It’s a good time to be a Ferrari GT customer in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The 296 GT3 has matured into one of the most user-friendly, adaptable, and competitive machines in just two years of full-throttle GT3 competition. And at this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, eight 296 GT3s will populate the field across the GTD and GTD PRO classes, supported by 10 Ferrari Endurance factory drivers.
Compared to the 296 GT3’s launch year of 2023 when Ferrari had no full-time IMSA customers, four 296 GT3s plan to be here for the full season, headlined by DragonSpeed’s new entry in GTD PRO.
It’s the only GTD PRO Ferrari in the IMSA field that’s committed full-time, yet arrives with a great deal of strength behind it thanks to a technical partnership with longtime American sports car racing and Ferrari stalwart Risi Competizione.
Reigning Le Mans 24 Hours winner Miguel Molina, plus accomplished GT specialists Davide Rigon and Thomas Neubauer will support full-time DragonSpeed driver Albert Costa at Daytona.
Then there’s the GTD entries, where Conquest Racing returns for its second full season with a fresh look and a new partnership of Daniel Serra coming to join Manny Franco in the #34 Ferrari. Serra was part of Risi’s GTD PRO winning team at Daytona, and he effectively is trading places with Costa from last year’s Rolex 24.
“Last year was special. If I had to choose one race to win last year, it was Daytona,” Serra reflected. “It was a race I was trying for so many years to win. For sure, a special moment in my racing career.”
Inception Racing made a surprising switch before the penultimate round of the 2024 season, dropping its successful McLaren GT3 EVO for a Ferrari. This is the first full year for the Optimum Motorsport-run team and its cast of drivers led by Brendan Iribe and Frederik Schandorff.
And Triarsi Competizione has expanded to add a second car out of its base in Orlando, taking on last year’s Gradient Racing pairing of Sheena Monk (with JG Wentworth sponsorship in tow) and Stevan McAleer to drive the #021 Ferrari.
They’ll be getting up to speed with the assistance of James Calado, who was part of the Risi Competizione effort at Daytona last year.
“It’s always nice to be in a fresh environment,” said Calado of his new team for Daytona. “The team’s well-prepared for the race, teammates are doing a good job… Happy so far, they’re putting in a lot of effort trying to get the car as good as it can be, ready for the race.
“It’s always nice to go back to GT – because I did that for so many years. Even though it’s a GT3, I still enjoy it. This race is a good warm-up for my WEC season!”
Triarsi still has its #023 car that raced in the Endurance Cup last year, with Alessio Rovera making up part of the line-up with Onofrio Triarsi Jnr and Charles Scardina.
AF Corse USA is running a formidable trio of cars at Daytona – including one entered under the Cetilar Racing banner through Roberto Lacorte.
Alessandro Pier Guidi and Lilou Wadoux feature in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari, while Ferrari Driver Academy alumni Arthur Leclerc is making his IMSA debut in the #50 car. And for Cetilar Racing, they happily welcome back the last member of the 2024 Le Mans winning trio, Antonio Fuoco, to drive the blue and green #47 machine.
There is a definite strength in numbers for the Ferrari camp – nearly one-third of the field in GTD is made up of 296 GT3s. And with new race procedures in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, there will be less chance of the GTD Ferraris skirmishing with the DragonSpeed GTD PRO car.
“I think the 296 last year showed all the performance and how good it is with so many wins. And it’s a very nice car to drive,” Serra said of the platform. “And I think this is why we have so many 296 on the grid this year.
“I think some of the tracks in the US – medium-speed, high-speed corners – is very good for our car. So I hope we can do a good season and bring some more victories for the 296.”
While IMSA fans long to see a day that the Ferrari 499P Hypercar races at Daytona, there’s certainly nothing to scoff at when looking upon such a strong GT fleet.
It’s very clear that the 296 GT3 is a popular platform – customers are flocking to it, no matter the wait time or the cost – because of its ease of use and well-rounded nature. If the win doesn’t come here at Daytona, more will be around the corner as the IMSA season rolls on.
Feature image © Ferrari
