That was the case for Riccardo Agostini, who, together with French driver Lilou Wadoux and Brazilian Custodio Toledo, claimed eighth place in the LMGT3 class at the 94th edition of the legendary French endurance race aboard the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo.

After completing 334 laps, the crew featuring the Italian driver and his teammates – who are also competing together in this year’s European Le Mans Series campaign, following their runner-up finish in the 2025 championship – finished as the second-best Ferrari entry in the LMGT3 field.

The eighth-place result came after a remarkable recovery drive. Having dropped to 20th position during the opening hour, the Agostini-Toledo-Wadoux trio climbed to 13th by the second hour before consistently running among the frontrunners. They eventually broke into the top ten, moving up to ninth with just a couple of hours remaining before gaining another position to secure eighth at the finish.

With two appearances in the world’s most famous endurance race, Agostini can now boast a 100% finishing record at Le Mans. In 2025, he completed his debut on the iconic 13.6-kilometre Circuit de la Sarthe, finishing 11th in class.

Agostini’s next challenge will be the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Watkins Glen, the Six Hours of The Glen, scheduled for June 25-28. He will once again race a Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, this time with Triarsi Competizione, sharing the car with Ferrari factory drivers James Calado and Miguel Molina in a Pro-class lineup.

Twelve months ago, during his baptism of fire on the 13.6-kilometre circuit, Agostini finished 11th in class, successfully reaching the chequered flag of the world’s most famous and demanding endurance race. A challenge he is now ready to embrace once again in a category that is also the most competitive on the grid, featuring 25 entries from nine different manufacturers: Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ford, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes, Porsche and, of course, Ferrari.

The 2026 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 94th running of the event and a round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, adds another major commitment to Agostini’s busy programme. Earlier this year he made his third appearance in the 24 Hours of Daytona, which preceded the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. He will return to action in the American IMSA series during the weekend of June 27-28, exactly one week before the Imola round of the European Le Mans Series, a championship in which he also competes alongside Toledo and Wadoux and where he finished runner-up last season.

The on-track action begins tomorrow with Free Practice from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, followed by Qualifying at 6:45 pm and a further Free Practice session from 10:00 pm until midnight. On Thursday, teams will take part in Free Practice 3 from 2:45 pm to 5:45 pm, followed by the two Hyperpole sessions starting at 8:00 pm and Free Practice 4 from 11:00 pm. Friday will be dedicated to the traditional Drivers’ Parade through the streets of Le Mans city centre. Engines will roar back into life on Saturday for the Warm-Up session (12:00 pm–12:15 pm), before the start of the race at 4:00 pm.

The Italian driver, who once again shared the wheel of the Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 with American Sebastian Mascaro, just as he did in the previous round at COTA (Austin), was among the protagonists of the third round of the GT World Challenge America. It was undoubtedly a positive weekend, which began with the fifth-fastest overall time and the Pro-Am pole position secured at the end of Saturday’s qualifying sessions, thanks in part to the second-best overall lap set by Agostini during his qualifying stint.

Mascaro took the start of the race and managed to retain the Pro-Am lead until the first pit stop. However, due to the strategy adopted, the Triarsi Competizione crew later lost several positions. Added to that were a couple of minor mistakes from Mascaro himself, before Agostini recovered during the final stint to secure fifth place.

“It was a positive weekend, highlighted by the Pro-Am pole position,” commented Agostini. “Considering how we started, we could probably have aimed for a podium finish, but a series of unforeseen circumstances caused us to slip back.”

Agostini’s next overseas commitment will now be the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen on June 27-28, which counts as the third round of the Endurance Cup of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He will once again race with a Ferrari entered by Triarsi Competizione, this time in the Pro class alongside James Calado and Miguel Molina.

A multi-car incident involving three cars in the opening stages of the race forced his teammate Custodio Toledo into retirement. Toledo and Agostini were sharing driving duties in the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 EVO alongside returning driver Lilou Wadoux.

As a result, the Italian racer completed zero race laps and scored no points. Agostini will now look to bounce back at the third round of the GT World Challenge America, scheduled for this weekend at Sebring, where he will once again share another Ferrari 296 GT3 entered by Triarsi Competizione with American driver Sebastian Mascaro.

The Florida event will mark the Italian driver’s second appearance of the season in the American-based series, following his outing at COTA (Austin) at the end of April, where he claimed sixth place in the Pro-Am class and ninth overall.

The Sebring weekend will get underway on Friday with the opening free practice session, followed by a second session on Saturday morning. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday at 20:10 pm CEST, while the race will go green at 23:00 pm CEST. The race will be broadcast live on the @GTWorld YouTube channel.

The Italian driver heads to France for the second of six rounds of the European Le Mans Series, sharing driving duties in the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo with Brazil’s Custodio Toledo and returning driver Lilou Wadoux, who missed the previous round in Barcelona due to a clashing commitment and was replaced on that occasion by Francesco Castellacci.

After finishing fifth in the season opener held in Spain in mid-April, Agostini is aiming for the best possible result, also with an eye on the standings, where he currently sits 15 points adrift of the championship lead.

For Agostini, this marks his second consecutive race weekend, following his participation in last week’s second round of the GT World Challenge America at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas.

Free practice sessions are scheduled for today and tomorrow, with qualifying taking place tomorrow and getting underway at 15:10. The four-hour race will start on Sunday at midday and will be streamed live on the official YouTube channel @EuropeanLeMansSeriesOfficial.

Agostini shared the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Triarsi Competizione with American driver Sebastian Mascaro. For the Italian driver, who is competing full-time this season in both the European Le Mans Series and the IMSA series, this outing was not initially planned.

However, it provided him with the opportunity to return to racing on a demanding track such as the Texas circuit.

On the 3.427-mile layout of the Circuit of the Americas, Agostini immediately showed strong pace, topping the third free practice session. In the combined qualifying sessions, he and Mascaro secured 12th place, before gaining three positions in the race.

“It was certainly a positive debut, beyond the final result,” said Agostini. “It’s a pity that, like others, after the first early safety car we opted for a strategy that ultimately didn’t pay off. We definitely had the potential to finish on the podium.”

Agostini’s next outing will be at Paul Ricard this weekend, for the second of the six rounds of the European Le Mans Series, taking place at the French circuit where the Italian driver claimed the first of his two victories last season.

In Texas, Agostini returns to the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 run by Triarsi Competizione, the same team with which he is contesting the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance season this year in a Pro line-up alongside James Calado and Miguel Molina. Together, they have already secured eighth place at the 24 Hours of Daytona and seventh at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

For this event, Agostini will share driving duties with American driver Sebastian Mascaro, forming a Pro-Am pairing.

The Circuit of the Americas is a track where the Veneto-born driver has raced before. In 2024, in the GT World Challenge America, he achieved a best result of sixth in class alongside gentleman driver Custodio Toledo.

This weekend’s race comes just one week before the second round of the ELMS. The weekend programme will begin on Friday with the first free practice session, followed by two further sessions on Saturday. Qualifying is scheduled for Sunday at 15:50 (Italian time), while the single 180-minute race will get underway at 19:30 (Italian time) and will be streamed live on the @GTWorld YouTube channel.

At the end of a consistent race, the Italian driver and his teammates managed to achieve the best possible result, climbing up to fifth place overall in class.

Starting from eighth in class – qualifying position set by Bronze driver Toledo – Agostini maintained a steady pace, establishing himself firmly inside the top five and even coming close to challenging for fourth place. However, the lack of outright pace in the decisive stages prevented him and his teammates from taking the fight to their direct rivals.

Nevertheless, the final result marks a significant step forward compared to last season, when Agostini finished ninth in class at the same Spanish circuit. It is therefore a positive start, allowing the Italian driver to look ahead to the upcoming rounds with confidence, also securing his first championship points – ten, compared to the 25 scored by the Proton Competition Porsche trio that claimed victory.

There will now be a three-week break before returning to action for the second of six scheduled rounds on May 2-3 at Le Castellet, France. It was there last year that Agostini took the first of his two wins, which ultimately helped him secure second place in the championship standings.

The opening round takes place this weekend (11–12 April) with the 4 Hours of Barcelona, launching a six-event calendar. Agostini heads into the weekend with the confidence to immediately fight at the front, on a circuit where he endured a difficult outing last year, finishing ninth in class before bouncing back with a win at the following round in Paul Ricard and adding another victory at Silverstone.

With a 47-car grid, including 14 entries in the LMGT3 class featuring six different manufacturers, the foundations for a strong result are in place. This is further underpinned by the combined experience of Agostini and Castellacci, alongside the continued progression of Toledo, who is the Bronze-rated driver of the trio.

Following the Prologue held over the past two days, the 4 Hours of Barcelona will get underway on Friday with the first free practice session scheduled from 11:50 to 13:20 CEST. A second session will take place on Saturday from 10:10 to 11:40 CEST, ahead of the 15-minute qualifying session at 15:05 CEST. The race will finally get underway on Sunday at 12:00 and will be available via live streaming on FIAWEC+ at https://plus.fiawec.com/en/european-le-mans-series.

The Italian driver, at the wheel of the Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo shared with James Calado and Miguel Molina, followed up his eighth-place finish at January’s 24 Hours of Daytona by crossing the line seventh in the GTD Pro class in Florida.

This result allowed the American team’s crew to climb to sixth in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Endurance Cup standings, with the Sebring 12 Hours marking the second of five rounds in the series.

It was not an easy race, with the drivers making the most of the car’s performance, although it proved slightly lacking compared to its rivals – particularly in terms of straight-line speed. Nevertheless, there were two key positives: Agostini, Calado and Molina managed to recover from 10th on the grid to finish seventh, and they also gained two positions in the standings, now sitting just one point shy of fifth place in the championship.

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be the Six Hours of Watkins Glen at the end of June. Before that, Agostini will face another major commitment in the European Le Mans Series, driving the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari, with the opening two rounds at Barcelona (April 12) and Paul Ricard (May.