24 Hours of Daytona – Ferrari and Risi Competizione, imperial in GTD Pro

It's hard to do better for James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi. The English driver and his Italian sidekick won the 24 Hours of Daytona 2024 in GTD Pro class with Ferrari, less than a year after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans already with the Prancing Horse.

In Ferrari 296 GT3 which the two men shared with Daniel Serra and Davide Rigon, the race was perfect, almost without any notable incident. However, at a press conference, James Calado spoke about the immense responsibility that weighed on his shoulders during the competition.

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“Every time you win in a Ferrari, it’s hard to describe. You feel this special feeling. There aren't really words to put it into perspective. We must not forget that we are always under pressure as Ferrari drivers, and therefore we must win. »

Alessandro Pier Guidi couldn't believe he had a string of successes with such ease. “It's hard to even dream of it, and yet we did it. Six months ago we won this incredible historic race at Le Mans, and now we are back here with Risi and Ferrari to achieve another incredible success.

Ferrari had been trying to win this race for a long time, and to win this way, easily, is quite surprising because they (Risi and Ferrari) had never won together at Daytona until now. They have won so many things together, but never this race. »

Thank you Risi fans for all the ❤️ What a performance by #62 & our drivers @danielserra @daviderigon @ale_pierguidi & @jamescalado 💪our crew…thank you for dedication, passion & hard work, 🙏 our partners, thank you for your continued support.
#longmaywedrive #rolex24 pic.twitter.com/TQ0JjjJ1Ny

— Risi Competizione (@risicomp) January 28, 2024

James Calado concluded by describing the giant progress made with the Ferrari 296 GT3 in the space of a year. “There was a lot to learn. This car was not as easy to develop as the 488. We took a different approach. A lot of things are different, not only the way it's made, but also the fact that we have parts on the car that we can change quickly, which wasn't the case on the 488.

I think the most important thing is that the car settings are completely different from last year, and of course some small Balance of Performance (BoP) changes. All this has helped us to be competitive when last year we were nowhere. We were two seconds behind the best and of course it was a brand new car, it was its first race.

But since then it has won the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, and we have learned a lot from that, as well as from the GT World Challenge and other events. We're still part of, let's say, the development process. More Daniel (Serra) than anyone.