Ferrari 296 LMGT3
Car No. 55 achieves its long-awaited first victory of the season in the final race
The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 No. 55, which had been close to winning this season, finished in first place in the final race. Ferrari won the final two races in a row. The photo shows the No. 54 car, which was running in second place but finished in seventh place due to a pit-through penalty in the final stages.
Following the victory of the #54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 (Thomas Flor, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon) in the previous race at the 6 Hours of Fuji, the teammate #55 won the season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain after a fierce battle. Starting from seventh place on the grid, the #54 car was running as high as second at one point, but a drive-through penalty in the final stages meant it finished in seventh place.
This victory brings Ferrari’s total GT class wins to 55 since the WEC began in 2012. The 296 LMGT3, which was introduced this season, has won two of the final two races. In the LMGT3 class “FIA Endurance Trophy,” the Vista AF Corse #55 car is ranked third, behind the Manthey Purexing #92 (Porsche) and Manthey EMA #91 (Porsche).
With two hours remaining, he rose from the bottom to the top
Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera and François Herriot rose to the top in the final stages and erupted in joy after finishing.
In the final race on November 2nd, the #55 296 LMGT3 started from third on the grid, with Hélio in the first stint maintaining a high position. However, a collision required the right door to be replaced, causing the car to drop significantly down the order. Mann took over in the second stint, and Rovera in the third, and they made an impressive comeback.
With about two hours remaining, the safety car was deployed, causing the positions to change and the time gap between the top and bottom cars to narrow. After the restart, Rovera made one overtake after another to take the lead. He then took his first win of the season, beating the second-placed #81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R (Tom Van Rompuy, Louis Andrade, Charlie Eastwood) by 3.022 seconds. This was Rovera’s fifth WEC win, and the first for Hélio and Mann.
After fighting through a tough race, Rovera expressed his joy:
“I’m incredibly emotional to have taken home our first WEC victory with the 296 LMGT3. This is a really special victory. We’ve always been close to the podium this season, and the team did a fantastic job in Bahrain, especially completing the final pit stop five seconds faster than our rivals. Above all, I’d like to thank François (Hélio) and Simon (Mann) for their excellent tyre management in the early stages of the race.”
