Rovera races to Goodyear Wingfoot glory following late-season success
Alessio Rovera sprung a surprise in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Goodyear Wingfoot competition in Bahrain last weekend (31 October – 2 November), with victory in the LMGT3 class vaulting the Italian to the summit of the end-of-season standings.
After each round, the Goodyear Wingfoot Award is presented to the LMGT3 driver that posted the fastest average lap time over the course of their stints behind the wheel – thereby celebrating consistency, one of the most highly-sought attributes in endurance racing.
Heading into the 2024 finale, Rovera sat just sixth in the overall ranking, 21 points adrift of BMW rival Augusto Farfus at the top of the table – but with extra points available due to the longer nature of the race, the Vista AF Corse star’s outstanding performance catapulted him to the head of the order.
Underscoring the high calibre in WEC this year, less than three hundredths-of-a-second blanketed the top three Wingfoot protagonists in Bahrain, but Rovera was marginally the quickest on his way to a first triumph of the campaign in the eight-hour contest alongside team-mates François Heriau and Simon Mann.
That earned the 29-year-old – a Ferrari factory GT driver and former WEC champion at GTE Am level – three sets of Goodyear tyres, as the result elevated the #55 crew to third in the LMGT3 championship classification.
“I’m really happy,” Rovera enthused. “Of course it’s really nice to win a trophy for my consistency during the year. It’s been a good end to the season, because we were fast in mostly every race.
“We worked really hard with the team to improve the car, and I think we did an amazing job since Vista AF Corse won the last two races. Now we are ready next season for something more!”
Goodyear Wingfoot Award, Bahrain
1. Alessio Rovera #55 Vista AF Corse 2m04.185s
2. Matteo Cairoli #60 Iron Lynx 2m04.199s
3. Charlie Eastwood #81 TF Sport 2m04.212s
4. Marino Sato #95 United Autosports 2m04.926s
5. Marco Sørensen #777 D’Station Racing 2m05.026s
6. Grégoire Saucy #59 United Autosports 2m05.041s
7. Morris Schuring #91 Manthey EMA 2m05.045s
8. Nicolas Costa #59 United Autosports 2m05.280s
9. Michelle Gatting #85 Iron Dames 2m05.325s
10. Sébastien Baud #82 TF Sport 2m05.369s
Final Season Standings
1. Alessio Rovera #55 Vista AF Corse 93pts
2. Augusto Farfus #31 Team WRT 76pts
3. Marco Sørensen #777 D’Station Racing 75pts
4. Davide Rigon #54 Vista AF Corse 68pts
5. Charlie Eastwood #81 TF Sport 66pts
