Vicious Rumour
Racing will give a competition debut to the Ferrari 488 GT3 on the Australian
Grand Prix weekend at Melbourne’s Albert Park, Racing.GT have learned.
The Melbourne-based
team won’t take delivery of their new mount in time for the Australian GT
championship season opener in Adelaide and have instead ear-marked the
F1-supporting second round for the car’s first outing.
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| Vicious Rumour will debut the 488 in Melbourne in March (Benny Simonsen/ Facebook). |
Team regulars Benny
Simonsen and ex-Formula one driver Andrea Montermini have been entrusted with
the driving duties, reprising the line-up that took second in the Am class of
last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour to outright winner Nissan.
“It’s a pretty good
gig, I’m very excited for it,” said Simonsen. “It’s going to be the first race
for the 488 and it’s cool to be on the F1 package, it’s a big event out there.
“I haven’t actually
driven it yet, my first time will be at the Grand Prix, but Andrea has been
shaking it down in Italy. The car is on its way now, but it’s going to be so
close to Clipsal and as a Melbourne-based team, the Grand Prix is a really big
deal for them, so it makes sense to wait; if you end up having some damage at
Clipsal it’s probably game over for the Grand Prix.”
Car owner Tony
Defelice was part of the driver line-up at Bathurst and will return later in
the season, but will take a back seat for the car’s debut, with only a 20
minute practice session to get both drivers acquainted before qualifying.
“Tony is going to
do some more races himself, but for the Grand Prix he’d like the car to win on
its debut so he’s given us that task. We’ll have a crack at it and see if we
can get to the top step,” Simonsen continued.
“They are trying to
organise a test the week before, but it all depends on when it gets to
Melbourne. There’s only a twenty minute practice before we do qualifying and
that’s for two drivers, we have to do ten minutes each, but I’m looking forward
to it.
“I’ve not been to
the track, but normally when I go to Bathurst I’ll stay in Melbourne because
the team is based there, so I’ve been there quite a few times now. From the sim
I really like the circuit, it has a good fast flow to it which is the type of
track I like.”
Simonsen is under
no illusions of the challenge facing Vicious Rumour, with the quality of
opposition in Australian GT at an all-time high. 28 cars will take on the
season opener at Adelaide, with even more to come for the Grand Prix weekend.
“Australian GT is
building more and more; if you look at the entry list for Clipsal it’s
incredible and I think the Grand Prix is going to be even tougher, because it’s
the one everyone wants to do out there,” he added. “I know the grid has been
sold up for quite a while, there’s the BMW, McLaren, Mercedes, Audis, everyone
wants to win it, and it’s going to be very competitive. But we’re going there
to win, I think we’ve got a good chance and we can do it.”
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