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Riberas, Marcelli Done for Weekend After Qualifying Crash

R. Ferri Motorsports is done for the weekend at CTMP after a qualifying crash…

Photo: Brian Cleary/bcpix.com

Photo: Brian Cleary/bcpix.com

Alex Riberas’ qualifying shunt has spelled the end of R. Ferri Motorsports’ weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and cast a shadow over the team’s ability to participate in the next round at Lime Rock next week.

Riberas had set the fastest lap of the SprintX qualifying session on Friday, and shattered the existing track record in process, but made heavy contact with the wall at the end of the session.

While Riberas was uninjured, the impact caused significant damage to the car according to Team Manager Enrico Diano.

“We took a closer look once we disassembled the front end of the car, and there’s substantial chassis damage beyond repair for us here at [Canadian Tire Motorsport Park],” Diano told Sportscar365.

“We’ll have it on a chassis jig soon enough in the week hoping that maybe we can do something for Lime Rock, but everything is up in the air right now unfortunately.

“We won’t be running here, we had to give up the pole position with a stunning track record, I must say, and we hope that we can get back on track for Lime Rock and events after.”

Diano added that the short amount of time between events has compounded the problem, as the the extent of the damage has required the Toronto-based team to fly in replacement parts from Italy.

He said the team’s status for Lime Rock won’t be known until early next week, but conceded that the squad will be on the back foot even if they can make the repairs in time.

“We’ll probably know [about Lime Rock] Monday evening, which is when we should have been arriving at Lime Rock.

“We’ll be definitely sacrificing at a minimum the test day. Luckily it’s only eight hours away from Toronto, and we’ll have to make the decision then. It’s tough. It’s tight.”

Ryan Myrehn is an Indianapolis-based broadcaster and reporter. In addition to his work covering primarily domestic sports car racing for Sportscar365, he is the lead announcer for SRO America's TV coverage as well as a pit reporter for IndyCar Radio. Myrehn, a graduate of DePauw University, is also the host of Sportscar365's “Double Stint” Podcast.

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