There will be no fewer than seven Ferrari 488 GT3’s on the Asian Le Mans Series grid with some impressive names behind the wheel!
Series regulars Francesco Piovanetti and Oswaldo Negri Jr will once again be joined by Ferrari factory driver, World Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Alessandro Pierguidi in the #51 AF Corse entry. In the sister #54 car will be WEC regulars former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella and Francesco Castellacci.
As previously announced, Ferrari factory driver Davide Rigon (who is also a test driver for the Ferrari F1 team), will line up this year with the Rinaldi Racing team. Rigon raced with reigning champions HubAuto for the first three rounds last season, before missing the final round due to a clashing event.
Kessel Racing have announced a two-car effort, partnering with 2018/2019 Champions CarGuy. In their traditional bright yellow Ferrari, the CarGuy team will again feature team owner Takeshi Kimura, who returns for his third season. He will be joined once again by two very talented drivers, Côme Ledogar who was with the team for the full season last year, and Mikkel Jensen who joined them for the final race.
The Formula Racing entry will be an all-Danish affair with Johnny Laursen, Frederik Paulsen and factory driver Nicklas Nielsen campaigning the #60 Ferrari.
Absolute Racing to focus on 2021 China-based series racing programme
Due to travel restrictions and quarantines in Asia, Absolute Racing has withdrawn from both the Asian Le Mans Series and F3 Asian Championship. The team instead plans to have a strong presence in the China-based racing series from the start of the year.
That decision means that the two-car Absolute entry in the Series GT3 category is withdrawn leaving a still record 19 car class entry and a (also still record) 36 car overall entry.
A statement from the team reads:
“Absolute Racing must protect its core business activities in China and in recognition of the need to optimize the allocation of management resources, the team has been forced to withdraw from this year’s Asian Le Mans Series and F3 Asian Championship. At the same time, the extended quarantine measures have really had an impact on team’s Asia-based customers who were no longer able to travel to the Middle East.
“Absolute Racing would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our fans and all those who have supported team efforts, including Asian Le Mans Series and F3 Asian Championship organisers. In these challenging times and in a year of unimaginable difficulty, they deserve our utmost respect and recognition for simply making these championships happen.
“Absolute Racing remains committed to Asian Le Mans Series and F3 Asian Championship, hoping to return in 2022. In the meantime, the team will focus on its participation in the China-based GT series, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Porsche Sports Cup China, GT World Challenge Asia and Thailand Super Series in partnership with BQuik Racing.
Team Director Ingo Matter said, “As a team with loyal customers based in Asia, this difficult decision has been made in light of the tighter restrictions on international travel brought on by the increase of COVID-19 cases around the world. We will have a strong presence in the Chinese championships at the beginning of this year, and hopefully in Asia, once travel restrictions ease. We wish all the best to the competing Teams and Organisers, and look forward to join both F3 and Asian Le Mans Series next year when hopefully things will be back to normal”.
More information about the team’s racing program in China in 2021 will be announced in the coming weeks.
