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Ferrari squad Risi Competizione plans 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours return

Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Risi Competizione is aiming to return to the French endurance race this year

The US-based Ferrari team has filed an entry for the race under its own name for the first time since 2017.

Risi is hoping to be on the grid in GTE Pro for the blue-riband World Endurance Championship round on June 15/16.

Team owner Giuseppe Risi told Autosport: "We have put in an entry as ourselves and want to go back.

"We feel there is a level-playing field at Le Mans."

Risi would not be drawn on who would race its solo 488 GTE, but stated he was hopeful of having at least some Ferrari factory drivers in his line-up.

"I'm sure we will sort something out with Ferrari," he said.

Risi is likely to find out whether it has been successful in its bid for a Le Mans spot in March.

Race organiser the Automobile Club de l'Ouest is unveiling the entry list in two stages this year.

The first 50 cars, which will comprise mostly WEC entries and teams that have won guaranteed grid spots, will be announced on February 11, and the ACO will then confirm a further 10 cars and 10 reserves on March 1.

The Houston-based team, running as Doyle-Risi, won the LMP900 class with a Ferrari 333SP on its Le Mans debut in 1998 and claimed GT2 honours in 2008 and '09.

It ended a six-year hiatus from Le Mans in 2016 when it finished a close second in class to the then-new Ford GT.

Risi returned to the race in 2017 and then ran its Ferrari in the GTE Am ranks last year under the Keating Motorsports banner.

News of Risi's intended return to Le Mans follows Ferrari's revelation that it will not field an additional entry alongside its two factory AF Corse WEC cars this year.

Risi took second place in GT Le Mans at last weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, but has no plans to contest further rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship this year.

The team believes that the Ferrari is not competitive under the IMSA championship's Balance of Performance and needs some help to be able to compete with the two-car factory entries from Porsche, Ford, Chevrolet and BMW.

Stalwart Risi engineer Rick Mayer claimed that the team had a "ninth-place car" in dry conditions.

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