Marciello leaves Mercedes-AMG
Mercedes-AMG has confirmed that this weekend’s FIA GT World Cup at Macau will be Raffaele Marciello’s final event as a Mercedes-AMG factory driver, after a seven-year stint with the brand.
28-year-old Marciello joined Mercedes-AMG’s driver roster after his GP2 career ended in 2016, becoming a “Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver” at the end of 2017.
Since then Marciello has added many key wins and titles to his CV, including an FIA GT World Cup win at Macau in 2019, Spa 24 Hours win in 2022, an ADAC GT Masters title that same year and multiple World Challenge Europe championships.
“I am touched. As a farewell present, I was given the Spa winning car I drove as a model car and AMG made a cool, very emotional film for me. We all had another great evening together. I’m very grateful to Mercedes-AMG because without them I wouldn’t be here now,” said the Swiss-Italian driver shortly after his farewell, which came at Mercedes-AMG’s ‘Champions United’ event in Spain over the weekend (featured).
The ‘Champions United’ event in Valencia featured various on-track activities in addition to the prize-giving ceremony.
This included an AMG Young Driver Test and an on-track debut for Mercedes-AMG’s new GT2 PRO.
The test, which featured over 20 drivers between 17 and 25, saw standout performances from Frank Bird and Lorenzo Ferrari. The pair were handed drives in the Gulf 12 Hours (the final IGTC round) next month as a prize.
Charlie Eastwood departs AMR
Charlie Eastwood has revealed that he is leaving Aston Martin’s factory driver roster.
Eastwood has been an AMR driver since 2019 and has enjoyed many standout results, including a Le Mans class win in 2020 with TF Sport and a Blancpain Endurance Series Pro/Am title with Oman Racing with TF Sport.
“My time with AMR has come to an end!” He said on social media. “My first ever endurance race was in an Aston Martin GT3 back at the start of 2018. 14 months on, after winning Spa 24hr I was honoured to sign a factory contract which has lasted until now.
“I will be forever grateful to AMR for taking me on so early in my endurance career and giving me the chance to fulfil a childhood dream of winning Le Mans 24hr.
“Looking through photos for this post reminded me all of the great achievements over the past 5 years. Thank you.”
Marvin Kirchhöfer joins Pfaff
McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer is set to join Pfaff Motorsport’s 2024 IMSA GTD Pro effort in 2024 for the full season.
The news of Pfaff adding Kirchhöfer to its line-up comes after it revealed that James Hinchcliffe will compete with the Canadian team in next year’s Michelin Endurance Cup rounds.
Nielsen extends Ferrari factory deal
Nicklas Nielsen has signed an extension with Ferrari and will remain a factory driver competing with Ferrari in “the main endurance competitions”.
This season Nielsen was part of Ferrari’s FIA WEC Hypercar programme in the #50 499P’s line-up, scoring podiums at Sebring, Portimao, Monza and Bahrain and pole positions at Sebring and Le Mans.
“I’m very happy to have renewed my contract with Ferrari. I think we’ve had great seasons together, especially this year with the Hypercar, and I’m looking forward to moving forward on this journey by continuing the development of the 499P ahead of the 2024 season,” said Nielsen.
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance e Corse Client added: “Nicklas is a fast, young driver who grew up in the Ferrari family where, following victory in the one-make series, he has racked up at least one international title every season until 2022, before finishing third this year in the FIA WEC Drivers’ standings. We’re proud to renew his contract.”
DSC expects more significant news from the driver market imminently…
Enduro Motorsport closes
British GT outfit Enduro Motorsport is closing its doors after four years of competition.
The team announced this news on social media:
“Unfortunately, the time has come to wave the chequered on what has been an incredible journey!” Its statement reads.
“In 4 years we came from a little FunCup team to a front-running British GT team. 3 wins to our name and 3rd in the drivers and teams championship is something we are very proud of. Lots of wins in GT Cup and BEC also.
“We thank every staff member that has been with us. Our team always had a family feel and enjoying our work was a priority. Our sponsors allowed us to showcase some pretty cool designs on our cars as well as paddock gossip. A big thank you to our customers, it’s been great to work with you and get you further up the grid. Lastly thanks to the fans and photographers. We hope you enjoyed having us around.
“See you all in the paddock sometime soon!”
Three Thieves Racing wins Thunderhill 25 Hours
Three Thieves Racing emerged as the overall winner of the 25 Hours of Thunderhill yesterday, after logging more than 2,200 miles en route to victory in the 20th anniversary running of the popular American endurance race.
The team’s #45 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Tom Burt, Thomas Merrill, Eddie Nakato and Rick Wright was a model of consistency all weekend with the drivers turning 742 laps, the fourth-highest laps total by an event winner in the event’s 20-year history.
Perfect weather conditions all weekend meant the 3-mile road course was fast, and Three Thieves Racing’s drivers took advantage of it. The Audi running with AR Motorsports support took the lead within an hour and never looked back.
“Every driver of the group has been out here trying to win this race for years,” said Tom Burt, one of the Three Thieves Racing’s owners. “This one takes every component to be perfect.”
The team finished 34 laps ahead of second-place finisher and GT competitor TruSpeed Autosport which was campaigning a Porsche Cayman GT4. Honda Racing finished third overall running a Honda Civic Type R car.
Image credits, Mercedes-AMG, Audi & McLaren
