FIA GT Championship

AF Corse aims to conquer GT2 with Ferrari 430

© FIA GT

It looks like being a very busy year for Italian team AF Corse ! As well as running three Maserati GranSport Light cars in the new FIA GT3 European Championship, Amato Ferrari has confirmed that he plans to enter two Ferrari F430 GTC cars in the GT2 category of the FIA GT Championship. “We hope to do a good job,” Amato continued. “The drivers will be Mika Salo, Matteo Bobbi, Rui Aguas and Jaime Melo, but I have not yet decided what the line-up for the two cars will be.” Successful Formula One driver Mika Salo, from Finland, raced for AF Corse when it ran the Maserati MC 12 in the final four races of 2004, winning in Zhuhai after the car received its homologation. He also took part in the 2004 Proximus 24 Hours of Spa, finishing second with GPC in the Ferrari 575 M Maranello. In Formula One, he raced for a number of teams, with his best results coming while he replaced the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 1999.
Matteo Bobbi claimed the FIA GT Championship title for BMS Scuderia Italia in 2003 with Thomas Biagi, after a record-breaking run of five wins in his first five races, driving the Ferrari 550 Maranello. He finished second in 2004, also with BMS, and then headed for Grand Am in America. Jaime Melo, from Brazil, has been a regular in the Championship over the past few years. In 2004, he managed the unusual feat of winning a race in both the N-GT and GT categories in the same year, with the JMB Racing Ferrari 575 M Maranello and the GPC Ferrari 360 Maranello. He remained with the Ferrari cars last year returned last year with GPC Sport, in the Ferrari 575 M Maranello, with a best result of second in Brno.

The newcomer among the four is Rui Aguas, from Portugal. The talented
driver, who was testing the AF Corse Maserati GT3 car at Paul Ricard in the
last test, had a successful single-seater career, in German Formula Three and
then in Formula 3000. In recent years, he has raced in Formula Nissan and in
the Renault Clio Cup.
“I hope to be able to go for the title,” Amato Ferrari said. “However, I know it
will be difficult, as the competition will be tough in the GT2 class this year. We
are starting a bit late with our plans, but we will work hard to arrive on time for
the first race in Silverstone. The car is brand new, but it proved its potential
in the ALMS at Sebring, and in the Italian GT Championship at Imola, and I
believe Ferrari Corse Clienti, in collaboration with Michelotto Automobili, have
done a very good job for their clients.” The cars will run on Pirelli tyres.
The first test for the AF Corse Ferrari will be at the official test days in Dijon,
where just one car will run.
2003 Champion Matteo Bobbi is delighted to be returning to the FIA GT Championship
: “I like GT racing a lot, and had some of my best moments in this
series, so I’m very happy to be back. AF Corse is a great team, and we are
very motivated. My team-mates are some of the best drivers in the world, so
I’m proud to be working with these guys.”