Malucelli Completes Risi Lineup for 24H Le Mans

Photo: John Dagys

Matteo Malucelli will complete Risi Competizione’s lineup for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team announced Wednesday.

The Italian driver joins full-season IMSA pilots Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander in the team’s Ferrari 488 GTE car for next month’s twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.

Malucelli is no stranger to the team, having driven for Risi in the 2013 American Le Mans Series season as well as the first two rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship the following year.

He was, however, replaced by Pierre Kaffer after suffering accidents at Daytona and Sebring, which included a one-race suspension for his actions at Sebring.

“We had some good races together in 2013 and I have some business to finish in a Risi Ferrari,” Malucelli said.

“Driving with Giancarlo again, and with Toni, at Le Mans will be very good. This is a great team with good Ferrari drivers and I’m very happy to be part of it.”

The Houston-based team will be making its 12th Le Mans entry over the last years, which has included three class victories.

“We are pleased to announce the finalization of our driver line up of Ferrari drivers for this year’s Le Mans race,” said Giuseppe Risi.

“With the tough competition we expect this year, having proficient Ferrari drivers is the only way to compete.

“Between our team’s history at Le Mans and that of our drivers, we have a great deal of experience and hope to parlay that into success.”

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