The racing journey of the 488 GTE started with a fourth place finish earned by the Scuderia Corsa team. The 24 Hours of Daytona was a true baptism of fire and the new Ferrari intended for GT competitions displayed great speed, finishing at the top among the first-time participants, as two other models of competing manufacturers had their debut in the same race.
As is often the case in Daytona, the first hours of the race were not especially meaningful, although they were enough to demonstrate the potential of the 488 GTE. In fact, all three Ferraris competing in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class led for at least one lap during the first 12 hours of the race, and this although car No. 68 of Scuderia Corsa did not have an easy start because of a fuel pressure problem that forced Alessandro Pier Guidi to start from the back of the field. On the other hand, the 488 No. 72 of SMP Racing team had a great start and after disappointing qualifications, Gianmaria “Gimmi” Bruni was able to gain one position after another, even taking the lead a number of times while being driven by Bruni himself, but also by James Calado, Viktor Shaytar, and Andrea Bertolini. Car No. 62 of Risi Competizione team was also constantly among the leaders, being able to keep first place for several laps with Toni Vilander, but also being competitive with Giancarlo Fisichella, Davide Rigon and Olivier Beretta. The race of this car was affected by a rear-end collision caused by one of the Fords early in the morning. The accident wrecked the Ferrari’s diffuser and caused a long stop at the box that irreparably compromised the final outcome. In the end, it finished sixth, a useful result in terms of the championship.