Ferrari 488 GTE and GT3 2016 2017- WEC GTE-Pro Class winner

The last competition of the 2017 FIA WEC Championship was concluded with a full basket of success for the Ferrari 488 GTE of AF Corse driven by Alessando Pier Guidi and James Calado are the first winners of the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship title as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The pair won in the best possible way, dominating the final race of the season, the 6 Hours of Bahrain, along with their AF Corse teammates, Sam Bird and Davide Rigon. The drivers of the Ferrari 488 GTEs finished in parade, with car no. 71, starting from pole and key to the season’s triumphs, first over the line.

Ferrari sealed the World Constructors’ Championship in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on Sunday 5th November 2017 at the conclusion of Shangai 6 Hours edition. The decisive points came in the 6 Hours of Shanghai where the two GTE 488s of AF Corse team respectively finished third with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado and sixth with Davide Rigon and Sam Bird. This is Ferrari’s fifth WEC constructors’ title (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and the 24th overall among the manufacturers’ championships sanctioned by the FIA. Sunday’s trophy goes in the cabinet along with the seven in the World Manufacturers’ for Makes won between 1953 and 1961, three editions of the International GT Championship (1962, 1963, 1964), four Prototypes titles between 1963 and 1972, three FIA GT Manufacturers’ championships (2006, 2007 and 2010) and two editions of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (2010 and 2011).

The Ferrari 488 GTE and GT3 were officially unveiled at November 7th 2015's Finali Mondiali meeting at Mugello.  Giancarlo Fisichella, Olivier Beretta and Andrea Bertolini, who did the lion’s share of testing, unveiled the GT3 version of the car that will compete in the main domestic and international GT championships starting with 2016 season. The major break with the 458 Italia is the turbo engine, which also appears on the production model of the car, 488 GTB.
Right at the Finali Mondiali [World Finals], we introduced the 488 GTE e GT3,” said Antonello Coletta, Manager of Ferrari GT Sports Activities. This car’s not easy task is to open a new cycle, after the extraordinary one of the 458 Italia, one of the winningest cars in Ferrari’s history.

We worked hard on it and continue to do so, because our objective is to have a high performance car that is also easy to drive, as the 458 Italia was.” The objective is for the car to make its début at the 24 Hours of Daytona, but, above all, on the GTE case, it is to have a reliable car that exploits to the utmost the changes on the WEC regulations. Both cars introduced at the Mugello circuit are equipped with a turbo-charged engine and transverse gearbox, for a more even distribution of the weight.

The Ferrari 488 GTE is entered in international competition by private teams, AF Corse for FIA WEC program or Risi Competizione, Scuderia Corsa and SMP Racing for the IMSA Weathertech program in North America.

AF Corse has been one of Ferrari’s main clients’ teams for a number of years. The cooperation between Ferrari and AF Corse generated many of the GT successes during the past few years and all those obtained in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) since its inception in 2012. The first year brought the success among teams and constructors, as well as the win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans; in 2013, there was the triple title for drivers, teams, and constructors, a feat repeated in 2014 enriched by the success in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
thanks to car No. 51 driven by “Gimmi” Bruni, Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella. In 2016 with the new 488 GTE AF Corse won for Ferrari the World Cup for Manufacturer.

Non exhaustive results in 2016 and 2017 :

WEC - Sakhir, 18 November 2017 – Thirty-three year-old Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi and his 28 year-old British crewmate James Calado are the first winners of the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship title as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The pair won in the best possible way, dominating the final race of the season, the 6 Hours of Bahrain, along with their AF Corse teammates, Sam Bird and Davide Rigon. The drivers of the Ferrari 488 GTEs finished in parade, with car no. 71, starting from pole and key to the season’s triumphs, first over the line.

WEC - Shanghai, 5 november 2017 – Ferrari sealed the World Constructors’ Championship in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on Sunday. The decisive points came in the 6 Hours of Shanghai where the two GTE 488s of AF Corse team respectively finished third with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado and sixth with Davide Rigon and Sam Bird. This is Ferrari’s fifth WEC constructors’ title (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and the 24th overall among the manufacturers’ championships sanctioned by the FIA.

WEC - Oyama, 15 October 2017 – Ferrari dominated the 6 Hours of Fuji with wins in both GT classes, consolidating top spot in the Constructors’ standings and taking the lead in the Drivers’ championship with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado.

WEC- Austin, 16 September 2017 – Ferrari recorded its third win of the season in the 6 Hours of the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA), the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi triumphed in the 488 GTE no. 51, while Davide Rigon and Sam Bird took third.

WEC- Mexico City, 3 September 2017 – In the 6 Hours of Mexico, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Ferrari finished second in the GTE-Pro class with the 488 GTE no. 71 of AF Corse crewed by Davide Rigon and Sam Bird.

Blancpain Endurance Race - Francorchamps, 30 July 2017 – Ferrari took first and second in the Am Cup class of the 24 Hours of Spa with victory for Kessel Racing’s 488 GT3 no. 888, crewed by Jacques Duyver, Marco Zanuttini, David Perel and Niki Cadei. The twin car of Rinaldi Racing followed in second with Pierre Ehret, Rino Mastronardi, Patrick Van Glabecke and Gabriele Lancieri. The Prancing Horse also finished third in the Pro-Am class with the Spirit Of Race 488 GT3, driven by Toni Vilander, Alex Demirdjian, Davide Rizzo and Nicolas Minassian.

WEC-Nürburgring 16 July 2017 – Ferrari returned to winning ways in the GTE-Pro class. Thanks to the 488 GTE no. 51 of AF Corse the Prancing Horse notched up its 19th class victory in the WEC, the 24th if we include the five in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. The win, which puts James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi right back in the title fight and gives Ferrari first place among the Constructors, was the result of a perfect pit strategy and equally impeccable driving. Davide Rigon and Toni Vilander were unlucky, finishing eighth after losing four laps due to gearbox problems. No. 54 Spirit of Race 488 GTE crewed by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Miguel Molina took second place in the GTE-Am and a first WEC podium.

WEC - Le Mans, 18 June 2017 – The 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans brought Ferrari a clean sweep of the podium, a fifth place and two disappointments in the two GT classes. Victory for the third consecutive year came in the GTE-Am class where the 488 GTE literally dominated. The car of JMW Motorsport won with a lap advantage over everyone. The British team was making its debut with the new berlinetta, driven by Robert Smith, Dries Vanthoor and Will Stevens. Marco Cioci, Duncan Cameron and Aaron Scott came second with the 488 GTE no. 55 of Spirit of Race, while third place went to the 2016 winners, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell, along with Cooper MacNeil in the 488 GTE of Scuderia Corsa.

WEC-Francorchamps, 6 May 2017 – Ferrari pulled off a resounding one-two in the GTE-Pro class at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). Davide Rigon and Sam Bird, with the 488 GTE no. 71 of AF Corse, repeated last year’s triumph in the Ardennes, finishing a few seconds ahead of teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado in car no. 51.  Ferrari secured a podium finish in the GTE-Am class. In a difficult race the 488 of Clearwater Racing crewed by Mok Weng Sun, Keita Sawa and Matt Griffin finished ahead of Miguel Molina, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr on the other Ferrari entered by Spirit Of Race team.

WEC-Silverstone, 16 April 2017 – Ferrari began the 2017 season of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with a podium in the GTE-Pro class and a victory in the GTE-Am at the 6 Hours of Silverstone

IMSA - Daytona Beach, 29 Jan 2017 – The Ferrari 488 GTE of Risi Competizione led the 24 Hours of Daytona for several laps and was in the mix until the final lap, before finishing third. The Houston-based team’s car was driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and James Calado who finished three seconds behind the Ford no. 66 of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastian Bourdais and just 91 milliseconds from the Porsche no. 911 of Patrick Pilet, Dick Werner and Frederic Makowiecki.

WEC -Le Mans, 19 June 2016 – The 84th edition of the 24 Hours finished with a win and two podiums for Ferrari in the two GT classes. The victory, for the second consecutive year, came in the GTE-Am and was delivered by the 458 Italia of US team Scuderia Corsa driven by Jeff Segal, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell. Second place in the same class went to the 458 Italia of AF Corse with François Perrodo, Rui Aguas and Emmanuel Collard who galloped ahead in the championship standings. The other podium came in the GTE-Pro class where the 488 GTE of Risi Competizione, in the capable hands of Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and Matteo Malucelli, battled for victory to the last with the Ford GT of Team USA driven by Hand-Muller-Bourdais.

IMSA - Sebring, 19 March 2016 – At the historic 12 Hours of Sebring, the Ferrari 488 GT3 has scored victory in its first race. Sixty years after Eugenio Castellotti and Juan Manuel Fangio drove a Ferrari 860 Monza to Ferrari’s first victory at the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring, Scuderia Corsa and drivers Alessandro Balzan, Christina Nielsen and Jeff Segal survived a challenging race that featured multiple caution periods and rainy conditions to score the first win for the new Ferrari 488 GT3.

Wallpapers of the Ferrari 488 GTE and GT3 2016 2017- WEC GTE-Pro Class winner

Sources : Ferrari media archives

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