Cairoli Joins Winward Endurance Cup Effort

Matteo Cairoli will join Winward Racing for the team’s GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup effort, replacing Daniel Morad.

The Italian, who made his Mercedes-AMG debut in last weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar, will share the No. 48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with the returning pairing of Maro Engel and Lucas Auer.

Cairoli joins Winward after contesting last year’s Endurance Cup season aboard an Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, replacing Morad.

Engel and Auer, meanwhile, will continue to form the core of the lineup for the No. 48 car, having won last year’s inaugural 6 Hours of Jeddah.

They also captured the drivers title in Sprint Cup, with a Mercedes-AMG spokesperson confirming that the duo will defend their title.

The team’s second car, meanwhile, will be entered into the Bronze Cup and is set to be piloted by Rinat Salikhov, Gabriele Piana and Marvin Dienst.

Salikhov and Piana will continue a partnership that previously saw them compete together in both the Michelin 24H Dubai and Asian Le Mans Series and will also tackle the Sprint Cup campaign as a duo.

They will be joined for the endurance rounds by Dienst, who returns to Winward after several years away. The German previously competed with the team in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Intercontinental GT Challenge.