Risi vows return to IMSA grid in 2017
Giuseppe Risi vowed his Risi Competizione race team will return to the IMSA grid in 2017, one day after announcing it will miss at least the next three races due to budgetary issues.
"Following an extremely challenging first half of 2017, most recently at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I have decided to withdraw the Risi Competizione race team from part of the 2017 IMSA season in order to consolidate resources and to reflect on future racing programs," Risi said.
In a statement, Risi Competizione said "The Team, which has been a successful, championship-winning part of the U.S. sports car racing scene for many decades, proudly representing Ferrari, and fully intends to return to competition in 2017. The Risi Team's future plans will be revealed in due course."
The Risi team is coming off an expensive weekend in Le Mans where a brand-new Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro class car it had leased for the event was badly damaged in an early-race crash with Matthieu Vaxiviere, for which the Frenchman issued an apology.
Risi started the 2017 season with third-place podium finishes at both the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The following two IMSA sprint races at Long Beach and Circuit of the Americas saw the team knocked out by follow competitors and suffer damage to the Ferrari 488 GTLM.