Photo : CHRISTOPHE JOUNIAUX / VISION SPO 

 

At the end of the spring campaign of the 2014 endurance season, everything points to the Italian GT figuring well in the final records of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and European Le Mans Series.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, its speed and reliability allowed it to beat formidable competition comprised of Corvette, Porsche 911 and other Aston Martins. Already winner in 2012, the trio Gianmaria Bruni-Giancarlo Fisichella-Toni Vilander won its second victory in La Sarthe in the LM GTE Pro class. After the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, it was the second consecutive win of Bruni and Vilander in the 2014 FIA WEC. The Italian, the Finnish driver and their team, AF Corse, have a comfortable 27-point lead in the ranking of GT drivers and LM GTE Pro teams. The situation is a little tighter in the GT Constructors Endurance World Cup, but Ferrari is still in the lead with 12 points over Porsche.

In the European Le Mans Series, the Ferrari 458 Italia reigned absolute over the two GT classes. In LM GTE as in GTC, no victory had escaped it by the end of the three first rounds of 2014. It occupies the five top spots in the LM GTE provisional ranking, with in order AF Corse, SMP Racing, JMW Motorsport, Kessel Racing and AT Racing, and the top three in GTC, with SMP Racing and Formula Racing.

For the European Le Mans Series and the WEC, summer break will end on September 14th and the 20th, with the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard (France) and the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas, United States) respectively. There is no doubt that the Ferrari 458 Italia will embellish its brilliant record with new victories between now and the end of the 2014 season.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 15 2014, RACE. This year, the Ferrari 458 Italia won its second victory in four participations in La Sarthe.