Vital Speed Motorsports Adds Ferrari to California 8H Field

Vital Speed Motorsports has confirmed it will run a Ferrari 488 GT3 in the Intercontinental GT Challenge finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Jeff Westphal, Marino Franchitti and Trevor Baek will drive for the Oregon-based team, which usually runs in the Ferrari Challenge North America series.

Silver-rated Westphal recently took a podium in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at the California 8 Hours venue, while Franchitti will make his first Laguna Seca appearance since winning the 2013 American Le Mans Series race there.

Baek, meanwhile, drove the GT3 Ferrari in the Portland Pirelli World Challenge SprintX round earlier this year and is currently third in the Ferrari 458 Challenge points.

“It’s exciting to return to a classic circuit as Laguna Seca”, said Westphal.

“The Vital Speed Motorsports team is a young team but has many experienced personnel which helps in developing the Ferrari for the California 8 Hours.

“I have been impressed with Trevor’s abilities as a young driver and Marino is a longtime teammate and friend.

“We have a pretty good program and it’s a new team in terms of this endurance style of racing. We’re cautiously optimistic and very excited.”

The addition of Vital Speed Motorsports marks the first time a Ferrari has been entered for the California 8 Hours, after no cars from the Italian marque competed last year.

The final entry list for this year’s race, which takes place on Oct. 28, has yet to be released.