It’s become a tradition now to say goodbye to the Ferrari 458 GTE each Christmas on DSC, as each year when it looks like its run at the top of sportscars is over, a privateer team decides to enter one again!
Now though, finally!! it looks highly unlikely that we’ll see the 458 GTE in 2018 and beyond, even as a customer entry, with the new turbo-charged 488 GTE now eligible for the WEC’s GTE Am class and GTE in the ELMS.
This year JMW Motorsport continued to campaign its 458 GTE at the start of the year, and sent it off in style with an ELMS GTE class win in Monza in its final race with the team before its 488 GTE was delivered (and won GTE Am at Le Mans in its very first race).
That performance by JMW this year capped off an incredible run for the car, which has taken wins in the WEC, ILMC, ELMS, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Petit Le Mans, Sebring, the ALMS and of course Le Mans in recent seasons.
It will most definitely be missed though, as its screaming 4.5 litre V8 has become part of sportscar racing’s modern soundtrack, the successor 488 lacks for nothing in pace, but the aural outpourings of the twin turbo V8 are somewhat ‘folk singer’ to the 458’s ‘heavy metal opera star’.
In light of its wins this season, helping JMW to another ELMS title, here’s a complete rundown of all its big wins and titles since its 2011 debut:
Major Titles
2011: ILMC GTE Title, AF Corse
201: Petit Le Mans GTE winners AF Corse
2011: International GT Open Teams Championship, JMB Racing
2011: International GT Open Drivers Championship, Soheil Ayari
2012: FIA WEC, Manufacturers Champions
2012: FIA WEC, Teams Champions, AF Corse
2012: Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro Winners AF Corse
2012: Sebring 12 Hours GTE Winners AF Corse
2012: Petit Le Mans, GT Winners ESM Racing
2012: ELMS Teams Champions JMW Motorsport
2012: International GT Open Team Champions, AF Corse
2012: International GT Open Drivers Championship, Gianmaria Bruni, Federico Leo
2013: FIA WEC Manufacturers Champions
2013: FIA WEC Teams Champions, AF Corse
2013: FIA WEC GT Drivers Championship, Gianmaria Bruni
2013: ELMS GTE Teams Championship RAM Racing
2013: ELMS GTE Drivers Championship Johnny Mowlem & Matt Griffin
2013: Asian LMS GTE Championship, Team Taisan
2013: International GT Open Drivers Championship, Andrea Montermini (Scuderia Villorba Corse)
2014: FIA WEC Manufacturers Champions
2014: FIA WEC Teams Champions, AF Corse
2014: FIA WEC GT Drivers Championship, Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander
2014: Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro Winners, AF Corse
2014: ELMS GTE Teams Championship SMP Racing
2014: ELMS GTE Drivers Championship, Sergey Zlobin, Andrea Bertolini, Viktor Shaytar
2015: Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Am Winners, SMP Racing
2015: ELMS GTE Teams Championship, Formula Racing
2015: ELMS GTE Drivers Championship, Mikkel Mac, Johnny Laursen
2016: FIA WEC GTE Am Teams Championship, AF Corse
2016 FIA WEC GTE Am Drivers Championship, Francois Perrodo, Emanuelle Collard, Rui Aguas
2016: Le Mans 12 Hours GTE Am winners, Scuderia Corsa
Year by Year
2011
ILMC: 5 x Class Wins, AF Corse
LMS: 3 x GTE Pro Class Wins, AF Corse
LMS: 2 x GTE Pro Class Wins, JMW Motorsport
ALMS: 1 x Class Win, Risi Competition
ALMS: 1 x Class Win, AF Corse
International GT Open: 3 x Race Wins, Scuderia Villorba Corse
International GT Open: 3 x Race Wins, JMB Racing
International GT Open: 1 x Race Win, Edil Cris Racing
International GT Open: 1 x Class Win, Kessel Racing
2012
FIA WEC: 5 x GTE Pro Class Wins, AF Corse
FIA WEC: 1 x GTE Am Class Win, AF Corse
ELMS: 2 x GTE Class Wins, JMW Motorsport
ALMS: 2 x GTLM Class Wins, ESM Motorsport
International GT Open: 3 x Race Wins, Scuderia Villorba Corse
International GT Open: 1 x Race Win, Kessel Racing
2013
FIA WEC: 3 x GTE Pro Class Wins, AF Corse
FIA WEC: 2 x GTE Am Class Wins, 8Star Motorsport
ELMS: 3 x GTE Class Wins, RAM Racing
ALMS: 1 x GTLM Class Win, Risi Competizione
International GT Open: 5 x Race Wins, Scuderia Villorba Corse
International GT Open: 3 x Race Wins, AF Corse
International GT Open: 1 x Race Win, Kessel Racing
Asian Le Mans Series: 4 x Class Wins, Team Taisan
2014
FIA WEC: 4 x GTE Pro Class Wins, AF Corse
FIA WEC: 1 x GTE Am Class Win, AF Corse
ELMS: 3 x GTE Class Wins, AF Corse
ELMS: 2 x GTE Class Wins, SMP Racing
TUSCC: 2 x GTLM Class Wins, Risi Competition
International GT Open: 3 x Race Wins, SMP Racing
International GT Open: 2 x Race Wins, Scuderia Villorba Corse
2015
FIA WEC: 3 x GTE Pro Class Wins, AF Corse
FIA WEC: 3 x GTE Am Class Wins, SMP Racing
FIA WEC: 1 x GTE Am Class Win, AF Corse
ELMS: 2 x GTE Class Wins, Formula Racing
ELMS: 1 x GTE Class Win, AT Racing
2016
WEC: 2 x GTE Am Class Wins, AF Corse
ELMS: 3 x GTE Class Wins, JMW Motorsport
2017
ELMS: 1 x GTE Class Win, JMW Motorsport
Other Significant Customer Teams
Hankook Team Farnbacher: LMS, Le Mans 24 Hours, Nurburgring 24 Hours
Krohn Racing, FIA WEC, ALMS, TUSCC
Luxury Racing: FIA WEC
Scuderia Corsa: Le Mans 24 Hours
Sofrev ASP: ELMS
Team West/AJR: ALMS
Clearwater Racing: Le Mans
