Rinaldi Racing is entering the international racing stage again this year for his 2018 motorsport season.

With a total of six Ferrari 488 GT3s, the team in Mendig wants to tackle the ProAm and Am classifications in various racing series.

The commitment in the Blancpain GT Series remains. This year, however, the team will only concentrate on the Blancpain Endurance Series. After the two championship titles in 2017 in the Blancpain GT Series ProAm and in the Blancpain Sprint Series ProAm, it is now time to fight for the title in the Blancpain Endurance Series ProAm. Alexander Mattschull, Rinat Salikhov and Dominik Schwager will start with the number 333 in the ProAm. Mattschull: “After winning the ProAm overall title and the sprint classification, the focus this year is on the Blancpain Endurance Series ProAm. Together with the great team, I’m looking forward to the championship and am confident of mastering it successfully.” But Rinaldi Racing also wants to attack again in the Am classification. In this class, Pierre Ehret will be behind the wheel of the Italian car again. Ehret: “I’m looking forward to competing again with Michele and his team in this year’s Blancpain Endurance Series. Of course, I hope that the targeted Am class will be better populated with competitors this year.” His two teammates are yet to be announced.

This year, Rinaldi Racing will also lead the entry from Wochenspiegel Team Monschau in the VLN again. After last year’s very good cooperation, in which they even managed to take a victory, Wochenspiegel Team Monschau has decided to enter a second Ferrari 488 GT3. The Wochenspiegel Ferrari #22 will again be driven by Georg Weiss, Oliver Kainz and Jochen Krumbach. The sister car with the starting number 11 will be driven by Leonard Weiss, Nico Menzel and Christian Menzel. The squad will again start with Michelin tyres. Rinaldi: “We are very pleased to continue our very good partnership with Michelin this year.”

Rinaldi Racing will also enter a Ferrari 488 GT3 in the Nürburgring 24 Hours together with Wochenspiegel Team Monschau. After an excellent first place in the ProAm and seventh overall, everyone involved wants to repeat the feat. In addition to Georg Weiss, Oliver Kainz and Jochen Krumbach, another professional driver will complete the team.

After the second overall place at the 24 Hours of Portimao last year, the Wochenspiegel Team Monschau would like to participate in a race of the 24h Series by Creventic again this year. The choice falls on the 24 Hours of Barcelona at the beginning of September. At this endurance race, Rinaldi Racing will bring a Ferrari 488 GT3 to the start. The full driver line-up will be announced shortly before the event.

Also on the agenda for Rinaldi Racing is the International GT Open with two Ferrari 488 GT3s. Two familiar faces will be competing in the Am classification on the number 33 car: Christian Hook and Steve Parrow. Having both raced in the Blancpain GT Series in 2016, they are now looking to take on new challenges. Hook: “We are already very excited about the GT Open and are really looking forward to it. Obviously, we hope to be upfront with the Ferrari 488 GT3 and win some podiums.” Parrow: “After the Hook/Parrow team’s very successful podium finishes in the Blancpain GT Series, we are looking forward to battling it out in the beautifully competitive GT Open. The crowning glory of course is that we get to do this with a brand new Ferrari 488 GT3. We’re especially looking forward to Monza, driving such beauty there is the greatest thing for any Ferraristi.” The second car, number 333, will be driven by Vadim Kogay. The second driver will decide whether the car will race in the ProAm or Am class.

Furthermore, Rinaldi Racing will also be active in the ADAC GT Masters. The team will provide HB-Racing with technical support for the entry of a Ferrari 488 GT3. Rinaldi: “It’s great that Ferrari will now also be represented in the ADAC GT Masters. With HB-Racing we have a strong team that will definitely achieve good results in the league of super sports cars.”

Michele Rinaldi: “We are already looking forward to a great 2018 season. The potential with the driver pairings is great in any planned race series and we hope to build on last year’s success. Our collaboration with Ferrari and Michelotto will continue this year – the car is simply in a class of its own. With six Ferrari 488 GT3s, we will be well occupied throughout the year. The team is highly motivated to start the 2018 season.”