Kaffer to partner Melo in Risi Ferrari

Mika Salo had previously shared the car with Melo, the duo taking the class title in 2007 and winning GT2 at the Le Mans 24 Hours alongside Gianmaria Bruni last year, but former Formula One racer Salo will only contest the endurance races this year.

Kaffer took an overall win in the Sebring 12 Hours with Veloqx Audi in 2004. The 32-year-old German subsequently raced in the DTM for two seasons before returning to sportscars, spending most of last year driving a Farnbacher Ferrari GT2 in the Le Mans Series.

"I'm really looking forward to joining Risi Competizione and to returning to the ALMS," said Kaffer. "It's been a long time since I was with such a strong team and a strong teammate, and that means of course we can fight for the championship."

Team boss Giuseppe Risi added: "We believe in continuity, but we also believe in change. Jaime Melo has been with us since we started racing the 430GT — as has Mika Salo. Jaime will be with us at every race and Mika will make his considerable talents known as his schedule allows.

"Change this year comes in the form of Pierre Kaffer, a very dynamic young driver, who shares driving responsibilities with Jaime for the ALMS season. This is a very talented driving line-up and we like the mix of continuity and change."