Fuoco Hails Comeback Drive as One of His “Top Three” GT Races

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Antonio Fuoco has hailed his comeback drive in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to GTD class victory as one of his “top three” GT races in his career.

The factory Ferrari Hypercar star, who won last year’s FIA GT World Cup in Macau, overcame three drive-through penalties in the final three-and-a-half hours of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship enduro to give AF Corse its third class victory in the race.

Fuoco, who shared the win with Lilou Wadoux and Simon Mann, was first handed a drive-through for contact with the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO of Ben Barker while in the class lead with just over three hours to go.

It was followed up by another drive-through, this time for having too many crew over the wall during a pit stop.

The 29-year-old Italian then lost the class lead again for the second time when he made contact with the No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo driven by his Ferrari 499P co-driver Miguel Molina, which led to the third penalty in the final hour.

“On the last safety car, we were P7 I think, [with] 26 minutes to go, then we were able to win the race,” he said.

When asked by Sportscar365 if Saturday’s comeback drive was one of his best-ever GT finishes, Fuoco referenced his drive through the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup field in last year’s season finale at Barcelona, where he made up nearly 20 positions in his stint.

“I will say for sure [Sebring was] one of the best because… I went really aggressive through Turn 1, overtook two or three cars on one lap,” he said.

“Then from there I just tried to push until the end. Then on the last lap, the Aston in front made a small mistake. I took the chance to drive on the outside through [Turns] 11, 12. It worked out.

“I think I will put the last stint on the top three of GT races I did so far.”

Fuoco indicated his last-lap battle with Tom Gamble in the then class-leading No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo was impacted by GTP traffic.

“I think on the last lap I lost a bit compared to the last one,” he said. “I was thinking that I have a chance, especially on the last corner, because I was able to get a bit more speed there.

“I was trying to think on the last lap even if I was a bit far, I was a bit better on Sector 2 compared to them. I was thinking to try on the last lap on the last corner.

“Luckily [he] made a mistake a bit early, so it was a bit more easy.”

Fuoco Seeking Answers on First Penalty

Despite still ending up with the class win, Fuoco, who didn’t attend the post-race press conference with his co-drivers, insisted that he’s still seeking clarity on the reasons he received the penalties.

“We still like to understand how we get three drive-throughs because I think two of them was not there, I would say,” he said. “But we were not able to review with the steward.

“I was already angry after the first [penalty] because I saw the image. I think we can review 100 times and someone needs to explain me why I got the drive-through because I still don’t understand.

“I mean, we are here for racing. If you are on the inside where [do] you need to overtake the car, especially if the line is one?

“Anyway, I don’t want to complain. I was already quite upset since that one. I knew we had a good potential. Also I really like this track, so I know that on the last hour I can push and make a bit of difference.

“But again, one hour to go I think I was on the best place because we were P1, then we had the contact, which I think was a bit of a misunderstanding between us (Fuoco and Molina). We will talk with the other guys.

“I think was really chaotic race, some ups and downs. At the end we managed to win.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John