Ferrari 488 GT3 Set for British GT Debut at Silverstone

Photo: FF Corse

The new-for-2016 Ferrari 488 GT3 will make its British GT Championship debut this weekend at the Silverstone 500, with FF Corse running a one-off entry for Marco Attard and Adam Carroll.

FF Corse has run Ferrari 458 Italia GT3s (the 488’s predecessor) for the past few years in the series but has opted against a full-season effort this year.

In a unique entry for the Silverstone race, FF Corse is set to run the 488 owned by Fox Motorsport.

Carroll and Attard will take to the wheel of the car for the three-hour Silverstone round this Sunday.

Carroll raced alongside Gary Eastwood in an FF Corse-run 458 last year, and more recently competed with Barwell Motorsport at Rockingham and Oulton Park earlier this season.

Meanwhile, 2014 British GT champion Attard switched to the Blancpain GT Series for this season but will make a comeback for the Silverstone round, in which he finished third last year.

“I made the decision to step aside for Phil Keen in Barwell’s Blancpain lineup but was eager to carry on racing before the 24 Hours of Spa,” said Attard.

“Naturally my first port of call was Barwell, but as all three of their Lamborghinis were already taken for British GT’s Silverstone round I had to look further afield.

“I felt like it had to be with a special car, and the 488 GT3 certainly ticks that box!”

Paul McNeilly and Jamie Stanley were originally slated to race the Ferrari at Silverstone, but instead they will compete in a Ginetta G55 GT4 run by Fox Motorsport.

Stanley says that having Attard and Carroll running the 488 will allow Fox Motorsport to showcase the car’s abilities to the British GT field. He has a view to leasing the car and FF Corse’s skills to customers in the near future.

“Silverstone will definitely be a showcase of what the Ferrari’s capable of and with one eye on the future,” he explained.

“There aren’t many 488s or teams with the expertise to run them readily available, and none in Britain as far as I know, so this is a great opportunity for someone who wants to dip their toe in the water without committing to buying one.”

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.