PROVENANCE
Auto Sport Racing Team, Lugano, Switzerland (acquired new in March 1998)
Phil Bennett, Gladstone, New Jersey (acquired from the above circa 2000)
Current Owner (acquired circa 2007)

EXHIBITED
Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge, West Palm Beach, Florida, February 2008

RACE HISTORY
1000 Kilometers of Monza, March 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra,No. 3 (2nd Overall, 1st in Class)
ISRS Paul Ricard, April 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (5th Overall, 4th in Class)
ISRS Brno, May 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (8th Overall, 7th in Class)
6 Hours of Misano, May 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 1 (DNF)
4 Hours of Misano, May 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (DNF)
ISRS Misano, July 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (4th Overall)
ISRS Donington Park, July 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (3rd Overall)
ISRS Anderstorp, August 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (5th Overall)
ISRS Nürburgring, September 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (DNF)
ISRS Le Mans, September 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 6 (7th Overall)
Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge Imola, November 1998, Bryner, No. 3
6 Hours of Vallelunga, November 1998, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra, No. 5 (2nd Overall, 1st in Class)
24 Hours of Daytona, January 1999, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra/Rosenblad, No. 00 (4th Overall)
SRWC Barcelona, March 1999, Calderari/Bryner, No. 4 (5th Overall)
1000 Kilometers of Monza, April 1999, Calderari/Bryner, No. 4 (3rd Overall)
SRWC Spa-Francorchamps, May 1999, Calderari/Bryner, No. 4 (6th Overall)
SRWC Pergusa, June 1999, Calderari/Bryner, No. 4 (5th Overall)
SRWC Donington Park, July 1999, Calderari/Bryner/Délétraz, No. 4 (8th Overall)
SRWC Brno, August 1999, Calderari/Bryner, No. 4 (5th Overall)
SRWC Nürburgring, September 1999, Calderari/Bryner/Délétraz, No. 4 (8th Overall)
SRWC Magny-Cours, September 1999, Calderari/Bryner/Délétraz, No. 4 (DNF)
24 Hours of Daytona, February 2000, Calderari/Bryner/Zadra/Zadra/Rosenblad, No. 00 (DNF)

THIS CAR
Following the 1973 racing season, Scuderia Ferrari abandoned sports car racing entirely to focus on its Formula 1 program, which had not won a World Constructors’ Championship since 1964. As a result, the only Ferrari racing cars built for the next two decades were Grand Prix machines or production-based GT sports cars. It wasn’t until the early 1990s, perhaps because of the urging of Giampiero Moretti, that Ferrari looked to the new IMSA prototype regulations in the US for the basis of a new sports racing car.

This decision proved to be a significant turning point for the Ferrari racing department, which had not constructed a purpose-built sports racing prototype since the 312 PB, a model developed in the early 1970s. Unveiled in late 1993, the 333 SP set new standards for sports racing prototypes and heralded Ferrari’s return to the highest levels of international sports car racing after two decades.

Developed in partnership with Dallara, the 333 SP was a state-of-the-art design that featured a rigid carbon fiber monocoque; F1-style suspension; a sequential gearbox; and a four-cam, four-liter V-12 engine derived from the Ferrari 641 Formula 1 cars. It was, in effect, a Grand Prix car of the period cloaked in fully enveloping composite bodywork.

During eight seasons of active racing, the 333 SPs were campaigned by a select group of private teams, and the program proved to be a runaway success. The 333 SPs claimed 56 outright wins; 69 poles; and multiple team, constructor, and driver championships in both the American IMSA GT and the European ISRS and SRWC series. Along the way, the 333 SPs set the fastest lap at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans and captured wins at both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The 333 SP presented here, chassis 020, is among the very best examples from this important series of Ferrari prototype racing cars.

According to the research of Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, 020 was constructed by Michelotto in early 1998 and originally finished in Fly Yellow, a vibrant and relatively uncommon livery. In March, the new 333 SP was sold to the Auto Sport Racing Team based in Lugano and headed by Swiss enthusiast Enzo Calderari. In addition to Calderari, who has successfully raced GT cars since the late 1970s, the team’s primary drivers were Angelo Zadra and the noted female racer Lilian Bryner.

In its debut race with the Auto Sport Racing Team, 020 achieved a remarkable 1st in Class and 2nd Overall finish at the 1000 Kilometers of Monza, a race that counted toward the Italian GT Championship. Following this successful outing, the 333 SP was actively campaigned in the highly competitive SR1 category of the International Sports Racing Series (ISRS), a European-based series for open-cockpit sports cars. By the end of the 1998 season, the Auto Sport 333 SP had captured top five finishes at Paul Ricard, Misano, Donington Park, and Anderstorp, and placed 4th in the championship standings, with 45 points. To close the successful 1998 season, the Ferrari was entered at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga, another Italian GT Championship race, where it repeated its result at Monza, finishing 1st in Class and 2nd Overall.

Prior to the start of the 1999 season, the ISRS series was officially recognized by the FIA and renamed as the Sports Racing World Cup. As in the previous year, 020 was successfully campaigned by the Auto Sport Racing Team, finishing in the top five at Barcelona, Pergusa, and Brno, and placing 6th in the championship standings with 48 points.

Beyond its participation in the 1999 SRWC series, the Auto Sport Ferrari took part in the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona, placing 4th Overall in a race dominated by 333 SPs, which took three of the top five positions. The following year, the 333 SP returned to Daytona for the 24-Hour race, but failed to finish due to gearbox problems.

Following its two-season racing career, the 333 SP was sold to Phil Bennett, a pioneering enthusiast who assembled one of the great collections of contemporary GT and sports prototypes. In more recent years, 020 has resided in a prominent Texas-based collection and has seen minimal use. With the exception of a Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge race at Moroso Speedway during the 2008 Cavallino Classic weekend, the 333 SP has not been raced or exhibited.

Presented in its distinctive Auto Sport Racing Team livery and offered for public sale for the first time, 020 is among the most important Ferrari sports racing cars of the modern era and a true prize for forward-thinking collectors.