Following the announcement of participation in the DTM, Emil Frey Racing’s 2023 season will also have a commitment to the GT World Challenge Europe to race in the Sprint Cup.
Fresh from switching to the Ferrari 296 GT3 after several years as a Lamborghini customer team, the Swiss team confirms the presence of SRO Motorsports Group in the championship with two cars.
Most of the riders chosen for the adventure are those who had already worn the colors of the Swiss team last season, in particular the ex-Lamborghini Giacomo Altoè and Albert Costa, who will return to the game together with Konsta Lappalainen and newcomer Thierry Vermeulen.
In the #14 Ferrari there will be Altoè/Lappalainen, while in the #69 the steering wheel will be shared by Costa/Vermeulen.
Jack Aitken also remains in the team, chosen as the driver to be deployed in the DTM together with Vermeulen.
Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3
Photo by: Emil Frey Racing
“After changing brands, confirming the race calendar and choosing our drivers, we are now happy to be able to concentrate entirely on the next few days of testing,” commented team principal, Lorenz Frey-Hilti.
“We can’t wait to enter the DTM and GTWC Sprint with the brand new Ferrari 296 GT3. We already know most of the drivers in our lineup. It’s a good mix of years of experience and young talent.”
“We are delighted to have Thierry Vermeulen, a young and very talented driver from Red Bull, at our side for the 2023 racing season. We are looking forward to starting the season with this new driver line-up.”
Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3
Photo by: Emil Frey Racing
And speaking of Red Bull, it should be noted that the livery chosen is electric blue with red inserts and Vermeulen’s car #69 has the bibitaro logo on the side and on the nose. The singular aspect, if we look at everything from the Ferrari point of view, is that in addition to the bull, the ‘Verstappen.com’ site of the Formula 1 champion and great rival of Maranello is also sponsored.
“I can’t wait to face my first season with Emil Frey Racing and give my all for my new team in these 13 races on the calendar that await me – said Vermeulen – I want to finish as high as possible”.
Costa adds: “I’m thrilled to be able to announce that I will be racing for Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari in the GTWC Sprint with Thierry Vermeulen. I can’t wait to start this exciting new season!”
Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3
Photo by: Emil Frey Racing
“I’m very excited for this new adventure, we’ll see what happens but this program promises well and I’m very ready to tackle the first tests,” Altoè said speaking to Motorsport.com.
“We know very well that the 296 is new and therefore there will be development to do, but I certainly have no doubts about its goodness. I don’t think the debut at Daytona should be taken into consideration because the BoP there was negative for Ferrari, just like for Porsche and other brands”.
“So I’m not worried about it, aware that in any case we’ll need to work a lot to understand as much as possible about the car. But I’m very confident in the team because I know it, they’re very professional guys and they’ve always worked at a very high level.”
“On the crews I think we are balanced, both we in the #14 and our teammates at the wheel of the #69. So we can certainly do well”.
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