A great fightback but nothing more

Maranello, 22 September – Yesterday afternoon didn’t turn out to be a particularly great day for the two 458 GT cars entered in the American Le Mans Series at the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, the eighth round of the season. The American West/AJR/Boadwalk team’s entry, in the hands of Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell, started from twentieth place overall, tenth in the GT class, while the RIsi Competizione car, with its experienced crew of Olivier Beretta and Matteo Malucelli, having set the eighth fastest time in class was relegated to the back of the grid, for failing to conform to the rule regarding minimum driving time for the two drivers. In this situation, it was going to be difficult to achieve a good result in what was the home race for the Houston team, especially as the two and three quarter hour race went off without a single safety car period which might have jumbled up the order. However, the AF Corse duo put on a great display, moving up the order so that they ended the race in eighteenth place overall, sixth in class, one lap off the winners, Magnussen-Garcia (Corvette.) Malucelli starred, managing to even get into the lead of the class at the first run of pit stops. Unfortunately, Beretta’s second stint was not as fast and the third, again with the Italian at the wheel, was too short to aspire to a higher placing, even if it was the best since the start of the season in Sebring. Bell and Sweedler took the chequered flag in twentieth place overall, eighth in class.