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Sebring, Florida (February 26, 2016)…The Risi Competizione Team completed their first test of the season with the new Ferrari 488 GTLM race car today, with pleasing results. The No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM completed nearly 200 laps and over 1,100 kilometers the past two days at Sebring International Raceway.
Their participation in the official IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test was the first opportunity the popular Houston, Texas-based team has been able to test, as they received delivery of the brand new Prancing Horse just days before the start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona race, where they finished sixth in class.
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Full season driver Toni Vilander and Davide Rigon, who will return as a co-driver for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida, handled the driving chores during the Sebring Test. Vilander’s 2016 season teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, was away for a special Ferrari event in the Italian Alps, where he conducted a demonstration run on the snow in his former 2009 Formula 1 Ferrari F60 in front of delighted Ferrari fans and enthusiasts.
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Rick Mayer, Risi Competizione Race Engineer:
“We had a good two days of testing. It’s the first time we’ve actually had the opportunity to run the car, other than Daytona. We only had one dry session at Daytona before we went into the race. We tried several things here (at Sebring) and I think we found some positive setup direction. Hopefully, the BoP (Balance of Performance) before the race will give us some straight speed so we can be competitive. Davide got up to speed, as this test was essential for him, Toni’s been here before and he’s great to work with, both drivers are quite happy with the car, a good solid test.”
Toni Vilander, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:
“It was good to get a proper test. It’s been really good weather for these two days. Unfortunately, Giancarlo was not here. For me, we improved the seat position. Rick (Mayer) made a really good plan for these two days, so we went through that plan and we learned a lot. Sebring is a completely different track than this 488 has ever driven with the bumps, the concrete and everything. The handling was good. No big issues. Now we just need to collect all the data and information we got from the past two days and decide which type of race car we want to prepare for the race. I’m really happy for the team and the way things are working. The guys had to change a few things the first day so they had a pretty late night, but everyone keeps smiling, so the spirit is good in the team. They’ve been really effective on the pit wall and pit lane when we’ve been doing the pit changes so it’s been a pleasure to be part of these two days. We’ll get Giancarlo in for the race and then we’ll try to go for a good result.”
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Davide Rigon, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:
“It’s very bumpy. I expected it a bit, because everybody was telling me about this, especially in the first corner and the last corner. Also I didn’t expect so much grip on the corners because of the tarmac changes. It looks very different from what I am used to. I had a lot of time in the car. My engineer gave me the chance to learn the track with no pressure that was very valuable. I drove a lot the first day so I was ready to work on the car setup the second day. We didn’t get to work on the car at Daytona so it was good to get to do this type of test and also to be able to do it with Toni. We really enjoyed the test and I think we’re in good shape for the race. Our current BoP with power (boost) has us at a deficit, we hope that gets evaluated and adjusted for the race. I was not expecting the car to be as good as it was at the start of testing, it helped me to learn the track quickly. We can always improve and we’ve been working with our engineer (Rick Mayer) on ways we can improve for the race. Let’s see if we can improve a bit, but as far as balance, we are happy but missing a bit of straight line speed |
