Super GT and Super Formula star Nick Cassidy plus 2017 Le Mans winner Daniel Serra will join Ferrari’s full-season Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli entry, HubAuto Corsa, at the Total 24 Hours of Spa on July 25-28.
Cassidy makes his #IntGTC debut in Belgium where he and Serra partner championship contender and California 8 Hours winner Nick Foster aboard the Taiwanese squad’s 488 GT3.
HubAuto Corsa are one of several teams contesting all five rounds of the world’s only global GT3 series, which reaches its halfway mark in the Ardennes next month.
Two of its previous drivers, Tim Slade and Nick Percat, are both competing in Australian Supercars over the same weekend, while existing Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup commitments see Miguel Molina – who was victorious with Foster and Slade at Laguna Seca – representing Ferrari via SMP Racing.
However, their replacements are straight from the top drawer.
Cassidy’s junior exploits featured success in Europe and his native New Zealand before embarking on a successful professional career in Japan. Winning the same country’s domestic F3 title in 2015 launched him towards Super GT’s senior GT500 class, which he won two years later. The Kiwi finished runner-up in the same championship last season while also narrowly missing out on the Super Formula crown.
Serra, meanwhile, is best known internationally for his GTE Pro class victory at Le Mans with Aston Martin in 2017. However, his racing CV – which includes consecutive Stock Car Brazil titles in 2017 and ’18 – is far more varied than that. Indeed, he has raced Ferrari’s 488 GT3 in Europe and America for the past two years, and also contested Spa last July in one of Audi’s #IntGTC entries.
HubAuto’s one constant factor remains Foster, who lies joint-second in the Drivers’ standings after two rounds. He and Cassidy first met during their single-seater days in New Zealand, while Serra’s talent and experience alerted HubAuto.
“It will feel strange racing without Tim and Miguel at Spa – victory at Laguna Seca was a real team effort and it would have been nice to continue our Intercontinental GT Challenge journey together,” said Foster. “But we always knew that other commitments would prevent that so the team has been busy putting together strong line-ups for the remaining races. And this is a really strong line-up!
“Nick and I were team-mates in the Toyota Racing Series and have stayed in touch since. It’s nice to have that personal connection but what really counts is his professional record in Japan, as well as his outing at the Daytona 24 Hours this year. Daniel already has experience of the Ferrari and competed at Spa last season, but it’s his proven capability in whatever he drives that really excites me.”
All three drivers will take part in Spa’s official test days on July 2-3. Intercontinental GT Challenge’s Spa entry list will also be revealed, along with that of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, on the same date.