Le Mans Series
Team Modena to Race GT2 Ferrari for 2009
Team Modena are delighted to today announce the first of their 2009 race campaigns to be unveiled, the team entering a Ferrari F430 GT in the LM GT2 category of the Le Mans Series and, entry permitting, the Le Mans 24-Hour race itself. Having won three out of five LMS races in the GT1 category this season, hopes are high the team can continue that form into 2009.
“Running the GT2 car will be a new challenge for us,” says Team Principal Graham Schultz, “GT2 is highly competitive in the LMS, but we have shown before that we can be winners in that series, and we are sure we will be able to show the professionalism and performance that people have come to expect from us in international sportscar racing.”
Already in discussion with a number of exciting candidates for the race seats, the team hope to be able to announce the driver line-up in the near future.
“We have enjoyed success in GT1 with our Aston Martin DBR9,” says Sporting Director Rik Bryan, “and have made a big contribution to the racing success of that model. Looking forward into 2009 and beyond, there is no big secret that my first love is Ferrari and I have always had a great relationship with Maranello, so it this is a very exciting move for me personally and the team as a whole.”
For Team Modena, the GT2 category has strategic long term importance, with a general trend in sportscar racing towards the category and a major world series in the offing. The 2009 campaign will also see the team form a racing relationship with Ferrari for the first time, one of the greatest names in world motorsport and a by-word for success and performance. Second in the LM GT1 class of the LMS in 2008 and acknowledged as the leading team in the category, Team Modena will be aiming for that same level of success in the new challenge they now face.
The 2009 Le Mans Series schedule has already been announced by the organisers, with the five race season starting in Spain the first weekend of April, and then featuring endurance races in Belgium, Portugal, and Germany before finishing with a 1000km race at Silverstone in September 2009. Entry from organisers the ACO permitting, the team will be contesting the 2009 Le Mans 24-Hour race on the weekend of 13th and 14th of June, aiming to continue their form in the race which has seen them never fail to bring their car to the finish.
UPDATE (01-12-2008)
Today Team Modena sent out a new press release:
It’s been a busy week for our race team – we have just announced our participation in the 2009 LMS with a Ferrari 430 GT2.
It now looks increasingly likely that we are going to be running 2 cars and we hope to announce the driver squad shortly – with some familiar names from the top echelons of sports car racing – together with some drivers who will be new to this discipline of racing.
Discussion
12 comments for “Team Modena to Race GT2 Ferrari for 2009”
Post a comment
Also visit
Categories
Recent Comments
- Marcel ten Caat on Follow the Total 24H of Spa LIVE!
- SchellZ on Stephane Ratel speaks about the GT1 World Championship
- Marcus A on Follow the Total 24H of Spa LIVE!
- Peter Herndon on Let Battle Commence As United Autosports Sets Out On Maiden 24 Hour Race!
- Marcus A on Let Battle Commence As United Autosports Sets Out On Maiden 24 Hour Race!
- Captain Spyro on Stephane Ratel speaks about the GT1 World Championship
- BMW Boy on Stephane Ratel speaks about the GT1 World Championship
- Marcus A on Mad Croc Racing wins Spa Qualifying Race *UPDATE*
They would have never came accross this deal if Aston Martin didn’t give them good support. But now their success has made Ferrari steal them away from Aston.
Guess the ferrari money was too tempting. Looks like the end of en era in GT1 when a longtime team like this leaves.
I guess Ferrari has more money than Aston Martin. And the era of GT1 is over in 2009.
In GT2, I don’t think “Ferrari” money it involved like you think it might be.
They are “partners” indeed, they share cost and to offset some of those cost they provide a few drivers they employ like Porsche does that are best at piloting the cars.
Team Modena is just getting tech support for the cars basically but they like Risi and Tafel and everybody else has to pay for the latest tricky bits for the cars when they are released.
I think they’ll keep their current tire contract and that will help vs Virgo.
I think its fair to say GT1 is dead for the ACO until Le Mans and we won’t see Modena at Sebring, I guess Corvette will be racing themselves for the 4 race early season and one race after Le Mans with the cars will bid farewell at Lime Rock and the new GT2 cars will run at Mid Ohio I hear.
To attract a top team to a new chassis, yes financial transactions are involved. Any car make would be happy to have a squad like Team Modena as a partner. They could’ve easily stayed in GT1 with Aston Martin, especially with that driver lineup they have. it took some convincing to make them switch over.
A british squad racing a british make do you know how much local support and sponsorship they get? Ferrari really had to pry them away.
Sure they didn’t really compare to the top GT1 teams, but with what’s left of GT1 it made them a heavyweight and allowed Ferrari to see their potential.
Ferrari is saying thanks to Aston Martin.
Will Team Modena race the new Reiter Engineering-built Lamborghini Gallardo GT2 machine in 2009? The team races Gallardos in British GT. Will Modena use the winning Dunlop tires from Virgo Motorsport?
Who says Ferrari is paying Modena to race their car? Porsche will have a rough time in GT2 next year.
Porsche has been putting all their best drivers in the RS Spyder program and focusing on the ALMS. There are only 4 factory drivers in Europe (LMS FIA GT) while there are 7 in the ALMS (where they won all their titles).
Porsche is focused on the U.S because that’s their biggest market by far. And they also have the best drivers in the ALMS
If they shifted all those drivers to the LMS and FIA GT it would be a more even playing field. If there’s no factory RS Spyder program those drivers will probably be in GT2 cars in 2009.
First off I dont think Aston Martin Racing/Prodrive well let Team Modena keep Antonio Garcia and Tomáš Enge. Heck I would not.
So I would think Team Modena would have new drivers next season. I think they will keep Christian Fittipaldi.
I think that depends on what the driver is offered. The only top Aston Martin teams are JetAlliance and Gigawave in the FIA. Those teams already have their driver lineups set. The works squad only races at LeMans and is scared to go to the ALMS.
With Enge and Garcia needing competitive rides to really shine, they might just stick it out with Team Modena.
Unless the GT2 Vantage becomes competitive this year, and teams are looking for top drivers I don’t see them going away from the team, but we’ll see.
I think the GT2 Vantage can be very competitive. I dont know what’s holding them back. (oh wait, no GT2 Vantage factory team) Put Enge and Garcia in that car. I think the car will be good.
Hell look at Darren Turner at Petit Le Mans, when he drove the GT2 Vantage for Barwell. He did a great job, but sadly the car let him down. They just need some more R&D with that car, and it will be good to go.
haha….it sounds very good.
AMR “scared to go to the ALMS” ?
It is not cheap to run the full 11 race ALMS schedule in GT1.
Drayson-Barwell never did any Dunlop tire testing nor did they have two full-time pro drivers.
Would be good if Garcia and Enge end up at JWA or Barwell.
Tom.
Well that’s the point of the ALMS. To keep only top flight teams. if they reduced the schedule to make it cheaper it would bring very underfunded teams, and that would turn away manufacturers. Besides if your competitor does it you better be ale to do it as well. And they are competitors.
Since full factory teams are banned from the FIA GT the ALMS is where they showcase themselves.
Just running in the ALMS gives you the same exposure to consumers that you get traveling to all those countries in the LMS.
Even the lowly teams in the ALMS would make headways in the LMS, if they got serious about it.