Rolex 24: Griffin to race with Risi at Daytona

Risi Competizione will enter the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a two-car team for the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona, January 25-28. 2018 marks the start of the third year of competition for the beautiful Ferrari 488, which made its debut just prior to the 2016 running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team finished sixth at Daytona and closed the season with a victory at Petit Le Mans that year.

Matt Griffin will be joining the No. 82 Ferrari 488 GT3-spec GTD (Grand Touring Daytona class) entry which encompasses five drivers for the race: Spaniard Miguel Molina and a trio of Mexican drivers, Martin Fuentes, Santiago Creel and Ricardo Perez de Lara.

Speaking to Prescott Motorsport, Griffin said "Its a difficult race and extremely competitive. The races in IMSA are unlike any other endurance races because of the complex safety car rules that allow pass-a-rounds etc. The race always comes down to the last couple of hrs. If we can run 22hrs without a major issue I'm really confident we will be there to fight for the win"

And what are Matt's hope for the race? "A new watch!" Whilst being well known as a Ferrari driver, this will be Matt's first time racing with Risi, we asked him what were his thoughts on competing for the team at Daytona? "Risi are a powerhouse of a Ferrari team with a wealth of experience, especially in the Rolex 24, so I'm very much looking forward to joining the team."

Spanish driver Miguel Molina, who became a Ferrari factory GT driver in March 2017, will be part of the Risi Competizione GTD class entry. This will be Molina’s inaugural Rolex 24 but he’s quite comfortable with endurance racing, having competed a full season in WEC last year, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and winning the Gulf 12 Hours race in mid-December. What advice did Matt have for Miguel? "Miguel is a good friend of mine, we have competed against each other all season in the WEC. He is a a really top level driver so doubt he will need any advice!"

Looking forward to the 2018 season, will we being seeing another hectic year for Matt? "Yeah, like the last couple of years 2018 is going to be busy. I will do the Rolex, obviously, and the WEC with Clearwater Racing. Along with this I will do the European Le Mans Series again and the Blancpain Endurance Series. Its been a short break with my last race of 2017 in mid December, I can't wait to get started in 2018 though!"