Scuderia Baldini is ready for another surprise. After fielding Jacques Villeneuve and Giancarlo Fisichella in 2019, Fabio Baldini went another step further for the third round of the Endurance series that will take place in Vallelunga. The Brazilian champion Rubens Barrichello will share driving duties with Giancarlo Fisichella.
The former F1 driver, who has a lot of fans in Italy, already got a taste of the Italian GT last June 21st in Vallelunga when, together with his son Eduardo and Fisichella, got acquainted with the team’s 488 GT3 Evo.
That could look like a one-off, but Fabio Baldini worked hard to make it the prelude to another participation. The number 27 488 GT3 Evo driven by Barrichello-Fisichella will contest the first round of the Endurance series of this season after the excellent results obtained by the team with Di Amato-Urcera and Gai-Panciatici in the Sprint series.
The 50 years old from Brazil, who has been a Ferrari F1 driver from 2000 to 2005 ending second in the drivers' classification in 2002 and 2004, will be back behind the wheel of a Ferrari car after 17 years. A total of 322 GP run, 11 wins, 68 podiums and 14 pole positions are the figures of the F1 career of the driver from Sao Paulo, who has been contesting the Stock Car Brazil for a few years now after winning the title in 2014.
“We could not be absent in Vallelunga – Fabio Baldini declared – On our home turf the 488 GT3 will be driven by our flag driver Giancarlo Fisichella and Rubens Barrichello. After Jacques Villeneuve, we managed to get another great champion like Rubens on our car. I had the chance to meet him in Monza last April and we were on the same page. He said he would have liked to be back on a Ferrari after 17 years and I offered him the chance to compete with us. He gladly accepted my offer. We did a test in Vallelunga, it went well and here we are for the debut this year in the Endurance Series after the good results obtained so far in the Sprint series where our two lineups are fighting for the title. I invite all the fans to come and see us in Vallelunga to cheer Giancarlo and Rubens: the paddock access will be free of charge. We are waiting for you!”
Thousands of fans are expected in Vallelunga for the third round of the Endurance Series and on this occasion, the paddock will be open. The Direction of the circuit went big and also organized a pit walk along the pit lane to celebrate and collect autographs of the Brazilian champion as well as the other drivers of the Italian GT.
The event will kick off on Friday with a free practice session of one hour scheduled for 16.05 and will continue on Saturday with the second free practice session from 8.30 to 9.30. The three qualifying sessions will follow (from 14.55 to 16) to decide the starting grid of the two hours-long race that will get the green lights on Sunday at 15. The race will go live on Acisport TV (Sky 228) and recorded on Rai Sport. The live stream will be available from www.acisport.it/CIGT, Facebook www.facebook.com/CIGranTurismo and YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-QsHUuslO4iZekAeBoskgg/featured
PADDOCK ACCESS WILL BE OPEN AND FREE OF CHARGE
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BARRICHELLO AT THE TESTING SESSION HELD IN JUNE
RUBENS BARRICHELLO AND HIS SON EDUARDO
