Sold out to see up close the red car that won the 24 Hours of the Centenary. The Apulian: “A very strong emotion and for me, who was experiencing a particular moment, even more special.” The big boss Coletta: “A new beginning, the challenge is to remain at the top”
– thirty
Red is the color of hope. And about victory. And of a shared history, in the name of Ferrari. The Cavallino Rosso has achieved ten successes in that legendary place that is the 24h of Le Mans. The last pearl this year, with the fabulous 499P. By the way: Red is also the color of beauty, ask the many who were enchanted by the racing car, on display outside the Palazzo della Regione, venue of the “Ferrari Le Mans” meeting at the Sports Festival. A 499P that this year was the first to cross the finish line of the legendary 24 Hours, unleashing the celebration of an entire population, to break a spell that had lasted fifty years and to inaugurate a new era.
speak young
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“And who expected it – attacks Antonio Giovinazzi, the Ferrari driver who celebrated at Le Mans with Pier Guidi and Calado – it was a very strong emotion. And to think that that was our first real race, previously we had only done tests, and never complete ones.” There are moments that remain engraved in history. “The perfect day”, was the headline in the Gazzetta dello Sport, giving an account of the triumph. Retying the thread means returning to where we were happy. “There were four hundred thousand people that day – says Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari GT Sport Activities – the 24h of Le Mans is the race of races and we have been missing from the most important class for a lifetime: this must be a new beginning, now we will work to maintain the level achieved”.
team victory
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It is the history of Ferrari that claims it, as underlined by Mario Salvini, who has the task of moderating an event that filled the hall of the Palazzo della Regione and which also saw the presence of Brembo, a Bergamo company of excellence in the world of motorsport. “The truth – continues Coletta, recalling the feat – is that we began to truly believe that we could win only during the race which, I remember, we conducted for 15 hours out of 24”. For Giovinazzi, joy was sprinkled with personal revenge. “I was going through a particular moment and I needed to find myself, after the unsatisfactory experience in Formula 1. I found the best staff I could aspire to, I felt Antonello Coletta’s trust from the beginning. The rest came by itself.” “Thanks to a team that – as Giovinazzi underlines – has made the difference. “In Formula 1 your teammate is your first opponent, in the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship it is exactly the opposite. You win together”.
global goal
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Winning the 24h of Le Mas, trying to win the World Championship. “It is our goal, we are preparing for it”, is Giovinazzi’s promise. “Other important competitors will enter in 2024 – it is always the Apulian who speaks – but we are ready for the new challenge”. Racing (and winning) the 24h Le Mans is also a mental question. Especially when something doesn’t go smoothly. It can happen – as it has happened – that the car stops. Background revealed by Coletta: “It happened at the last pit stop, twenty-six minutes from the end. But our race engineer demonstrated Olympic calm, he reset everything and in a very short time we overcame the problem. That was probably the crucial moment.” Giovinazzi: “I was following the race from the Ferrari truck, I breathed a sigh of relief”. At that point – the protagonists recall – a roar was heard that day, it was the Ferrari people who were pushing the Red Hypercar towards victory. 4 months have passed, but the echo of that triumph can still be heard.
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