Calado: Daytona, Le Mans Double an “Amazing Achievement”

Photo: Risi Competizione

James Calado believes claiming victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Rolex 24 at Daytona within an eight-month span is an “amazing achievement” for he and fellow Ferrari factory driver Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Calado and Pier Guidi teamed up with Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra to give Risi Competizione a long-awaited GT class victory in the Florida endurance classic, following a rather commanding run in the GTD Pro class.

It marked Ferrari’s third major 24-hour triumph in the last year, following Frikadelli Racing’s victory in the 2023 Nürburgring 24, which was followed up three weeks later by Calado, Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi taking overall honors at Le Mans in the Ferrari 499P.

“It’s two big sports car races, and to tick both of them off in a short period of time is obviously an amazing achievement,” Calado said.

“It’s really down to Ferrari, AF Corse and the team [at Le Mans] and Risi for this weekend. The whole group together with the drivers is amazing, and to be part of that, I feel very lucky.

“This race was pretty much how we wanted it to go. The car was great to drive, the balance, and the performance was definitely a lot better than last year.

“To get that win for Risi and especially for Giuseppe [Risi] like Ale said, I’m proud for him because he’s wanted that for a long time.”

Pier Guidi added: “It’s even difficult to dream, and we did it.

“Actually [seven] months ago, we achieved this amazing historic victory in Le Mans, and now we are back here with Risi and Ferrari to complete another 24, to achieve another amazing success.

“It was a long time that Ferrari is trying to win this race, and to win too easily is quite surprising they never won together. They won so much together, but never this race.

“Finally for Giuseppe and Ferrari together, we achieved this victory, we must be all proud of this.”

The win came on the one-year anniversary of the 296 GT3’s competition debut, which was marred with pace and reliability issues.

“We’ve had a year to develop,” Calado said. “There was a lot to learn. This car wasn’t as easy to get right as the 488.

“We took a different approach. A lot of it’s different, not only the way it’s made, but the fact that we got parts on the car which we can quick change which the 488 didn’t.

“I think the biggest thing we found is the setup of the car is completely different to last year, and of course some small BoP changes and all this, this helped us competitive last year — last year we were nowhere.

“We were two seconds off and of course it was a brand new car, it was its first race.

“But it’s won the 24 hours of Nürburgring, and we took a lot from that, and GT World Challenge and things like that. We’re still part of, let’s say, the development process. More Daniel [Serra] than anyone.

“The car was nice to drive this week, even from the roll we knew — I said it about Le Mans, you always feel like you’ve got a good car underneath you, and it paid off.”

Risi Ferrari Overcame Refueling Fire

The No. 62 Ferrari bounced back from a refueling fire in the overnight hours during a routine pit stop that Calado said actually briefly covered him in flames.

“We had a big fire in the driver change which caught me a little bit,” he told Sportscar365. “I was getting out, Ale was getting in and the guy split fuel all over us.

“We were actually on fire at one point.

“We lost about a minute because it wouldn’t go out. There was fuel underneath the car.

“Ale tried to get back in, as brave as he was, but then he realized there were flames coming through the pedals up through the floor, so we had to get out.

“Luckily there was no damage and no one was injured and we carried on.

“That was our biggest issue. It warmed me up. It was cold in the night!”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report

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