This year, the Italian manufacturer was represented in the lower GT300 division of SUPER GT for the first time since 2017. Pacific and CarGuy have teamed up to run a Solo 488 GT3 Evo on Yokohama tires.
Driving duties were entrusted to Kei Cozzolino and gentleman driver Takeshi Kimura, with temporary Nissan GT500 driver Naoki Yokomizo representing Kimura in three races when he was racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Cozzolino and Yokomizo finished sixth and fourth in their first two races together at Motegi and Suzuka, but a chance of a top result in round two of Motegi was lost due to a puncture.
Kimura only managed one point position in his five starts alongside Cozzolino and was ninth in Sugo.
Although Cozzolino missed a podium, his experience with the 488 this season has convinced him that in the right hands the car is capable of winning the championship.
“I’ve driven a lot of GT3 cars, but this car is one of the best I’ve driven in my career,” Cozzolino told Motorsport.com. “The standard setup is so good that we only had to make very small changes, such as adjusting the ride height and the wing angle.
“Before this car, we tried everything with packers, shock absorbers, dampers, geometry… it’s so complicated and you usually blame the tire manufacturer! But this year we just kept the same setup all season.
“The car is so easy to drive, with a lot of downforce, and that’s why it wins Le Mans and Spa and the WEC. If you had two professional drivers it would definitely be a title contender in this championship. Imagine you could get someone like James Calado or Alessandro Pier Guidi … “
Cozzolino said he had heard of other teams trying to get a 488 for the SUPER GT but pointed out some major roadblocks that will most likely prevent more Ferraris from entering the field, at least in 2022.
“Ferrari has many deliveries to make in Europe, including the track-day car [488 GT Modificata] that uses the same assembly line, “explains Cozzolino.” The waiting time for delivery is around a year, unless you buy a used one.
“The other problem is the lack of spare parts. If you are using a Japanese manufacturer, there are spare parts available and other teams are using the same car. There is always a way to fix your car, even if you damage it badly.
“This year we had to bring in a second complete car and if we had a major accident we could use it as a spare part. So driving a Ferrari will cost twice as much as a Japanese car. So up until this year we were in that championship no Ferraris at the start. “
Pacific has confirmed that it will continue its SUPER GT participation in the next season without clarifying whether it will extend its relationship with CarGuy.
