AF Corse lands in the USA for the sixth round of the FIA WEC

With the summer break of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) over, AF Corse is ready to return to action with the number 83 Ferrari 499P for the sixth round of the season, scheduled at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The yellow liveried 499P, entered in the premier Hypercar class, will be driven as usual by Robert Kubica and the two official Prancing Horse drivers Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye. The crew currently occupies third position in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams classification, reserved for private teams, thanks to four podiums and one victory in the first five races.

The action at the Austin circuit, which will return to host the FIA WEC after four years, will begin on Friday 30 August at 12:40 pm local time with the first free practice session, followed by a similar 90-minute session at 5:10 pm. Saturday 31 will be the turn of the third round, scheduled at 11:00 am, while at 3:40 pm and 4:00 pm respectively, qualifying and the Hyperpole will get underway. Finally, at 13:00 local time on Sunday 1 September, the race, which will last 6 hours, will start.

Robert Kubica: “We had the chance to try the Circuit of the Americas last month during a test day, although between that day and the race weekend the track was resurfaced and this will definitely affect the feeling of the car. All in all, it's a pleasant track, which I've got to know from my F1 days, although with the Ferrari 499P the feeling will be different. It will be a demanding weekend because of the high temperatures and the tires will also be stressed, but I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel after the summer break”.

Robert Shwartzman: “We have high ambitions for this race and I hope we will be luckier in this round than in the last few outings of the season. The Austin track is very difficult, there are a lot of fast corners and a lot of bumps. I did the Free Practice for the Formula 1 Grand Prix here last year with Ferrari, and I discovered a very difficult but equally enjoyable circuit. There are still three races to go before the end of the season, but personally I try not to look at the standings, focusing on giving my best in each race”.

Yifei Ye: “I can't wait to make my race debut at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin with the 499P. This track looks very challenging because of the bumps and high-speed corners, which make it quite hard on both cars and drivers. Our goal is to do our best to try for a win, although we are aware that it won't be easy. With three races to go we have a considerable gap in the overall Drivers‘ standings, and a smaller gap to the leaders in the independent teams’ standings, but we are determined to score as many points as we can”.