A longtime IMSA fan favorite is returning to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans on Oct. 12 as Risi Competizione today confirmed plans to compete in the 10-hour race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The team will field the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class for the first time since the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona with a powerhouse driver lineup. James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra – who co-drove to the GTE Pro class victory in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans – will share the lone Ferrari in the GTLM class at Motul Petit Le Mans.
“Petit Le Mans has been a special race to me and the team since it first started at Road Atlanta 22 years ago,” said Team Principal Giuseppe Risi. “Having won that inaugural race in 1998 and three additional victories, I’m quite fond of this race and this venue.”
In January, the Risi team opened the year with a runner-up result in the GTLM class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona by co-drivers Calado, Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon and Miguel Molina. Risi Competizione also competed in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 12th in the GTE Pro class.
The first of the Risi team’s four victories came in the inaugural race in 1998, when Wayne Taylor, Eric van der Poele and Emmanuel Collard won in the Doyle-Risi Ferrari 333 SP. The team’s second victory came in 2008, when Jamie Melo and Mika Salo won in the Ferrari 430 GT3.
The following year, Melo and Salo partnered with Pierre Kaffer to successfully defend the team’s GT2 class victory. The team’s last Motul Petit Le Mans win came in 2016, when Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and Calado took the GTLM class win. That also was the team’s most recent IMSA victory.
Television coverage of the 2019 Motul Petit Le Mans begins on the NBC Network at 12 noon ET on Saturday, Oct. 12. The broadcast shifts exclusively to the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com from 3:00-5:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN takes over the broadcast from that point until its dramatic conclusion on Saturday night. The NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com also will have live flag-to-flag coverage.
As always, IMSA Radio also will have live coverage throughout the race week on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com, with a live race broadcast airing on SiriusXM Radio.
NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
Latest posts by Adam Sinclair (see all)
- NHRA announces eight-race schedule for 2024 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series - January 17, 2024
- Forgeline and Pratt Miller Motorsports Announce New Multi-Year Partnership - January 17, 2024
- TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein converts narrow pole to commanding win in the Season 10 opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the 2024 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix - January 16, 2024