Bourdais, Pla to Lead Expected All-French Lineup in Risi Ferrari

Photo: MPS Agency

Sebastien Bourdais and Olivier Pla will lead Risi Competizione’s lineup in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, in what is expected to be an all-French crew for the longtime Ferrari entrant.

The two ex-Ford GT factory drivers were confirmed on Friday with the release of the entry list for the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic, having been listed in the Houston-based team’s No. 82 Ferrari 488 GTE.

Sportscar365 understands that Risi’s car owner had specifically requested the chance of featuring three French drivers, with Jules Gounon, who made his Le Mans debut last year with the team, tipped as the third driver in the lineup.

Le Mans native Bourdais, who has found refuge at JDC-Miller Motorsports for a planned full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign, will be making his 14th start in the race, having claimed GTE-Pro class honors in 2016 with Ford.

Pla, meanwhile, is set for his 13th consecutive Le Mans appearance, while Bentley factory driver on-loan Gounon is coming off victory in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Risi entry is one of 11 cars confirmed by the ACO in the GTE-Pro class, which featured 17 entries last year, but sees the absence of the four Ford GTs and pair of BMW M8 GTEs, which have not returned to FIA World Endurance Championship competition this season.

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