13th place in GTE-Am class, but the best reward is to have brought the #60 Ferrari 488 GTE at the chequered flag of 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours marathon. It has been a positive adventure for Kessel Racing trio formed by Andrea Piccini – who returned after ten years of racing in this fascinating race – Claudio Schiavoni and Sergio Pianezzola, who were both on their first experience in this very demanding race. The car ran very well throughout the race, the team worked with great professionalism and only two Pianezzola off-track exits at Mulsanne and the Porsche corners, luckily without damages, made the whole breath hold team Kessel. “To see the checkered flag of this legendary race is always a satisfaction – says Andrea Piccini – and the task I had was mainly to guide our crew, given my experience in this race. I am proud of the work I have done, especially from my team mates to debut in a 24-hour race… and not a random one, but the most important and legendary, with most of the best drivers in the world. I have to admit that I struggled a little during the night, as I almost always had an eye on the mirror to watch out for the LMP and GTE-Pro cars, with headlights constantly reflecting. An unusual situation for me, used to attacking other cars to aim for top results and therefore to constantly look ahead. In those moments, I understood the difficulty of a gentleman driver like Claudio Schiavoni in always having more performing cars that press from behind and having to find the space to let them pass without wasting time, but also without risking contact. However, Claudio has completed 6 driving stints without making mistakes and Sergio Pianezzola has shown that he has a pace not far from the best both day and night. We really had a good car, so much so that in the two hours of my morning driving I was often the driver of the car of our fastest category on the track and I managed to score one of the fastest laps in the race. A race whose technical level this year has been significantly raised in all classes, including ours and which, due to the high level of the competition, has seen several drivers make mistakes and run into accidents and track exits. Concluding this marathon at over 200 kilometers per hour on average remains a noteworthy undertaking“.
