Lucas di Grassi will link up with Ferrari’s AF Corse team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, racing in its No. 51 entry alongside James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Di Grassi was part of Audi’s LMP1 team prior to its closure at the end of 2016, and has scored three overall podiums at the Circuit de la Sarthe with the German marque.
Di Grassi will race in the No. 51 Ferrari 488 GTE at Le Mans alongside Calado and Pier Guidi, who form the marque’s full-season line-up.
“I’m very happy to be back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” di Grassi said. “Every professional racing driver wants to be part of history and to race for Ferrari means a lot to me.
“Manufacturer-backed GTE-Pro is undoubtedly the best place to be after my four years in LMP1.”
Di Grassi took to Twitter to stress that the deal would be a one-off for Le Mans only, once again stating that Formula E is his priority with Audi in 2017.
I can confirm 2017 #LeMans24h for works Ferrari @AFCorse car #51 🏎 as a one-off event. My priority remains with Audi Sport and #FIAFormulaE.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
