Risi Competizione hour 6 notes

#82 LEADS GT2 CHARGE, #83 RACING TO PLAN

At quarter distance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT of Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Pierre Kaffer is holding a firm lead in the highly competitive GT2 class, while the Krohn Racing crewed #83 car has been running steadily within the top eight in class.

Neither of the Risi Competizione entries have experienced any mechanical problems, and all six drivers have cycled through the car. They have only once been slightly delayed during a pit stop when both the cars in neighboring pits were also stopped and space was severely limited.

Melo started the race and had a great on-track battle with the leading Porsches in the class for the first ten laps of the race before handing over the Pierre Kaffer after a double stint. Both Kaffer and Salo have since completed double stints.

Melo said [at 1800 hrs] after his stint: "I had lots of high speed understeer but the stint was quite good. I think the Porsches were playing with us as they have so much power on the straight -- they would drop back a little and then come back alongside me quite easily. I'm not worried though as I think the car feels good and we have a good chance."

Car #83 has been the first of the Risi cars to triple stint its Michelin tires and it was Tracy Krohn who safely brought the car home at the end of that time. "By the last four laps of my stint the tires were not great but it was still quite warm at that time so it's looking good for tire wear in the night. Other than that everything was good and I'm looking forward to getting back in again."

-credit: risi