Press Release

Race Public Relations RISI COMPETIZIONE RETURNS TO WITH WINNING DRIVER LINE-UP Barbara J. Burns BurnsGroup PR [email protected] Tel: +1 770 329 7134 Risi Competizione 488 GTLM No. 62: (GBR) (ITA)

Daniel Serra (BRA) Risi Competizione Anna Lenzi [email protected] (Houston, Texas, October 8, 2019) … The popular Risi Competizione Ferrari team returns to Petit Le Mans with an impressive driver line-up again this year. The 24 6100 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas USA 77057 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class winners for 2019, James Calado, Alessandro Pier Tel: +1 713 772 3868 Guidi and , will pilot the No. 62 Ferrari GTLM at the 22nd annual www.risicompetizione.com

Motul Petit Le Mans, October 10-12.

Having only competed in the inaugural International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series race this year, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with a second-place finish, the Risi Ferrari team is back with its Rosso Red Prancing Horse for the IMSA finale at Michelin Raceway in Braselton, Ga. The Houston, Texas-based team also combined with Frenchman Jean Guikas and the prestigious 50-plus year-old Club Ferrari France, for their 15th entry over 21 years in the 87th annual 24 Hours of Le Mans in June and finished in 12th place.

Returning to the iconic 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta road course with its 24th entry over 18 years, the Risi Competizione Ferrari team is seeking their fifth victory in the 10-hour classic.

The 22-year-old Risi Competizione team, with Team Principal Giuseppe Risi, has extensive history at Petit Le Mans, including winning the first ever Petit Le Mans race in 1998 with drivers , Eric van der Poele and Emmanuel Collard in the Doyle-Risi Ferrari 333.

Three additional victories were captured by the Risi Team at the popular IMSA season finale. In 2008 Jamie Melo and won from pole position in the Ferrari 430 GT2 and again in 2009 with Melo, Salo and , also in the 430 GT2. In 2016 , James Calado and took the Risi GTLM to victory.

Calado won in his one and only effort at Petit, while Pier Guidi finished third with the Risi Ferrari Team in 2017 and also drove in 2016 with Scuderia Corse to an eighth-place finish.

Serra is new to Risi Competizione but no stranger to the Ferrari 488. Last year he earned the pole and victory with Scuderia Corse in the GTD class at Petit Le Mans. He has two other Petit entries with Scuderia Corse in 2015 and 2016 with Top 10 finishes in GTD.

The first practice session for the 2019 running of the Petit Le Mans begins Thursday morning, October 5 at 10:50 a.m. for one hour with Practice 2 running

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Race Public Relations from 2:50-4:05 p.m. with the GTLM class participating from 3:05 p.m. for one hour. Thursday night Practice 3 is from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Friday morning Practice 4 Barbara J. Burns BurnsGroup PR will run at 11:15 a.m. for an hour and GTLM class qualifying is 4:20-4:35 p.m. [email protected] Tel: +1 770 329 7134

The 22nd annual Motul Petit Le Mans 10-hour race begins on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. after morning warm up from 9:30-9:50 a.m. Live timing and scoring is Risi Competizione Anna Lenzi available for all on-track sessions at IMSA.com and the IMSA Smartphone app. [email protected]

Rick Mayer, Risi Competizione Race Engineer: 6100 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas USA 77057 Risi Competizione is back for the IMSA finale after only competing in the Tel: +1 713 772 3868 opener at Daytona. Always a fan favorite, what brought the team back? www.risicompetizione.com

“Mr. Risi enjoys racing at Petit. We’ve had a lot of success here. When you only do select races each year you pick the ones that are favorites. Favorites tend to be the ones you’ve had success at.”

You have an impressive driver line-up in Calado, Pier Guidi and Serra who won the GTE-Pro class at Le Mans this year. Tell us about this driver line-up. “We’re biased, of course, but we think we have a stellar line-up. They’ve all raced together before on several occasions. They all know the track and nuances of the car well. They all get along very well and have the same goal, to win this race.”

Even when the Risi Competizione crew has not done full-time racing they seem to be able to come together and beat many of the factory teams on pit stops and with no errors. How important is that and how do they manage that impressive task?

“It will take a little time to get everyone back to speed in the pits. The most essential item is the attachment of the fuel probe, as that times the stop normally. By the race we should be ready for competitive pit work.”

Setting up the car for Road Atlanta and the Petit endurance race requires a lot of expertise because it’s a fast track that requires good top speed, but you also need the right set-up for high speed corners, proper stiffness for curb use and proper downforce and ride height. It seems like a very fine line to finesse. How do you manage all the variables when working to get the set-up refined? “It’s very difficult when we don’t test. We have a lot of notes from years past.

Our mechanical setup has not been the limiting factor in our results at any Petit. We have the best GT Ferrari drivers in the world. They know the track, what the car can do, and what they need it to do. They ultimately guide the setup process. The track has had some resurfacing and we have different Michelin tire options then we raced here last year. We have a lot of work to do. I’m sure we’ll be busy right through warm-up refining the car but we’re confident we’ll have the best car possible for the race.”

Risi has always been strong at Petit Le Mans/Road Atlanta. What’s the secret at this track?

“We tend to group all the long races together. These long races require intense

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Race Public Relations focus and patience by the drivers. They all know the last three hours or so are the most important. The initial job is getting through the first seven hours. The Barbara J. Burns BurnsGroup PR crew is virtually unchanged. They prep a rock-solid endurance car; so much [email protected] Tel: +1 770 329 7134 attention to detail. They all pride themselves on quick pit work and do whatever it takes to stay competitive in the pits. We’ve had the same Engineering staff for several years and the integration is seamless.” Risi Competizione Anna Lenzi [email protected] Alessandro Pier Guidi, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:

Glad to have you back with the Risi team since Daytona earlier this year. 6100 Southwest Freeway You’ve had a good year in other championships. Talk about your year, being Houston, Texas USA 77057 Tel: +1 713 772 3868 back with Risi and back to IMSA competition. www.risicompetizione.com

“It is always a pleasure to come back to the U.S. with Risi. Last race here was Daytona where we finished second doing a good race from us and the team. The season was really good so far in Europe, winning Le Mans and the ELMS already. Now here in Atlanta we will try to repeat the performance of Daytona stepping up one place on the podium.”

You and your teammates James Calado and Daniel Serra teamed together for the GTE-Pro victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year with great success. Tell us about your teammates and your relationship. “I have known James and Daniel for a long time, and I have a really good relationship with them. James is my usual teammate in WEC, and we are used to working together, but also with Daniel we worked very well every time we were together. I think this is a good line-up as we have shown with our Le Mans 24-hour result. I really hope to achieve the same result here in U.S.”

With Petit Le Mans being a 10-hour race, how do you manage when to push hard and when to go a bit easy to make the car components last at maximum capability?

“In the last few years ‘managing the car’ during this race is quite difficult. The endurance races now have become a long sprint race where we need to push hard from the start to the checkered flag. And especially with the sporting rules in the U.S., we need to be quick but taking care of car for the last two hours of the race and this makes the race a bit more difficult for us as drivers.”

You have raced at Petit Le Mans two other times, including once with Risi

Competizione in 2017 and finished on the podium in third. How do you like this race and the Road Atlanta circuit? “Road Atlanta, even if is a quite small track, it’s really nice to drive and it’s one of my favorite in U.S. The race is always super competitive like all the GTE races around the world but starting with the daylight and finishing in the night make this race more interesting. This is especially true with needing to set the car to be the best for the end of the race where normally the temperature goes down.”

What are your thoughts on the differences in the competition internationally, at Le Mans and in WEC in GTE-Pro versus the GTLM competition in the U.S.

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Race Public Relations “I think the main differences are the use of yellow flags, where in the U.S. they are always with the safety car. In this way there are normally many cars on the Barbara J. Burns BurnsGroup PR same lap fighting for the victory in the last hour, and even if a car had a small [email protected] Tel: +1 770 329 7134 problem during the race it is able to recover the time lost in the pitlane. The level of competition is equally very high and it is really nice to race in both of the championships.” Risi Competizione Anna Lenzi [email protected] James Calado, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:

Glad to have you back at Risi Competizione. You drove with the team for the 6100 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas USA 77057 Rolex 24 At Daytona earlier this year and nearly got on the top step. How do Tel: +1 713 772 3868 you enjoy working with Giuseppe Risi and the Risi Team? www.risicompetizione.com

“It’s a fantastic team and I really enjoy working with everyone involved. Giuseppe Risi is very passionate about winning races and this is always the goal when joining forces.”

You and your teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra teamed together for the GTE-Pro victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Seems you three make a good driver line-up. Tell us about your teammates and what works for you three. “We are all quick, experienced and know the 488 very well. We have won and lost together but we are positive about repeating what we did in Le Mans again this weekend.”

You have raced at Petit Le Mans with Risi Competizione only one other time (2016) and won the race in class. Undoubtedly you have a good feeling and memory about this race and are now coming back to drive again with Risi.

Share your thoughts. “I’m looking forward to it. Things have changed since 2016 but we are confident for this weekend and I think we stand a good chance in another victory.”

The Ferrari 488 GTE will face off this week against factory efforts by Ford, BMW, Porsche and Corvette again in the GTLM class. Competition will be tough. Share your thoughts on how to beat the competition at this tough race. “It’s strong competition as always, but this doesn’t worry me. We need to do our job and get the car well balanced for the race and hope we can cross the line first.”

You have been a Ferrari Competizioni GT driver for about six years. What makes the Ferrari brand so special and being a Ferrari driver so prestigious? “The passion within the team is extremely high, not to say that the car isn’t extremely quick as well. It’s always a pleasure jumping in the Prancing Horse.”

Daniel Serra, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:

This will be your first time driving for Mr. Risi and with the Risi Competizione team. What have you heard about them and what are your expectations going into this race?

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Race Public Relations “I’m super happy to join Risi Competizione for Petit Le Mans, I always heard good things from everyone that drove for them and it’s great to join a team with Barbara J. Burns BurnsGroup PR so much tradition in Motorsport and with Ferrari.” [email protected] Tel: +1 770 329 7134

You and your teammates James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi teamed together for the GTE-Pro victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Tell us Risi Competizione Anna Lenzi what makes this pairing work so well and your thoughts about your [email protected] teammates.

“It’s great to join them again. Last time we drove together was in Le Mans 6100 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas USA 77057 where in won! They are super fast and I’m looking forward to drive with them Tel: +1 713 772 3868 again.” www.risicompetizione.com

You have competed at Petit Le Mans three times and got the pole and won last year in the GTD class with Scuderia Corse. This year you’ll be stepping up to GTLM class. Share your thoughts about the difference in the two classes and your thought about now racing in the very competitive GTLM class.

“Both classes are super competitive, but GTLM as GTE Pro In WEC is the best of GT racing, so I’m happy to compete again in GTLM against the best GT competitors out there.”

Of the three drivers on the team this year you have the most experience at Road Atlanta. Share your thoughts on this iconic North American race track, including the parts you like best and the most challenging. “I love this track! It’s one of my favorites and the first sector it’s super nice with some fast corners.”

GTLM class championships battles will be won or lost at Petit this weekend. Share your thoughts about the Ferrari 488 GTE and the GTLM competition in this ultra-competitive class. “The 488 it’s a great car and super competitive in all kinds of circuits. I think we have the package to be competitive and fight for a good result.”

Tune-In Information: The race will begin with live television coverage on the NBC Network from 12 noon for three hours then will shift to NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App from 3:00-5:30 p.m. NBCSN will broadcast the final hours and post-race activities from 5:30-10:30 p.m. All times are Eastern. You can also listen to it live on imsa.com and RadioLeMans.com with live broadcast airing on SiriusXM Radio. The race will be streamed live in its entirety for international audiences on IMSA.tv and the IMSA Mobile App.

For more information, please go to www.risicompetizione.com and follow us on Facebook/RisiCompetizione and Twitter @RisiComp and on Instagram/RisiComp.

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