Ferrari Pursuing 24H Spa Defense with Retained Pro Setup

Ferrari will pursue a defense of its 2021 TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa victory with Iron Lynx after the Italian squad confirmed the retention of its two-car program in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

The Ferrari-Iron Lynx combination won the Belgian enduro last August with Alessandro Pier Guidi, Come Ledogar and Nicklas Nielsen, who then went on to secure the Endurance Cup title at the end of the five-round season.

Iron Lynx will again field two Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s in the top category of the GTWC Europe long-distance series, with drivers to be named later this month.

AF Corse held the entry for Ferrari’s two-car bid when Pier Guidi clinched his first Endurance Cup title in 2020 before Iron Lynx came on board at the start of last year.

Although there is consistency in the partner organization for the Ferrari Pro setup heading into the 2022 season, changes can be expected in the two driving crews.

It is understood that Callum Ilott will be unavailable due to his NTT IndyCar Series commitments while champion Ledogar has moved to Porsche squad Dinamic Motorsport.

Antonio Fuoco, Davide Rigon and Alessio Rovera also drove for Iron Lynx last season.

Ferrari’s development work on two new race cars that are due to debut in 2023 is also set to impact its lineup selection process, according to Antonello Coletta who oversees the Attivita Sportive GT department.

“We need to change some drivers,” Coletta told Sportscar365. “We need to make many races but also many tests to develop the Hypercar and the new GT3.

“For this matter, I need to see the final calendar and share the drivers in many activities.

“The races are important, but it is very important on the other side to do testing. I think that will change some drivers compared to the lineup today, for GT World Challenge.”

In addition to its Pro category bid, Iron Lynx is entering the new Gold Cup class with its Iron Dames lineup of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy.

The same trio will run a full season of GT3 racing in addition to GTE programs in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series.

Former Audi Sport factory driver Frey is the required Gold-rated member of the driving crew, while Gatting and Bovy are Silver and Bronze-rated by the FIA respectively.

Iron Dames dipped its toes into GTWC Europe waters last year when it fielded a Pro-Am Ferrari at the Paul Ricard 1000km and the season finale at Barcelona.