Risi Competizione looks to race at Le Mans for the first time in 2017. The team has filed an entry for the GTE Pro field and hopes to be on the grid for the closing round of the World Endurance Championship Super Season in June.
"We have put in an entry as ourselves and want to go back. We feel there is a level-playing field at Le Mans," team owner Giuseppe Risi told Motorsport.com.
The Houston-based team has a storied history at the Circuit de La Sarthe winning LMP1 in 1999 and claiming top honours in GT2 in both 2008 and 2009. Risi last ran under its own name in 2017, before competing under the Keating Motorsports banner in GTE Am last year.
The fate of a Risi Le Mans entry will likely become clear in March, when the race-organizing Automobile Club de l'Ouest reveals the second phase of the entry list for the French endurance classic.
Off the back of a second place finish in GT Le Mans at the Rolex 24 at Daytona last week, the team also said it has no further plans for the remaining rounds of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.
This stems from the belief that the current Balance of Performance regulations render the 488 GTE uncompetitive against the two-car factory entries from Porsche, Ford, Corvette and BMW. This concern was raised by both engineer Rick Meyer and Ferrari factory driver James Calado.
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