Ferrari ace Calado joins Fisichella and Cioci at Kaspersky Motorsport for Blancpain GT Series

Ferrari ace Calado joins Fisichella and Cioci at Kaspersky Motorsport for Blancpain GT Series

Kaspersky Motorsport announced that James Calado will race alongside Giancarlo Fisichella and Marco Cioci in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series – including the Total 24 Hours of Spa – as the team steps up to a full Pro line-up, running the new Ferrari 488 GT3 car.

After a successful two years in the AM category, Kaspersky Motorsport is ready to mount a serious campaign in the overall class, lining up a team to compete in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Experienced GT racers Fisichella and Cioci were confirmed as Kaspersky Motorsport drivers at the end of 2016, with 27 year-old James Calado being added to the line-up now.

The Englishman from Worcestershire is no stranger to endurance racing and a Ferrari-racer since 2014.  Before he had a successful single-seater career, which included the role of test driver in the Force India Formula 1 team. Surprisingly though, Calado will be a Total 24 Hours of Spa rookie later this season.

James Calado: "I’m very happy to be a part of the Kaspersky Motorsport family. It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but I know the team very well already and I am sure that together with my experienced teammates, we can have a very good season. The new car is fantastic to drive and the fight on the track is going to be fierce, which is what we are all looking forward to!”

Antonello Coletta, Head of Attività Sportive GT: “The Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup is becoming increasingly important in the world of GT racing. We have therefore enthusiastically agreed to support Kaspersky Motorsport, which will deploy a Ferrari 488 GT3 in the overall class in partnership with AF Corse. We are making two of our drivers available: James Calado and Giancarlo Fisichella, who will race together with Marco Cioci. So we wish the very best of luck to Kaspersky Motorsport and its drivers for a 2017 packed with success!”

Stéphane Ratel, Founder and CEO SRO Motorsports Group: “When asked what could improve the Blancpain GT Series, now that we have a record grid, great diversity and a high level of competition between many manufacturers, my answer has always been: factory supported entries from Ferrari and Porsche to compete for overall honours at the Total 24 Hours of Spa and for the Series title. The entry of Kaspersky Motorsport with a top Pro line-up fulfils part of this wish. I would like to thank Ferrari Competizioni GT, Kaspersky Lab and AF Corse for their joint efforts and wish them a successful 2017 Blancpain GT season.”