AF Corse Returns with Unchanged GTE-Pro Lineup

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

AF Corse will return to the FIA World Endurance Championship with an unchanged driver lineup for its pair of factory backed Ferrari 488 GTE entries, as the Italian manufacturer looks to defend its world titles.

Team principal Amato Ferrari confirmed to Endurance-Info that reigning GT World Champions James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi will again be at the wheel of the No. 51 Ferrari, with Davide Rigon and Sam Bird in the No. 71 car.

The team combined for five class victories in nine races last year, including a one-two finish in the season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain.

Ferrari will face increased competition in the form of BMW, which joins the GTE-Pro grid with a pair of BMW M8 GTEs run by the MTEK squad, alongside the returning entries from Porsche, Ford and Aston Martin.

Three GTE-Am Entries Planned

AF Corse, meanwhile, could expand into a three-car GTE-Am-supported operation, with the addition of a planned entry from MR Racing.

Motoaki Ishikawa, Olivier Beretta and Eddie Cheever III are slated to drive the Japanese-backed MR Ferrari, alongside returning efforts from Spirit of Race and Clearwater Racing.

The identity of Thomas Flor and Francesco Castellacci’s co-driver in the Spirt of Race entry remains unclear, while Weng Sun Mok, Matt Griffin and Keita Sawa are all slated to return to Clearwater.

The three supported cars are subject to entry confirmation by the WEC, with GTE-Am poised to be oversubscribed.

Laurent Mercier contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John