Review of a Pivotal Season – Rinaldi Racing 2020

The 2020 season marked a significant turning point for Rinaldi Racing. Despite the extraordinary circumstances of a shortened and restructured racing calendar, the team focused clearly on two core programmes: participation in the GT World Challenge Europe and its entry into the ACO platform with the Michelin Le Mans Cup.

In the GT3 category, Rinaldi Racing continued to compete with the Ferrari 488 GT3 in the GT World Challenge Europe. In a highly competitive international field, the team asserted itself in the Pro-Am and Am classifications, collecting valuable championship points. Despite logistical challenges and a condensed calendar, Rinaldi Racing delivered consistent performances at European top level and confirmed its competitiveness in GT racing.

However, one of the most important milestones in the team’s history in 2020 was its entry into the ACO racing series. By committing to the Michelin Le Mans Cup, Rinaldi Racing entered new territory and expanded its sporting portfolio into prototype racing. For the first time, the team fielded an LMP3 prototype, taking on an entirely new technical and strategic challenge.

The LMP3 category is regarded as a key component of the ACO ladder system and as a development platform for international endurance racing, leading up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For Rinaldi Racing, this project meant not only a change of machinery but also the adaptation of internal processes, engineering work, and race strategy to the specific demands of a Le Mans prototype. The successful establishment of the programme underlined the team’s technical expertise and long-term strategic vision.

The races within the Michelin Le Mans Cup calendar – held at renowned Grand Prix circuits – provided Rinaldi Racing with the opportunity to compete directly against established prototype teams. The season served as an important learning phase and laid the foundation for future commitments within the ACO structure.

In summary, 2020 was defined less by quantity and more by strategic quality. Alongside its established presence in the GT World Challenge Europe, the decisive step towards prototype racing stood at the centre of the year. With its entry into the Michelin Le Mans Cup and the deployment of an LMP3 car, Rinaldi Racing opened a new chapter in its history – a move that significantly shaped the team’s long-term sporting development and broadened its horizons.