WEC - "All set for the European debut of the 488 GTE"

Maranello, 13 April - This weekend marks the start of the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC), which sees the European debut of the Ferrari 488 GTE. The season includes nine events with the 24 Hours of Le Mans in mid-June obviously the most important.   Tighter battles. The Head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT, Antonello Coletta, gave his take on the season: "2016 is very important for us. The Silverstone race will see the European debut of the 488 GTE, the brand new turbo engine car, and our aim is to do well right from the start. We would like to begin the championship like last year, with a victory, even though we hope above all to conclude it differently with a title win." The WEC has a new manufacturer in the GTE-Pro class so we can now expect even tighter battles: "It's good for the championship, and for us, because it will give added value to our results."   Italo-British crews. There will be four official Ferrari drivers, once again under the banner of the AF Corse team. Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni needed a new teammate given that Toni Vilander is moving to America to race the 488 GTE of Risi Competizione along with Giancarlo Fisichella: "James Calado has joined the legendary crew of car no. 51 after two extremely positive seasons, especially the last, and we expect a lot from him." This has also meant a change for car no. 71: "Here we have a new entry, the 2015 LMP2 class world champion Sam Bird, an official Ferrari driver for the first time, even though he competed for Maranello on two previous occasions in 2014 in the car of a Gentleman driver. Sam will team up with Davide Rigon." The 6 Hours of Silverstone will start on Sunday at 1 pm CET (12 pm BST).