Toni Vilander (left) and Giancarlo Fisichella (right) pose with the Circuit of the Americas cowgirls
The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM team faced another heartbreak Saturday when a hit from another GTLM car on the first turn of the first lap of the two hour and 40 minute Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown race sent the Houston, Texas-based team packing up early to head home.
After a similar setback on the first lap at last month's Long Beach Grand Prix, which took the fan favorite out of the race, the always professional Risi Competizione team put the Ferrari 488 GTLM back together with high expectations for Saturday's race on the 3.40-mile, 20-turn Circuit of the Americas (COTA) Texas road course.
Italian Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella had a stellar qualifying session and was starting from the front row and second position on the GTLM grid in the 39-car field.
Giancarlo Fisichella, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:
"I don't know exactly what happened. I think it was the 67 Ford (Ryan Briscoe) that touched me in Turn 1 and spun me. Then I was hit again at the front and our race was over. So another race is finished after one lap, one corner!"
Rick Mayer, Risi Competizione Race Engineer:
"Unfortunately, Giancarlo got hit from behind at the start in braking into Turn 1 and then he got hit again. It damaged the left front corner, the radiator and the front floor. Unfortunately, that's not repairable in the time of the race with this car, where others could repair their damage. I thought we had a good car and hopefully we can regroup and do better at our next race at Le Mans for the 24 Hours."
Toni Vilander, driver, No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM:
"There's not many words to describe the disappointment. The team had great preparation coming to this event after what happened at Long Beach. The car was handling well and we were happy with set up since the moment we put the car on the track. We made a few slight changes for the race. After this morning we were confident we had the right strategy and right things on this car. But unfortunately, our race was over in the first corner. I'm not convinced it was a racing incident; I've not seen the video. It's difficult to say, but these things should not happen. I think we are playing with million dollar toys here and to start hitting other cars and pushing them out is not something that should happen. Nearly half of the GTLM cars were out or in a condition to have to repair their cars after the Turn 1 incident. This is not the way we want to race and not the way to have a good show and to do a championship. I have an empty feeling overall because it's been two races and I've done zero racing laps. I'm really disappointed for the whole team, starting with Giuseppe [Risi], and all the guys who worked so hard between the races. I definitely felt that we deserved a reward here, meaning a good result. I'm not only talking about winning, but a podium, and we definitely had a good chance to win today."
The next race for the Risi Competizione team will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, June 14-18.
