2008 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES, ROUND 6
ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE, MID OHIO, OH

RISI SECURES MORE POINTS AT MID OHIO

HOUSTON, TX, (July 19, 2008) -- Both Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT cars came home in point-scoring positions in today’s sixth round of the American Le Mans Series, with the #62 in 5th and the #61 in 6th. The Houston-based team was, however, left disappointed by the result after a penalty for a pit infringement dropped the #62 Ferrari from what would surely have been a strong podium finishing position.

Team Principal, Giuseppe Risi, commented after the end of the 2 hour 45 minute race: “We entered the race at the head of the field and in the right frame of mind to challenge for a win. Unfortunately, the results did not fulfill the promise of the pole position. We still have lots of work ahead of us. On the positive side, the car ran beautifully, there were no mechanical issues; the new suspension was excellent, the Michelin tires superb and it was quite rewarding to see Patrick Friesacher turn some very competitive laps. As he becomes more comfortable with the car and the series, I am confident he will become more of a force with each race.”

After starting from pole in the ultra-competitive GT2 class, Jaime Melo in the #62 led the field in their grid-starting positions for the first 15 laps before ceding to a competitor.  He remained in close touch with the leader, however, having a good, clean track battle and closing the gap to as little as 0.3 seconds, but was unable to find an opportunity to re-pass for the lead.  The Mid Ohio Sports Car Course is notoriously difficult for passing, and Melo was determined not to take any undue risks.
 
Both Risi cars elected to make their first pit stops under the first of the three caution periods, unfortunately going a lap down to the class leader in the process.  Mika Salo drove the remainder of the race at a consistently quick pace to maintain contact, and was still in a position to challenge for second when the pit problem occurred at his second pit stop.
 
Harrison Brix and Patrick Friesacher both showed an assured turn of speed throughout the race in their #61 Ferrari, but had some very fast Porsches and the eventual race-winning Tafel Ferrari in front.  They finished sixth, albeit frustrated not to have been able to move further up the field.

Note to Editors:

The Official Sponsors of Risi Competizione, 2006 and 2007 ALMS GT2 Team Champions, are Boost/Motorola, Michelin, Freescale, Ferrari of Silicon Valley, Ferrari Financial Services, Boardwalk Autogroup, Delphi and Ferrari of Houston.

The next round of the ALMS will be the Generac 500 on Saturday, August 9 at Road America, Elkart Lake, WI. SPEED will broadcast the four-hour race - tape delayed - on Sunday, August 10 beginning at 2:00 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time). American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage on americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring.

For Risi Competizione images, copyright free for editorial use, please go to our website. On the home page click any link for 'media login' and enter the password: risi2008 (lowercase, no spaces). For high resolution photos please contact fmiller@risicompetizione.com or dpierce@ferrariofhouston.com

For media information contact Fiona Miller at Risi Competizione at +44 7770 371332 or 863-202-6942 in the USA or email to fmiller@risicompetizione.com.