Orange1 FFF Racing will field a trio of Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory drivers at this year's Total 24 Hours of Spa as part of a renewed assault on Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli.
The Italian marque will chase a maiden overall win in the Ardennes with Andrea Caldarelli, Marco Mapelli and Mirko Bortolotti sharing the #63 Huracan GT3. Caldarelli and Mapelli are firmly established FFF drivers and combined to take a clean sweep of GT World Challenge Europe titles in 2019. Caldarelli also acts of team principal of the FFF squad, which is owned by Fu Songyang.
Bortolotti returns to the Lamborghini stable this season after a one-year stint with Audi. The Italian ace is also a proven champion having secured the GT World Challenge Europe and Endurance Cup titles in 2017.
The FFF squad showed impressive pace in last year's Total 24 Hours of Spa and held the overall lead when a crash on Sunday morning eliminated the #63 Huracan from the race. Indeed, Mapelli set the fastest racing lap of the GT3 era before the car's demise.
Fu Songyang, Team Owner Orange1 FFF Racing Team: “After the complicated winter months, I am happy to be able to deliver some good news. It is an honor and a privilege for us to get back to race for Lamborghini Squadra Corse in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, which undoubtedly was an interrupted story last year. The partnership with Orange1 and Armando is really important to us, especially because it confirms the trust in a great, high-value international brand, while the IGTC platform represents the best way for us to put ourselves to the test again. I think we have the best possible line-up of drivers, in terms of speed, reliability and achievements , a condition that undoubtedly puts us among the top contenders for the title.”
Giorgio Sanna, Lamborghini Head of Motorsport: “The Intercontinental GT Challenge participation provides a new motivating challenge for the whole of Lamborghini Squadra Corse. An incentive to continuously improve and to reach new goals. For that reason, we are counting on the likes of Orange 1 FFF Racing Team, a top-level team, and the three Italian Lamborghini Factory Drivers well known for their talent to deliver yet more success on the track. These drivers have played an important role in the recent GT racing success of Lamborghini Squadra Corse and have the potential to create more history this year.”
Armando Donazzan, President of Orange1 Holding: “2021 somehow marks the start of a new era in the world of motorsport. The hard times we’ve been through the last year have made us stronger and more united, a value that has characterized not only our company but also our racing department. This is the second program that we announce in a few weeks, but there will be more. We have many other surprises in our pocket and I’m sure that we’ll achieve great things. We continue growing bigger together with FFF Racing and Lamborghini Squadra Corse, thanks also to a driver line-up that I believe is almost unbeatable.”
This year's Total 24 Hours of Spa will see the marquee event return to its traditional summer date on 29 July-1 August, while the official test days will run on 22-23 June.