Italy’s Giancarlo Fisichella gave Ferrari and the whole Risi Competizione team a great boost ahead of tomorrow’s Petit Le Mans by qualifying on the front row of the GTLM grid. The final round of the 2014 TUDOR United Sportscar Championship is a 10-hour race which begins at 11:15 am ET.
In a typically tight 15-minute session, the two-time class winner posted a best lap of 1:18.687 on his fourth flying lap, and the ‘Rosso Red’ No.62 Ferrari 458 Italia will start the season finale alongside the pole-sitting No.911 Porsche of Nick Tandy. Just over half a second separates the top six cars in the class.
The heavy storms of this morning, which saw all but one car sit out the fourth and final, scheduled practice session, had appeared to have move over the Road Atlanta track. However, worrying black clouds appeared overhead as qualifying started and, anxious to set a time in case of the possibility of further rain, Fisichella was hot out of the pits as the green flag was flown. Fortunately the bad weather never materialized and, in temperatures of 80o air/83o track, the session went ahead without interruption.
After receiving the congratulations of his delighted team mates, Pierre Kaffer – who drove to victory with Fisichella at Road America and VIR – and Olivier Beretta, the Roman said: “We knew it would be a tough qualifying session as the gap between us and others is so close and I think everyone did a great job.
“We went step by step in the right direction on the car and the balance was good. The guys did a fantastic job to prepare the car for the race – everything was perfect – so I am very happy and looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a long, tough race, but I think we’ve got a good package to do well. Most important is that we’ve got a fantastic crew for the pits stops, which is very important here, so let’s go for it!
“Like in every race, it’s important to stay out of trouble, especially until the last three or four hours of the race. We need to be on the lead lap, whether it’s in first, fourth or fifth place, and then we will do our maximum in the last hour and aim for the victory.”
The next round of the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship will be the 10-hour Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta on Saturday, 4th October. The final race of the 2014 season will begin at 11:15 ET.