Spa 24 Hours preview: Ferrari

Ferrari goes into the Spa 24 Hours with a total of 11 Ferrari 488 GT3s including three full-Pro cars fighting for overall honours. The prancing horse has never enjoyed that much success in the overall classifications, with its latest Spa 24 Hours victory dating back to 2004 when BMS Scuderia Italia won the race with the Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello as part of the FIA GT Championship.

The gentleman driver-friendly Ferraris have, however, been massively successful in the race’s amateur-focused classes, where the Italians have collected 10 class wins since the start of the Spa 24 Hours as part of the Blancpain GT Series.

AF Corse

With three cars, Ferrari’s works team AF Corse will be the Ferrari team to watch. The Italians bring two Pro cars, with current Le Mans 24 Hours winners Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado sharing the #51 Ferrari 488 GT3 with Sam Bird. The other Pro entry runs under the banner of SMP Racing, where Miguel Molina, Mikhail Aleshin and Davide Rigon team up in the #71 Russian-themed Ferrari that won the Silverstone round earlier this year.

AF Corse’s Pro-Am car will be piloted by Bronze-rated drivers Niek Hommerson and Louis Machiels, and World Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours winners Andrea Bertolini and Toni Vilander, making the #52 Ferrari a most dangerous animal in Pro-Am.

INTERVIEW ANDREA BERTOLINI

British team Tempesta Racing, a newcomer on the racing scene, is teaming up in 2019 with AF Corse for its first foray into the Blancpain GT Series. The full-season, all-British line-up is completed by Giancarlo Fisichella.

#51 AF Corse
Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Sam Bird

#52 AF Corse (Pro-Am)
Niek Hommerson/Louis Machiels/Andrea Bertolini/Toni Vilander

#72 SMP Racing
Miguel Molina/Mikhail Aleshin/Davide Rigon

#93 Tempesta Racing (Pro-Am)
Chris Buncombe/Edward Cheever/Chris Froggatt/Giancarlo Fisichella

HubAuto Corsa

Taiwanese HubAuto Corsa continues its trek around the globe for its Intercontinental GT Challenge program, defending the Italian tricolor. Nick Foster returns to the team on the back of victory in Laguna Seca and will be supported by co-drivers Nick Cassidy and Daniel Serra.

#227 HubAuto Corsa
Nick Foster/Nick Cassidy/Daniel Serra

Rinaldi Racing

With the absence of Kessel Racing from this year’s Blancpain GT Series, Rinaldi Racing is now the go-to team for your Ferrari gentleman driver action. Michele Rinaldi’s Eifel-based team brings two Ferrari 488 GT3s to the Am class and one Silver Cup entry. The German team has secured two victories in the Blancpain GT World Challenge, but is yet to win in the Endurance Cup.

#33 Rinaldi Racing (Am)
Christian Hook/Manuel Lauck/Alexander Mattschull/Hendrik Still

#333 Rinaldi Racing (Silver Cup)
Rinat Salikhov/Denis Bulatov/David Perel/Indy Dontje

#488 Rinaldi Racing (Am)
Pierre Ehret/Martin Berry/José Manuel Balbiani/Rory Penttinen

Bohemia Energy racing with Scuderia Praha

24H Series regular Bohemia Energy racing with Scuderia Praha is making its return to the Blancpain GT Series, picking the biggest race of them all for its comeback. Perhaps it’s not as daunting as it might seem, though, as the Czech crew took victory in the Ardennes earlier this year during the Spa 12 Hours as part of an ongoing winning streak in the 24H Series. Gabriele Lancieri completes the regular Scuderia Praha line-up of Jiří Písařík, Josef Král and Matteo Malucelli.

#14 Bohemia Energy racing with Scuderia Praha (Pro-Am)
Jiří Písařík/Gabriele Lancieri/Josef Král/Matteo Malucelli

HB Racing

HB Racing goes to Spa on the back of a double victory in the Am class at Zandvoort. Being the only Am team in the field at the sprint races, the Austrian equip will have its work cut out to bring home a trophy at the Endurance Cup race in Spa. HB Racing’s best result this season so far was a fifth place in Silverstone.

#444 HB Racing (Am)
Florian Scholze/Jens Liebhauser/Philipp Wlazik/Thomas Neubauer