Luigi Ferrara will replace Fabrizio Giovanardi for the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) races in Japan and Macau, after Giovanardi earlier announced his departure from the Alfa Romeo team.
Ferrara won five races in this year’s TCR Italy series in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, narrowly missing out on the overall title by just 2.5 points.
The Italian will now get the chance to race one of Romeo Ferrari’s cars on the world stage after being revealed as Giovanardi’s replacement, starting at Suzuka this weekend. Giovanardi earlier announced his decision to depart the team after a run of poor results.
Romeo Ferraris Operations Manager Michela Cerruti said that the limited time to find a replacement for Giovanardi meant that Ferrara was the natural choice to line up alongside Kevin Ceccon in the team.
“We warmly welcome Gigi in the team,” said Cerruti. “Following Fabrizio’s decision, we had very little time to find a replacement for the last two rounds, and the obvious choice was to enter alongside Kevin someone who already knew our car.
“Ferrara was a natural option, and we are confident he will be able to contribute a lot to the set-up of the car given his great experience with our cars, although he will face two challenging tracks, Suzuka and Macau.”
Ferrara admits that he was surprised to get the last-minute call-up, having expected his racing season to already be over after the TCR Italy finale.
“I thank Romeo Ferraris and Team Mulsanne a lot for choosing me to finish the season,” said the 36-year-old. “The call received by Michela, for sure, took me by surprise, but at the same time, boosted me a lot.
“I am anxious to be meeting the team and discovering the atmosphere of the WTCR. It is like a dream come true for me and an opportunity to give continuity to the work I have done with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR by Romeo Feraris in the TCR Italy in the last two seasons.”