Jaime Melo tested last Friday (10) Ferrari 458 Challenge GT, the new car with which the Italian automaker will play the 2011 season of American Le Mans Series GT2 category. A few days after the official launch of the 458 GT Challenge at the Motor Show in Bologna, Jaime Melo tested the new Ferrari car at Fiorano circuit, last Friday (10). The model of the Maranello factory will replace the F430 in next season's Le Mans Series. For this reason, the Brazilian was chosen to drive the model, once the pilot steered the old red car during the championship in the GT2 class in 2010, helping the Risi Competizione bill title among the builders of the American Le Mans Series.





Melo led the testing of the new GT2 car at Fiorano Ferrari, the F458 GT. Antonio Coletta, director of the department's customer Ferrari, was pleased with the performance of Challenge 458 after the first tests at Fiorano. "We are pleased that we got both of engineers and the pilots on the car," said the Italian leader. The development of the car is in early stages, and it was only the third test run from designing the new model of the team's Maranello.

Coletta said the good weather shakedown of Melo in the Ferrari test circuit and said he faced tough times at the beginning of the activities with the 458 Challenge. "Thanks to good weather these past two days, it was possible to acquire more data than in previous sessions, since they were executed in snow and rain."

The goal is to leave Ferrari's new car ready to race 12 Hours of Sebring, who will open the season in the American Le Mans Series, on March 19. "We will continue to develop during the winter months, which will culminate with the premiere of the car at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the first race of the season in the American Le Mans Series," concluded the director of the Italian carmaker.





Source: Grande Prêmio IG

 

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Thanks for the article. I like what I see, can't wait until sebring this is going to be great.

 

I want to like it but the 430 has it beat in the looks dept.

 

I wish the regular road car 458 Italia had the mirrors bolted like that pre-current regulations, the side mirrors bolted on the doors look rather ugly.

 

Too bad they had to ruin the design...

 

Almost ready to be Preyed on by the C6.R's and the Flying Lizards ;-)

 

that car looks terrible

 

^ this

 

aside from the hood, i think it looks 3x as good as the street 458 - looks mean

- chuck

 

PRESS RELEASE:
458 GTC takes its first steps at Fiorano

Maranello, 10 December 2010 –A few days after the official launch of the 458 Challenge at the Bologna Motor Show on 2 December, today saw the end of a two day shakedown carried out by Ferrari at Fiorano of the 458 GTC, the latest jewel to emerge from Maranello, which will be taking on the opposition in the most important GT races at international level.

The car's development on track has been entrusted to Jaime Melo, the Brazilian who competed in this year's American Le Mans Series with the Risi Competizione team. He also teamed up with Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander in the AF Corse squad's F430 GT2 to bring the Prancing Horse the Constructors' title in the 2010 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

Antonello Coletta, head of the Ferrari Corse Clienti Department had this to say about the initial testing of the 458 GTC: "We are pleased with the feedback we have had from the engineers and drivers about the car." Development is in its initial statges and this is just the third test the car has undergone at Fiorano. "Thanks to the good weather these past two day, it has been possible to gather more data than in previous sessions, which were run in snowy and rainy conditions."

The next step? "We will continue development over the winter months, which will culminate in the car's debut in the Sebring 12 Hours, the famous endurance race and the first race in next season's American Le Mans Series."

Source [Ferrari]