Yahoo Autos Conquest adds GTD PRO Ferrari entry for Road America
Conquest Racing is expanding to two cars for at least one event, the upcoming IMSA SportsCar weekend at Road America. Adding a GTD PRO entry for Giacamo Altoè and Daniel Serra to its regular Ferrari 296 GT3 GTD entry, the team will run two cars for the first time since its return to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
Full-season GTD teammates Manny Franco and Albert Costa Balboa, currently fifth in the GTD standings in the No. 34 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296 GT3, will be joined by Serra and Altoè in the No. 35 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296 GT3. The team previously ran a GTD PRO entry for Serra and Costa at Detroit, where the class was the sole GT category, but this will be the first time for the team in both classes.
“I’m excited to be back with Conquest in IMSA,” said Serra. “I’ve only been to Road America once, but it’s definitely one of my favorite tracks. It will be my first time sharing the car with Giacomo Altoè, and I believe we can do a great job together.”
GTD PRO has largely been without a Ferrari entry in sprint races in recent years, as teams such as Risi Competizione, Cetilar Racing and AF Corse have generally concentrated their efforts on the Michelin Endurance Cup events. Whether the one-off will result in more GTD PRO outings for the team has not been announced.
The Road America event will mark Altoè’s first outing with the team and in the WeatherTech Championship.
Altoè comes with an impressive resume listing a great deal of experience competing in various international sportscar championships. Notably, he is already extremely familiar with the Ferrari 296 GT3, competing in GT World Challenge Europe, as well as Ferrari Challenge Europe, where he is currently leading the Trofeo Pirelli championship.
“I’m more than ready for this challenge because it has always been one of my goals to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,” said Altoè. “I can’t wait to be back racing in the United States, especially with a top team like Conquest Racing and an experienced driver such as Daniel Serra. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
On the GTD side, Road America is Franco’s home track, and he and Costa will be looking to close the already narrow gap between Conquest and Korthoff-Preston Motorsports.
The GT classes will have 25 total entries for the 2h40m race scheduled for a green flag at 3:10 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Aug. 4.
