Risi Competizione will make a racing a return in 2013 with a single car entry in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series.
The Texas based team stepped away from racing in 2012, bringing to an end a succession of seasons in the ALMS that included three teams’ titles, and three class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In returning to the series, which begins at Sebring in March, Risi continue their association with Ferrari, confirming they will use a GTE 458 Italia. Drivers have not been announced as yet.
“As I’ve said in the past, to race a Ferrari is to enter into a partnership with history and legend,” said team principal Giuseppe Risi. “The standards are so high that commitment must be total and complete. The exact same thing can be said of the American Le Mans Series GT class, which I still believe has the best level of GT competition in the world. We very much look forward to competing again with our old friends and rivals at BMW, Corvette, Extreme Speed Ferrari and Porsche, as well as some faces that may be new to us.”
The team announced their return to racing as a ‘two year plan’ with the intention of following up an entry in the ALMS in 2013 by moving into the merged sportscar series in 2014, the class structure for the new series accommodating the Ferrari 458 GTE.
“Having watched the developments for the future of sports car racing in North America from the side-lines in 2012,” Risi continues, “I believe that now is the right time to return to competition. We know what to expect in 2013 and in 2014. We’ve done our research on and off the track. I have every reason to believe that we will be very competitive.”
Long-time race engineer Rick Mayer will also return to action with the team while Mark Sims – son of team manager Dave Sims – takes up the role of chief mechanic, moving into GT racing after previously working in Europe with single-seater teams.
