One of endurance racing’s legendary tracks awaits the four Ferrari 488 GTE entries in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, round three of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In the LMGTE Am class, the protagonists on the track in the Ardennes Forest, characterised by its 7.004-kilometre track featuring 20 turns, will be the four Maranello marque cars with a corresponding number of official drivers: Lilou Wadoux, Alessio Rovera, Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra. The race gets the green light on Saturday 29 April at 12.45 p.m. (local time).
In the spotlight. The Richard Mille AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GTE will start the race after an excellent second place clinched in Portimão, having taken the battle for the class victory to the wire in the second round. Wadoux and Rovera will be back in the spotlight in the number 83 Ferrari alongside Luis Perez Companc in a bid to pick up some precious points towards the championship. The crew, in their first season together in the category made up of teams of professional and gentlemen drivers, aims at improving on the track considered by motorsport enthusiasts to be Europe’s racing “university”.
The objectives. With the fourth place in Portugal now in the archives, the number 54 488 GTE in the VistaJet livery will be driven on the Belgian track by the tried and tested crew of Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon. The AF Corse car made a fine start to the season having finished fifth in the FIA WEC opening event, the 1000 Miles of Sebring, finishing just 3’4” shy of the third step of the podium in the following event at Portimão.
Ulysse de Pauw and Simon Mann will be competing in the number 21 488 GTE in Belgium and will once again be flanked by Diego Alessi after the latter’s promising debut in the World Endurance Championship in the Algarve. The AF Corse car’s performances so far include fourth and fifth place in the U.S. and Portugal respectively.
Rounding out the quartet of Ferraris will be the 488 GTE in the yellow livery brought on-track by the Swiss Kessel Racing team, made up of Takeshi Kimura and Scott Huffaker - Bronze and Silver licenced drivers respectively - who will take turns at the wheel with official driver Daniel Serra. The crew finished third at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, claiming their first podium of the season in LMGTE Am for the Maranello manufacturer, while in the first European engagement they took the chequered flag in tenth position.
The programme. Opening the weekend on Thursday, 27 April will be two free practice sessions at 11.30 a.m. and 4.20 p.m., followed on Friday 28 with Free Practice 3 from 11 a.m., and qualifying from 5 p.m. The 6 Hours of the Spa-Francorchamps will get underway on Saturday 29 at 12.45 p.m. (all times are local).