Cameron Joins Risi for Long Beach

Photo: John Dagys

With Matteo Malucelli sidelined, Risi Competizione has drafted in Dane Cameron to co-drive its Ferrari F458 Italia GT car for this weekend’s Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach.

Cameron, who competed in the first two TUDOR United SportsCar Championship rounds in Turner Motorsport’s BMW Z4 GT3 in GT Daytona, will switch to the GT Le Mans class, pairing with full-season driver Giancarlo Fisichella in the No. 62 Ferrari, which has been repaired following its second major accident of the year.

“He’s a talented young man and has been on our radar for some time and, through the unfortunate set of circumstances which we don’t need to dwell on, we have found ourselves able to offer him this opportunity to drive for us at Long Beach,” said team principal Giuseppe Risi.

“For the moment it’s just a one-off, and we’ll have to see how things progress from there.”

While Malucelli has been given a one-race suspension from IMSA for his actions at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, it’s unclear if the Italian has been retained by the Houston-based squad.

By the same token, Cameron’s TUDOR Championship future could be up in the air too, depending on the status of Turner’s Z4 program. The 25-year-old was not scheduled to race at Long Beach as GTD cars are not taking part in the race.

“Giuseppe Risi runs a first class team that has been pushing forward despite a really difficult time recently. It will be very cool to share a car with Giancarlo Fisichella and learn from his experience in the F458 Italia GTLM.

“I can’t thank Mr Risi and his team enough for having the confidence to bring me into the team at the last minute for this event. I can’t wait for the weekend to start!”

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