Maranello, 18 July – the 458 Italia Grand Am was given its track baptism today at the Fiorano circuit. The car has been developed in conjunction with Michelotto Automobili, based on the GT3 version of the V8 Ferrari berlinetta, with the aim of racing in the famous North American series.

The 458 Grand Am is built to match the American regulations and is therefore different to the European car, especially in that it develops 500 horsepower and has less efficient aerodynamics than the GT version. It is also fitted with a 48 mm restrictor and maximum revs are 8000. Significant modifications have been made to the braking system, as the car has neither ABS nor traction control. Other differences to the GT3 include the roll-over bar which gives greater lateral protection to increase safety in a series in which collisions are rather more frequent. The car is fitted with tyres from Continental, the sole supplier to the series, featuring a very hard compound, again to conform with the series regulations. On its shakedown today, it completed a good number of trouble-free laps, 45 to be precise in the hands of Maurizio Mediani and Jaime Melo, as they took turns at the wheel.

The Daytona 24 Hours, which takes place from 26 to 29 January at Florida’s Daytona International Speedway will feature the racing debut of the 458 Grand Am. The car is derived from the GT3 version of the 458, the latest racing model of the Ferrari sports car, developed in collaboration with Michelotto and aimed at the American series.

The famous race will bring to mind the race back on 5 February 1967, when all three steps of the podium were filled by Ferrari drivers, highlighting the dominance of the Maranello marque across the Pond. The crews of Lorenzo Bandini-Chris Amon in the Ferrari 330 P4 Spider, Mike Parkes – Ludovico Scarfiotti in the Ferrari 330 P4 sports car and Pedro Rodriguez-Jean Guichet in the Ferrari 412 P produced an amazing result, thanks to an impeccable strategy thought out by Sporting Director Franco Lini over the last few laps, culminating in the three cars taking the chequered flag in line abreast. This clean sweep, with a win in the Monza 1000 Kms, second place at Brands Hatch and the Le Mans 24 Hours and a third place at Spa, meant that Ferrari won that year’s International Sports Prototype Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari then had to wait until 1998 to take its next win in the Daytona 24 Hours, thanks to the Team Momo F333 SP which also won that year’s Sebring 2 Hours.

In 2012, it will fall to Scuderia AF Corse, winners of the Le Mans Series, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the FIA GT3 championship to try and replicate these American victories. Its 458 Grand Am will be crewed all year by Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, North American Rally Champion, Travis Pastrana and two endurance race veterans Rui Aguas and Robert Kauffman who here in Daytona tackle the first of 13 rounds on the busy Grand Am calendar.