Unbeatable Ferrari takes ILMC title, Scuderia AF Corse take team title

[Rob]

sorry bit late in posting.
Maranello, 13 November – Zhuhai circuit in China was the scene of the final round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and Ferrari has taken the Constructors’ title in the GTE PRO class, while Scuderia AF Corse has been crowned as the winner of the team category. Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella came home fifth at the end of the six hour race and that was enough for them to finish ahead of BMW Motorsport in the championship even though latter took first and second today. The Italian team thus repeats last year’s victory brining home the title to the Maranello marque, in a series that will be replaced next year by the new FIA World Endurance Championship.

“This victory is the perfect finale to a season where we were always competitive,” commented Giancarlo Fisichella, after crossing the finishing line. “Having dominated the Le Mans Series, we have now won the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, a tough championship which saw us go head to head with strong competitors. We came to Zhuhai knowing our strengths, feeling confident that we could add to the list of titles on the Ferrari and Scuderia AF Corse palmares.

“A well thought out strategy adopted by the Amato Ferrari run team, perfect teamwork and my rapport with Gianmaria Bruni made for a very strong outfit.” Of the other five Ferraris in the race, Fred Makowiecki and Stephane Ortelli completed 218 laps to finish third in the Luxury Racing 458 Italia GT2, while in the GTE AM class, the acid green F430 GTC entered by Krohn Racing and crewed by Krohn-Jonsson-Rugolo came third.

[Rob]

The seventh and last round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup ended with a brace of doubles, one by Peugeot, outright winner of the Zhuhai 6 Hours, and the other by BMW in LM GTE Pro. However, the German cars’ performance was not enough to prevent Ferrari from retaining its manufacturers’ crown in LM GTE Pro.

Although the LM P1 titles were already awarded before the Zhuhai 6 Hours the two main protagonists in the category, Peugeot and Audi, went at it hammer and tongs for the beauty of the sport and the prestige of victory in the only race held in China, the biggest car market in the world.

Pole sitter Sébastien Bourdais took the lead straight away in the first corner with the two Audis in hot pursuit. The two German cars overtook the Frenchman just after the first half-hour of the race thanks to the heavy traffic. But it was a flash in the pan! During the second round of refuelling stops, Peugeot retook a lead it was never to lose. In addition, the no. 2 Audi was delayed after a collision with the Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota, which damaged the electrical harness of the R18 and led to its retirement on lap 139. The Fässler-Bernhard Audi was unable to match the searing pace of the 908s, and the French cars drove on to an unchallenged victory.

The winners of the Zhuhai 6 Hours Sébastien Bourdais and Anthony Davidson added another success to their incredible 2011 results, as they have scored three wins each including two together. For Peugeot, already assured of the manufacturers’ and teams’ titles before the final round, its Chinese victory was the sixth of the year out of seven events.

Behind the Fässler-Bernhard Audi R18 in third place came the first of the petrol-engined cars in fourth, the Prost-Jani Lola-Toyota followed by the Pla-Premat-Nicolet OAK Pescarolo after a closely-fought scrap for the honour of first place of the petrol-engined brigade.

In LM GTE Pro, BMW dominated the category in much the same way as Peugeot in LM P1. The German make had little difficulty seeing off the Ferrari F458 Italia GTCs. Fisichella-Bruni, the make’s spearhead, were delayed by hub carrier problems while the Beltoise-Farnbacher-Firman entry retired. The third Prancing Horse car, the sole survivor, driven by Makowiecki-Ortelli saw the flag in third place scored crucial points that enabled the Italian manufacturer to retain its 2010 ILMC GTE Manufacturers’ title.

BMW finished the season as it had begun, with a double, the second victory in GTE Pro for the Munich manufacturer this year after Sebring. But the accumulated gap to AF Corse was too big, and the leading Ferrari driver line-up won the teams’ crown in LM GTE Pro.

In LM P2, Mailleux-Ordonez-Vernay scored an untroubled victory in their Oreca 03-Nissan. Their team, Signatech-Nissan, already assured of the LM P2 teams’ title, increased its winning margin even further.

Lietz-Roda-Ried emerged victorious in LM GTE Am, their first success of the season. Larbre Competition, which clinched the LM GTE Am teams’ title at the Petit Le Mans on 1st October, finished second with their Corvette driven by Bornhauser-Canal-Beretta whose race was hindered by gearbox problems.

After its 2-year existence the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup bowed out after the Zhuhai 6 Hours. This series launched in 2010 by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest will be replaced by the FIA World Endurance Championship, in partnership with ACO. Eight events are on the 2012 calendar starting with the Sebring 12 Hours in Florida (USA) on 17th March 2012.

To download the complete results of the Zhuhai 6 Hours: click here.

To download the full ILMC classifications: click here.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
2nd Zhuhai 6 Hours,
13th November 2011
Seventh and last round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

Circuit: Zhuhai Circuit (Guangdong, China), length 4,03 km.

Entries: 29 cars including 23 ILMCs.

ILMC field: 23 cars: 8 LM P1s, 2 LM P2s, 7 GTE Pros, 6 GTE Ams.

Podium
1. Bourdais-Davidson (F-GB), Peugeot 908, 249 laps
2. Montagny-Sarrazin (F-F), Peugeot 908, 38.651s behind
3. Fässler-Bernhard (D-CH), Audi R18 TDI, 1 lap behind.

ILMC winners per category
LM P1 : 1. Bourdais-Davidson (F-GB), Peugeot 908, 249 laps
LM P2: 1. Mailleux-Ordonez-Vernay (F-E-F), Oreca 03-Nissan, 228 laps.
LM GTE Pro: 1. Farfus-Müller (BR-D), BMW M3 : 221 laps.
LM GTE Am: 1. Lietz-Roda-Ried (A-I-D), Porsche 911 RSR 997 : 217 laps.

Pole position 2011: Davidson (GB), Peugeot 908, 1m 21.769s (av. speed : 189,30 km/h)

Fastest lap in the race: Bourdais (F), Peugeot 908, 1m 23.177s (av. speed : 186,10 km/h)

2011 ILMC

2011 Champions

Manufacturers

LM P1: Peugeot.
LM GTE: Ferrari.

Teams

LM P1: Peugeot Sport Total.
LM P2: Signatech Nissan.
LM GTE Pro: AF Corse.
LM GTE Am: Larbre Compétition.

Classifications

Manufacturers

LM P1: 1. Peugeot, 211 pts ; 2. Audi, 119.
LM GTE: 1. Ferrari, 171 pts ; 2. BMW, 152 ; 3. Porsche, 114 ; etc.

Ecuries

LM P1: 1. Peugeot Sport Total, 113 pts ; 2. Audi Sport Team Joest, 85 ; 3. Rebellion Racing, 50 ; etc.
LM P2: 1. Signatech Nissan, 95 pts ; 2. OAK Racing, 63 ; 3. Level 5 Motorsports, 57
LM GTE Pro: 1. AF Corse, 108 pts; 2. BMW Motorsport, 101 ; 3. Luxury Racing, 38 ; etc.
LM GTE Am: 1. Larbre Compétition, 93 pts ; 2. Krohn Racing, 62 ; AF Corse, 52 ; etc.

[scuderiafan]

take that Ron, Corvette

[epiclyaddicted]

Woohoo, the 458's first season in GT racing!

[Rob]

see the last hour and half on Eurosport, very gutted that they only showing that. Been nice to have all race live Great season for the 458 and AF Corse. Next year will be bit harder, Porcshe have a big upgrade for the old car. BMW were strong yesterday and were strong through out the year. Next year will be the WEC, going be hell of a year of sports car racing and GTs. Bring it on.

[Nova]

Great to hear..thx for the info Rob. I would sure like to watch some of these races. But dont think Ferrari will rest, they will make the 458
stronger..

[Nova]

From Veloce Today..Check the article, there are some killer 458 pix plus always great articles and pix....www.velocetoday.com

Le Mans Series
The Ferrari 458 from Piacenza Italy, managed by the AF Corse team and driven in the races by Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni , captured the Le Mans Series, winning two of the five scheduled races, coming second in two others and failing only in the race held at the Portuguese Estoril circuit.
Bruni,-Fisichella Ferrari 458

Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni at Paul Ricard.

GTE Pro Category
The Ferrari 458 Italy also took the title in the category GTE Pro (for GTs derived from standard models, driven by professional drivers). The team and driver Championships were won respectively by AF Corse, which won over the British JMW Motorsport with a 458 Italia with Championship drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni, who bested the English duo Rob Bell and James Walker driving for JMW.

Italian GTE Championship
The Italia also won the Italian championship in the category for GTE cars, ahead of the Porsche 911 RSR and the Aston Martin Vantage. Again headed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni, the 458 managed by AF Corse won the Intercontinental Cup in the Le Mans GTE Pro category.

In 2011, the 458 Italia achieved major successes in several championships, carrying on the legacy of the F430. The Italia is already one of the most successful cars in the history of GT Racing.

GT3
Also important was the success of Leo-Castellacci (AF Corse) in the FIA GT3 category where Ferrari debuted this year for the first time with its own car, and GT3 Championship victory in ASIA with the pilot Weng Sun of Singapore driving for the Clearwater Racing team.