19 February 2017
Maranello, 19 February 2017 – The Fiorano Circuit was the venue for a gala evening with a twist on Saturday night, with the awards ceremony for drivers and teams that won GT races at the wheel of a Ferrari in 2016. Alessandro Pier Guidi appeared as a surprise guest after having signed a contract that afternoon to become an official Ferrari driver. In 2017 the 32 year-old from Piedmont will compete in the World Endurance Championship at the wheel of the 488 GTE no. 51 of the AF Corse team of Amato Ferrari.
Champions' Parade. Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, Enrico Galliera, welcomed guests to Fiorano along with five official Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers: Davide Rigon, Andrea Bertolini, James Calado, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander, who recently won the Bathurst 12 Hour with the 488 GT3 of Maranello Motorsport. Almost 40 drivers and as many representatives of Ferrari customer teams paraded on stage to be celebrated by Maranello for winning 34 titles with five different cars: the 458 Challenge EVO, the 458 Italia GTE and GT3 and the 488 GTE and GT3. The two 488s were also on display and certainly drew the attention of drivers and team managers ahead of the 2017 season which promises to be as intense as ever.
World title. The event ended with a tribute to the 2016 season of the World Endurance Championship that saw Ferrari retake the Constructors' title in the GT class after a break of just one year. That was when Alessandro Pier Guidi was invited on stage and had the chance to speak for the first time as an official Prancing Horse driver:"Racing with Ferrari is every driver's dream, especially if you are Italian. In my career I have already been lucky enough to win several races with the 360 Modena, the F430, and the 458 Italia and I feel very proud to try to win the next ones with the 488 GTE as an official standard-bearer. I am very happy."