The Spa
6 Hours, one of the most famous endurance races on the
calendar, took place at the weekend, as the second round
of the new FIA World Endurance Championship. There were
seven Ferraris entered and the best result was a second
in the GTE PRO class for the well established duo of
Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni, the reigning
champions in LMS and ILMC.
In their AF Corse 458
GT2, they were involved in an engrossing battle with the
winning Porsche of Richard Lietz and Marc Lieb. A
tightly run fuel strategy saw Bruni actually run out of
fuel on the slowing down lap, after the AF Corse driver
had changed his rival down to the final corner, crossing
the line just a few tenths behind.
Third was the Luxury Racing car of Frederic Makowiecki
and Jaime Melo who both drove an attacking race,
followed by the second AF Corse car of Andrea Bertolini
and Olivier Beretta, who also rain competitively
throughout the six hours. In the GTE-AM class, a third
place for another AF Corse Ferrari, crewed by
Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Matt Griffin and Marco Cioci,
who did well in the difficult conditions with rain
making for a slippery track that required two
appearances from the Safety Car.
Apart from the race, Ferrari was also involved, with its
599XX in an exhibition featuring some of the most
innovative cars of the current auto scene. Fitted with
the new aerodynamic kit which further increases its
performance, this sports car, not homologated for
racing, is conceived purely for track use and was one of
the most admired of those cars assembled at the Ardennes
track.
The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship
takes place at another famous circuit, Le Mans, which on
16th June is the backdrop to the 24 Hours of the same
name.
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