Maranello, 21 October 2024
Ferrari celebrated multiple victories in the final rounds of the Le Mans Cup and GT Cup Open. At Portimão, Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan clinched the Le Mans Cup title in AF Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 (#51), while at Monza, Iván Velasco and Luca Ludwig were crowned GT Cup Open Pro-Am champions in the MERTEL Motorsport Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo (#80).
Le Mans Cup
Kurzejewski and Balzan secured both the drivers’ and team titles in the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 (#51) at Portimão, building on their success from the Mugello round with their fourth win of the season. After starting from pole, the duo briefly lost the lead but reclaimed it with just 10 minutes left, thanks to a critical overtaking maneuver by Balzan. AF Corse’s #88, piloted by Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, finished second, followed by Frédéric Jousset and David Fumanelli in Kessel Racing’s #12 in third place. Kessel Racing’s #74 car, driven by Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos, completed Ferrari’s series dominance. The Biogas Motorsport Ferrari (#23), driven by Josep Mayola Comadira and Marc Carol Ybarra, had a more challenging race and finished ninth.
GT Cup Open
Velasco and Ludwig won Race-2 and placed seventh in the first race at Monza, securing the 2024 GT Cup Europe Pro-Am title in MERTEL Motorsport’s Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo (#80). For Velasco, this marked his second consecutive Pro-Am title, while Ludwig balanced his duties between the Monza race and the Finali Mondiali Ferrari at Imola.
European Le Mans Series (ELMS)
Ferrari’s ELMS season wrapped up with a fourth-place finish in the 4 Hours of Portimão. Formula Racing’s Ferrari 296 LMGT3 (#50), driven by Conrad and Johnny Laursen, just missed the podium. Kessel Racing’s #57, with Daniel Serra, Takeshi Kimura, and Esteban Masson, took fifth despite early setbacks. Ferrari drivers ended the season as runners-up in the series. Further down the order were GR Racing’s #86 and Spirit of Race’s #55, while JMW Motorsport’s #66 secured a top-10 finish. AF Corse’s #51 did not start the race.
International GT Open
The final round of the International GT Open, the GT Open 500 at Monza, saw Spirit of Race’s Ferrari 296 GT3 (#51) finish fourth overall, securing third place in the championship standings. In the Pro-Am class, AF Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 (#16) with Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair took first place in the race and ended fourth in the standings. In the Am class, Olimp Racing’s Ferrari (#5) finished second. Marco Pulcini had already claimed the Pro-Am championship at the previous Barcelona round in Spirit of Race’s Ferrari 296 GT3 (#27).
- DTM
Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3s faced challenges at Hockenheim during the final round of the DTM season. In Race-1, Jack Aitken retired from fifth position due to technical issues, while Thierry Vermeulen finished 13th after starting from 17th. In Race-2, both Ferraris started from the fifth row, but Aitken and Vermeulen couldn’t make significant progress, finishing 16th and 11th respectively. Aitken concluded the season in eighth place overall with 128 points, and Vermeulen finished 15th with 71.
ADAC GT Masters
At Hockenheim, Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3 competed in the ADAC GT Masters season finale alongside DTM. Jean-Luc D’Auria and Alain Valente, driving car #14, finished eighth in Race-1 after starting ninth. Valente secured pole position in Race-2, and the Swiss duo achieved a podium finish with a third-place result, ending the season fifth in the standings with 128 points.
Super GT
Ferrari faced mixed results in the seventh round of the Japanese Super GT at Autopolis. Roberto Merhi secured pole position in Team LeMans’ Ferrari 296 GT3, but he and his teammate Yoshiaki Katayama finished eighth. The other Ferrari, driven by Lilou Wadoux and Kei Cozzolino for Ponos Racing, started from 17th and finished 24th.
GT World Challenge Australia (GT WC Australia)
Sydney Motorsport Park hosted the penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Australia season. Arise Racing GT’s Ferrari 296 GT3s started from fourth and sixth in a three-hour endurance race. After a series of Safety Car interventions, the #1 Ferrari, driven by Liam Talbot and Chaz Mostert, finished second, while the #8 car, with Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans, took fourth. Talbot and Mostert lead the championship heading into the final round at Bathurst in November.
