Triarsi IMSA Expansion ‘Covers All the Bases’ of Ferrari Program

Triarsi Competizione has expanded into the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup to “cover all the bases” for its Ferrari customer racing program according to team owner Onofrio Triarsi.

The Orlando-based outfit is contesting the four long-distance IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds with a new Ferrari 296 GT3, alongside a return to Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS where it raced full-time last year.

Triarsi Competizione the racing arm of Triarsi Automotive, which runs Ferrari dealerships and a restoration company.

Triarsi, who drove in last month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona alongside Charlie Scardina, Andrea Bertolini and Alessio Rovera, explained that the goal is to create a pathway through all of the company’s Ferrari sports car racing platforms.

“We felt that being a very high-end dealer, we wanted to be part of the racing program and support it from all aspects,” he told Sportscar365.

“We needed a way to bring a driver from the Corso Pilota driving school to Ferrari Challenge, and then if a customer wants to do endurance racing, we can give them a taste in SRO.

“The next step up from that would be IMSA, so we want to ensure we cover all the bases to ensure that our customers stay with us, and that we’re able to provide the service our customers deserve.”

Onofrio Triarsi Sr. founded a New Jersey-based classic car restoration business in the early 1970s. He went on to establish a Ferrari dealership in Orlando in the late 1990s, before opening a facility in Tampa a few years later.

In 2012 Triarsi’s son Onofrio Jr., the head of Triarsi Competizione, started his racing career in Ferrari Challenge, winning two consecutive American regional titles.

“That opened a lot of doors from a career perspective,” Triarsi said.

“I definitely had a bunch of trips out to Europe and did some AutoGP tests at Jerez. That was the turning point for me because [I could] stop everything that we have in U.S. and focus on racing full-time.

“But I looked around and saw how many guys were fighting for seats, versus how many were paying. The majority of them were paying.

“I took the decision on building the business. I started in 2015 and I focused mainly on the dealership portion while dad does the restoration side of things. That’s still going and definitely has some unique vehicles.

“We built a new store in Orlando that we opened in 2021. I took the things I learned in racing, and the teamwork that applies there, and applied it to the business sense.

“At the end of the day, we could always go back to racing. A good foundation on the business side was the way to go.”

Triarsi will run the 296 GT3 in both in the Endurance Cup and GTWC America this year. Trarsi and Scardina, who won last year’s GTWC America Am title, are not returning to defend partly due to car availability.

The team also expects to run “anywhere from five to seven” cars in Ferrari Challenge America, which has been a mainstay of its racing operations for several years.

“Once we finished the new facility, we were missing a step on the project to tie everything together,” Triarsi explained.

“We have the restoration side where we can work on any Ferrari. We can also supply used vehicles and support customers from club cars to Challenge to SRO.

“We needed a way to take them to the next level, and we feel that with the brand’s history, you have to be part of racing to be a true Ferrarista, tying all the pieces together.”

WeatherTech Championship Focus Currently on Endurance Cup

Triarsi said the team is currently only confirmed to do the Endurance Cup but suggested that outings in shorter WeatherTech Championship races are not out of the question.

Customer driver Scardina is expected to compete in all four rounds, although the rest of the lineup that will be set from Sebring onwards is yet to be announced.

“Right now, I think with everything going on, there may be the opportunity to do some sprint races,” Triarsi said.

“But our big focus is doing the best we can in the Endurance series, give attention to our Ferrari Challenge customers and also focus on SRO. Right now we’re going to stick to the enduros.

“If there was talks of a sprint race, it would be definitely be with [Scardina]. We would pick and choose, but the full-season commitment is to the Endurance Cup.”