Risi Competizione’s No.62 Ferrari 458 Italia today achieved its best finish of the 2014 season when it crossed the famous yard of bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway second (GTLM) in the Brickyard Grand Prix. The result, in the hands of Ferrari Corse Clienti driver Giancarlo Fisichella and his team mate Pierre Kaffer, was well-deserved for the Houston-based team which has never given up in the face of some very difficult races earlier in the season.
As the only privately-owned team in the field, Risi Competizione today demonstrated that consistent and determined driving, great strategy and slick pit work can be a match for the might of the big, two-car factory teams which populate the GT Le Mans category. Today’s race was full of incident and drama, some of which touched – but did not unduly trouble – the Ferrari; the class was won by the No.93 SRT Dodge Viper of Bomarito/Wittmer.
Starting from class pole position after a superb performance in qualifying yesterday, Fisichella was faced with having to make three re-starts during his 1h50 stint thanks to three full course yellow caution periods within the first 35 minutes of the 2 hour 45 minute event. The former Formula One legend stopped ten minutes shy of the two-hour mark to hand over to the hugely experienced Pierre Kaffer, with new Michelin tires and fuel being taken on board at the same time.
Giancarlo Fisichella, who never ran lower than third throughout his long stint in the car, said afterwards: “I had a small problem early on, which was my mistake, and lost a couple of positions, but then we had a short safety car and at the re-start I overtook both the Porsche and BMW to take back the lead which was good. During the second safety car we pitted and, because of where we were on the pit lane, we lost two places as we exited the pits – one of them was to a car which took less fuel than us. I think we were competitive but we are still missing a little bit, as I think we could have won. But, it’s a big step forward from where we were and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the championship.”
Pierre Kaffer had a shorter run today but did extremely well to bring the car home in second, under sustained pressure from the No.912 Porsche. His task wasn’t helped by his driving seat having become jammed too far from the pedals for his optimum comfort during the driver change. He explains: “First of all I have to say I am really happy for the team with second place. Giancarlo did a fantastic job the whole weekend and I just had to bring it home today. The seat was stuck too far back for me so I fought to get comfortable the whole stint. I could drive, but to get the best from the car and drive it at the limit you have to be completely comfortable and I didn’t have that feeling. Apart from that I’m really happy for Ferrari, Giuseppe and the whole crew – they did an awesome job.”
It is Risi Competizione’s second podium finish of the season, the first for the Cinsay-supported team having been at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May. From here the Championship moves onto the European-style Road America track in Wisconsin – a driver favorite – for the 2 hour 45 minute race on Sunday 10 August.