Penarth Resident Wins Race at 24 Hours of Le Mans
By The Editor
17th Jun 2019 | Local News
Penarth resident James Calado finished first with his team for Ferrari in the LM GTE Pro class division 2019.
24 Hours of Le Mans took place over the weekend as teams raced around the clock in Sarthe, France.
It is the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing.
Calado alternated racing over a 24 hour period with his teammates Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra in the Ferrari 488 GTE # 51 AF Corse.
60 teams took part in the competition, all battling it out for the main title. A prize is awarded to the winner of each class, and to the overall winner.
17 teams took part in the LM GTE category. Ferrari, Porsche, Chevrolet, Ford, BMW and Aston Martin were all represented in the race.
The battle for victory boiled down to a fight between Ferrari and Porsche, turning to the advantage of Ferrari in the end.
This was a great success, especially as it was the 70th anniversary of the brands first victory in Sarthe.
James Calado said: "Being part of Ferrari and to win, especially on the 70th anniversary [of the marque's maiden Le Mans win] as the first one, is really something special.
''We've put a lot of work into this over the last six months. A lot of preparation went into this and it's something we really wanted more than anything.
''It wasn't an easy race at all, a lot of up and downs. There were a few issues.
''The sister car had an issue, so we had to deal with that and change a few things.
''It was tough and very demanding, but we did it.
''I'm very happy for these guys. It was Daniel's second win in three races. He's a super teammate and they're both very quick and we've got an amazing team around us.''
The standings at the end of the race for the LM GTE Pro class:
1st - Ferrari 488 GTE # 51 AF Corse - James Calado / Alessandro Pier Guidi / Daniel Serra2nd - Porsche 911 RSR # 91 Porsche GT Team - Gianmaria Bruni / Richard Lietz / Frederic Makowiecki
3rd - Porsche 911 RSR # 93 Porsche GT Team - Earl Bamber / Patrick Pilet / Nick Tandy Picture courtesy of: Guénolé TREHOREL (ACO) To read the results in full click the red button below.
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