Five Ferraris line up for the first FIA Motorsport Games

Rome’s Piero Taruffi circuit will be the scene, this weekend, of the first ever edition of the “FIA Motorsport Games” which will include such categories as GT, Touring Cars and Formula 4 along with emerging disciplines like drifting, digital motorsport and karting slalom. In the races featuring GT cars, five Ferraris are set to take the start, lined up by teams from Italy, USA, England, Russia and Belarus. Each country is allowed to deploy just one car and the Ferrari 488 GT3, adorned in tricolour livery, will be the only one given the honour of representing Italy. The car is to be driven by Gianluca and Giorgio Roda, a highly-experienced international racing crew with a lengthy honours list. The crews, chosen by the respective National Sporting Authorities, are required to be made up of bronze level drivers, or by a combination of bronze and silver. Gracing American colours will be the U.S. crew of Spencer Pumpelly and Robert Ferriol who will form the only all-bronze pairing on the grid. The duo, however, can rely on a wealth of experience in the IMSA competition series. Sporting the English emblem will be Flick Haigh – the first ever female to have clinched a British GT title – partnered with Chris Froggatt, who took part in last year’s Nations Cup, once again in a Ferrari, who will be aspiring for a noteworthy result, as will the crew representing Russia. Rinat Salikhov and Denis Bulatov, protagonists in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup alongside David Perel, after the fourth place claimed in the previous edition, will be hoping to improve on the final result, this time aiming for a medal. The Italian crew will not be the only father and son crew, since the Belarus pairing will also be an all-family affair made up of Alexander Talkanitsa Sr. and Alexander Talkanitsa Jr. behind the wheel of a 488 GT3. On Thursday, October 31, the cars will be on view in the Piazza del Popolo, before stopping off in the centre of Rome outside the Colosseum for the evocative opening ceremony due to get underway at 18.00. The engines will roar into action on Friday, for the kick off of the first edition of the FIA Motorsport Games with Giorgio and Gianluca Roda taking to the track for two free practice sessions at 10.00 and 13.00. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, November 2 at 09.45, with the green light signalling Race-1 set for 14.25. Sunday, November 3 will start with Race -2 at 09.30, while the third and concluding race of the FIA Motorsport Games programme will get underway at 15.00. The three one-hour races will serve to deliver the first ever medals of the “Motorsport Olympics”.