (4, LMP2), 367.
14. (31) Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Richard Westbrook, London, England; Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (5, GT), 366.
15. (36) Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen; Martin Ragginger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (6, GT), 365.
16. (29) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Dominik Farnbacher, Ansbach, Germany; Ferrari F458 Italia (7, GT), 365.
17. (12) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Jay Cochran, Palm Beach, FL; Lola B09 86/Mazda (8, LMP1), 363.
18. (34) Ralph Firman, Norwich; Francois Jakubowski, Strasbourg, FR; David Halliday, Boulogne-Billancourt; Ferrari F458 (9, GT), 361.
19. (40) Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, San Francisco, CA; Marco Holzer; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (10, GT), 361.
20. (26) Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andy Priaulx; Dirk Müller, Monte Carlo; BMW M3 GT (11, GT), 359.
21. (33) Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL; Rob Bell, Northamptonshire, England; Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Ferrari F458 Italia (12, GT), 357.
22. (14) Franck Mailleux; Lucas Ordonez; Jean-Karl Vernay, Villeurbanne, France; Oreca 03 Nissan (13, LMP2), 357.
23. (44) Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ; Sascha Maassen, Lontzen; Emmanuel Collard, Paris, France; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT), 357.
24. (37) Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Nic Jönsson, Buford, GA; Michele Rugolo; Ferrari F430 (15, GTE-AM), 355.
25. (41) Julien Canal, Le Mans, France; Gabriele Gardel; Patrick Bornhauser, Orléans, France; Corvette C6-ZR1 (16, GTE-AM), 353.
26. (53) David Murry, Atlanta, GA; Melanie Snow, Pleasant Grove, UT; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT/Elan (17, GT), 350.
27. (48) Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Haarlem, The Netherlands; Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 346.
28. (51) Leh Keen, Charleston, GA; Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Brian Wong, Newport Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 346.
29. (49) Duncan Ende, Los Angeles, CA; Peter Ludwig, New Paltz, NY; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 345.
30. (20) Ricardo Gonzalez, Monterrey; Rudy Junco Jr., Monterrey, Mexico; Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Oreca FLM09 (3, LMPC), 340.
31. (35) Rui Aguas; Justin Bell, London, England; Rob Kauffman, Charlotte, NC; Ferrari F430 (4, GTE-AM), 338.
32. (23) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Toronto, Canada; Lola B06/10 (5, LMP1), 336.
33. (46) Fabien Giroix; Michael Wainwright; Aston Martin Vantage (6, GTE-AM), 332.
34. (21) Eric Lux, Jacksonville, FL; Elton Julian, Santa Monica, CA; Christian Zugel, Holmdel, NJ; Oreca FLM09 (7, LMPC), 327.
35. (22) Jon Bennett, Fort Mill, SC; Frankie Montecalvo, Highlands, NJ; Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL; Oreca FLM09 (8, LMPC), 324.
36. (16) Jacques Nicolet; Frederic Da Rocha; Patrice Lafargue, Nantes, France; Oak Pescarolo Judd (9, LMP2), 324.
37. (30) Frederic Makowiecki; Anthony Beltoise, Paris, France; Stephane Ortelli, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Ferrari F458 (18, GT), 316.
38. (13) Luis Diaz, Mexico City, Mexico; Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Marino Franchitti, Edinburgh, Scotland; HPD ARX-01g (19, LMP2), 314.
39. (42) Tim Mullen, Northampton; Roger Wills; Pierre Ehret; Ferrari F430 (20, GTE-AM), 310.
40. (4) Tom Kristensen, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Allan McNish, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Dindo Capello, Canelli, Italy; Audi R18 (21, LMP1), 302.
41. (2) Marcel Fassler, Gross; Romain Dumas, Ales, France; Timo Bernhard, Dittweiler, Germany; Audi R18 (22, LMP1), 296.
42. (47) Jan-Dirk Lueders; Anthony Nicolosi, Palm Beach, FL; Jarrett Boon, Phoenix, AZ; Oreca FLM09 (10, LMPC), 293.
43. (50) Jim Norman, Tampa, FL; Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, FL; Ben Keating; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 247.
44. (45) Johnny Mowlem, Charvil, England; David Heinemeier Hansson; James Rossiter, Oxford, England; Lotus Evora (23, GT), 237.
45. (52) Martin Rich, Hertford; Kasper Jensen, Sonderborg; Oskar Slingerland, Monte Carlo; Lotus Evora (24, GT), 197.
46. (38) Richard Lietz; Christian Ried; Mark Bullitt; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (25, GTE-AM), 163.
47. (39) Bruno Junqueira, Brazil; Kenny Wilden, Oakville, Ontario; Ian James; Jaguar XKR (26, GT), 97.
48. (1) Sébastien Bourdais, Le Mans, France; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon, France; Anthony Davidson, Brackley, England; Peugeot 908 (27, LMP1), 78, Mechanical.
49. (32) Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; Antonio Garcia, Barcelona, Spain; Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (28, GT), 76, Mechanical.
50. (11) Greg Pickett, Crystal Bay, NV; Lucas Luhr, Monte Carlo; Klaus Graf, Dornham; AMR/ Lola Coupe B08 62 (29, LMP1), 63.
51. (9) Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, PA; Steven Kane, Newtownards; Humaid Al Masaood, Abu Dhabi; Lola B09/86 Mazda (30, LMP1), 29.
52. (43) Rocky Moran Jr, Ladera Ranch, CA; Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL; PJ Jones, Torrance, CA; Jaguar XKR (31, GT), 27.
53. (27) Jaime Melo, Cascavel, Brazil; Toni Vilander, Kankaanpaa, Finalnd; Raphael Matos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Ferrari F458 Italia (32, GT), 0.