During 2005 BMS Scuderia Italia raced its Ferrari 550 Maranellos to title success in the Le Mans Series (above), before returning to the FIA GT Championship in 2006 as one of Aston Martin's factory status teams.

BMS Scuderia Italia has become the latest sportscar racing team to jump ship from Porsche and it has just announced plans to contest the GT2 class of the FIA GT Championship next year with a pair of new 2008-specification Ferrari F430 GT racers, as well as a challenge on the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Ferrari F430 GT was quite simply the car to have in GT2 championships around the world last year and it ended with a stroke Porsche's long-term dominance in this category. In the American Le Mans Series, Risi Competizione won 8 races, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, on their way to a clean sweep of GT2 titles; while in the FIA GT Championship the AF Corse-entered F430 GTs won every race bar one, that event being the prestigious Spa 24 Hours which was claimed by the #97 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR entered by BMS Scuderia Italia.

Now BMS Scuderia Italia are joining a number of leading teams in making the switch to the Maranello machine for a two-car challenge in the FIA GT Championship next year. "BMS Scuderia Italia in partnership with Pirelli will take part in 2008 in the FIA GT Championship (GT2) with two Ferrari F430GT m.y. 08," read a statement issued by the Brescia-based team. "The drivers crews will be nominated in January when the first F430GT, with which we will start our test sessions, will be delivered.

"BMS Scuderia Italia again with Pirelli will take part on the 14th/15th June 2008 with a Ferrari F430GTC to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most important endurance race in the world," the press release continued. "BMS thanks Porsche Motorsport AG for the profitable cooperation during the 2007 season, that permitted to reach many important sporting results, in which the victory of the 24 Hours of SPA (Belgium) and the 2nd place in the FIA GT Championship 2007 (GT2 Team).

BMS Scuderia Italia has a long motorsporting history: after competing in rally, touring car and sportscar disciplines it entered Formula 1 between 1988 and 1993, and first joined the FIA GT series in 1997. Next year's campaign with the F430 GT will mark a return to the Ferrari brand for BMS Scuderia Italia which enjoyed much success with the Prodrive-built 550 Maranello in the FIA GT Championship, winning the GT1 Teams' title in 2003 and 2004, as well as the GT1 Drivers' title with Thomas Biagi/Matteo Bobbi (2003) and Fabrizio Gollin (2004). For 2005 it raced its the 550 Maranellos to more title success in the Le Mans Series, before returning to the FIA GT Championship in 2006 as one of Aston Martin's factory status teams. This year the team has campaigned the GT1 Aston Martin DBR9 again in the series, Porsche in GT2 and the Aston Martin DBRS9 in the FIA GT3 series.