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The sight and
sound of an ALMS race-winning Ferrari 550 Maranello will
soon be once again seen and heard in North America, driven
by three reigning Championship title holders.
A collaboration between Care Racing Development, owners of
one of the most successful GT cars in recent years, and
Larbre Competition - GTS Champions in the 2004 Le Mans
Endurance Series with the same car - will see a 6-litre, V12
engined Ferrari enter the 12 Hours of Sebring on the 19th
March, driven by an all-star line up of Champions.
Frédéric Dor of Care Racing explained why the Florida
classic is so important. "Our cars have been enormously
successful over the last three years, thanks to the
professionalism and commitment of our racing partners in the
different series.
"We have won Championships (FIA and LMES), the 24 Hours of
Le Mans (GTS) and several races in the ALMS including Petit
Le Mans, but never Sebring. We believe that Jack Leconte
and Larbre are capable of achieving that victory although we
know that we face some excellent competition and a tough 12
hours of racing."
Jack Leconte of Larbre Competition is keen to expand upon
and profit from the experiences gained with the Ferrari 550
last year. "This is a very refined race car, whether you are
talking about the aerodynamics or the suspension, the
engine-gearbox unit or the transmission. Everything is
spot-on and perfectly reliable.
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One of the two
Care-funded Ferrari 550 Maranellos which contested
the 2003 ALMS Petit Le Mans race, the last outing
for the Prodrive-built and run cars in North America |
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Unfinished business:
despite taking on and beating the mighty
factory-backed Chevrolet Corvettes several times
during the 2003 ALMS season, the Care Ferrari 550
Maranello is missing the Sebring 12 Hours from its
roll of honours |
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"At Larbre we
also believe in bringing all the right ingredients together
for ultimate success and a vital part of this is the driver
line-up. To win a difficult race like Sebring you must have
drivers who are experienced, fast and reliable and I think
we have found three who are perfect for this.
"Christophe Bouchut (LMES GTS Champion) will be with us once
again and he will be partnered by Fabrizio Gollin (FIA GT
Champion) who brings with him so much experience of this car
from his years with BMS Scuderia Italia. I am also very
pleased to say that Sébastien Bourdais (Champ Car World
Series Champion) will join us, which is very exciting news
for the series and fans alike. Sébastien's home town is Le
Mans so he has sportscar blood in his veins, and luckily for
us he has also a great deal of experience at Sebring from
his Champ Car testing. I think he will have no trouble
adapting to the car in a very short time and we will have a
really magnificent driving team."
While Larbre Competition's plans for the remainder of the
2005 season have yet to be confirmed, Care Racing has
already placed five of their Ferrari 550 Maranellos.
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