July 8th, 2008

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.55: Chris Niarchos, Tim Mullen, Andrea Piccini & Gordon Shedden

Andrea Piccini is one of Europe’s most experienced sportscar drivers. The 29 year-old Italian has driven for many of the top GT teams and tasted success on many occasions.

“I'm glad to be racing in such a competitive car at Spa, my favourite track, said Piccini. “Previously in the Spa 24 Hours I have raced in the GT1 class, achieving two pole positions in 2002 with the Ferrari 550 Prodrive and in 2006 with the Aston Martin, finishing second after leading the race for 22 hours, so racing in GT2 will be a new experience for me. CR Scuderia is a new team but with very experienced members and drivers and I'm sure it will be a pleasure to be part of such a good line-up. I'm just back from Le Mans where I finished fourth in the 007 Aston Martin, shared with Karl Wendlinger and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, so I'm m ore than ready for another charging 24 hours with the target of finishing on the podium.”

Scotland’s Gordon Shedden will be swapping his Honda Civic S2000 BTCC car for a Ferrari 430 GT2 car but he is no stranger to the Italian marque, having tested on many occasions. He is also no stranger to winning, with numerous BTCC race wins under his belt.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to join CR Scuderia for the most prestigious race of the FIA GT calendar, said Shedden. “I’m really looking forward to competing in my first 24 hour race and to link up with Chris and Tim. I sat next to Chris as an instructor at his first track day and it’s great to join up with him in a race environment and Tim’s quality is known across the board. We should make a great team. What’s really nice for me is that my BTCC race engineer, Eddie Hinckley, is one of the engineers at CRS so I will feel at home right away. I can’t wait to get in the Ferrari and help the guys in their quest for Championship points!”