Risi Evaluating Ferrari LMH Effort; 296 GT3 Set for 2023

Giuseppe Risi is evaluating a return to top-level prototype competition with Ferrari’s Le Mans Hypercar, while confirming his presence at Daytona and Sebring next year with the new 296 GT3.

The Risi Competizione team owner told IMSA Radio at Motul Petit Le Mans he’s “exploring” the possibility of campaigning the yet-to-be-named Ferrari LMH car that will debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class next year.

The longtime Ferrari squad has been largely campaigning GT machinery from the Prancing Horse for the last two decades.

However, it raced the 333 SP prototype in both North America and Europe, securing a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and an overall win in the inaugural Petit Le Mans in 1998.

Risi most recently raced prototype machinery last year, when it competed in select WEC rounds as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2 car.

Should Risi to return to top-level prototype competition, such a campaign would be unlikely to materialize prior to 2024.

Not only did Ferrari’s Atitivate Sportive GT director Antonello Coletta rule out the possibility of customer cars for the first year of the program, Risi himself told Sportscar365 that any LMH plans are currently far from concrete.

The car, designed to the ACO’s LMH regulations, would be eligible for competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class, courtesy of the landmark convergence agreement between IMSA and the ACO that will come into effect beginning next year.

Risi, meanwhile, has confirmed that his Houston-based organization will be racing Ferrari’s new 296 GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship next year.

This follows confirmation from Coletta that Risi had already placed an order for the V6-powered GT3 contender.