The IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup is a unique four-race competition in the United States that encompasses the marquee endurance races on the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule. These marquee races include the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans, totaling 52 hours of racing.

Winners and teams that place in each of these four races are awarded points at specific intervals for drivers, teams, and manufacturers in each of IMSA’s five classes (Daytona Prototype International, Le Mans Prototype 2, Le Mans Prototype 3, GTD Pro and GT Daytona). The races take place in Daytona Beach, Florida, Sebring, Florida, Watkins Glen, New York and Braselton, Georgia and feature the premium sports car endurances races over the course of the season.

Risi Competizione was the recipient of the coveted GTD Pro class trophy and honors on October 1, 2022, following the Petit Le Mans series finale race at Road Atlanta.

Being recognized as the preeminent endurance GTD Pro team in all of IMSA for 2022 is a result of the incredible product that Ferrari has produced, the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo, and the strength of the renown Risi Competizione team, headed by Team Principal Giuseppe Risi, which carries an impressive success record over its 25-year history of racing in America. The highly worshipped IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup trophy will now live in a prominent location in Risi’s impressive trophy room in Houston, Texas.

Heart break for Risi Competizione
at Petit Le Mans

Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 No. 62:
Davide Rigon (ITA)
Daniel Serra (BRA)
James Calado (GBR)

(Braselton, Georgia, October 1, 2022) … The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 team had a heart-breaking finish in today’s 25th annual Motul Petit Le Mans IMSA WeatherTech Championship Series finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The three Ferrari factory drivers, Brit James Calado, Italian Davide Rigon, and Brazilian Daniel Serra, drove the race of their lives and crossed the finish line first in class, only to be penalized by a drive time violation and moved to the back of the class. The penalty, too long of a drive time for Serra during a six hour time period, negated the Petit Le Mans GTD Pro class victory. However, the team still secured winning the IMSA GTD Pro Team IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup with its seventh place class finish today. Up until the tear-jerking final result disappointment, the team had put together an incredible race with good pit strategy, smooth pit stop, and impressive drives by all three drivers.

QUOTES

James Calado, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo: “I feel like we poured our heart into this one. I was quite aggressive in my stint to try to make up some positions. I knew I had to because I wanted to win. Daniel did an amazing job and did sort of the same thing. The car was quick. It’s just one of those things. We take it on the chin and move on to the next one. Thanks to the team; they put a lot of effort in for this weekend. We crossed the line in first, but it wasn’t to be this time.”

Davide Rigon, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo: “We did our best together with the team and my teammates, Daniel and James, we did our best. We are sad to lose for being over in the driving time. It’s a big disappointment. We deserve this victory and the endurance championship. It was hard for us to have this end result after all the effort by everyone. Although we did not get the race victory, at least the team won the GTD Pro Endurance Cup. And now we must look forward to coming back someday.”

Daniel Serra, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo: “It’s difficult to understand what happened. I have mixed emotions. The last two stints were probably one of the best of my life. I didn’t know until the checkered flag and then when I crossed, I said ‘so this is it, we won’, and they said ‘no, we had a problem with the driving time’. So, it’s still quite difficult to say what I’m feeling. It’s just strange because we won the race and because of our mistake we lose it. We did what we had to do to win but we made a mistake and lose and that’s it. At least we won the Endurance Cup.”

The Risi Competizione team has not made any official announcements for 2023 racing plans yet but stay tuned for future announcements. For more information, please go to www.risicompetizione.com and follow us on Facebook/RisiCompetizione, Twitter @RisiComp and Instagram @RisiComp.