ALMS: Corsa Motorsports Ferrari Returns in 08:

"With the announcement of the 2008 American Le Mans Series schedule at the recent Petite Le Mans race and with all 2007 venues still on the schedule, Corsa Motorsports has announced plans to campaign its #48 Ferrari F430 LMGT in the GT2 class for the 2008 ALMS season. In its inaugural season of competition in 2007, the Corsa team came to life with its initial competition at the Series most prestigious North American event - the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring where it came from last place to run in second place when it suffered not only a mechanical fate that not only ended its race but prevented it from competing in the next three races but was further resulted in the loss of its outsourced technical support. With the car repaired, the team Corsa returned to competition at the 5th race of the season - the Utah Grand Prix - where Corsa assembled a makeshift crew for its F430 LMGT and in so doing securing a point finishing performance only to lose its tire manufacturer for the balance of the season.

Discovering that the team could be competitive without the need for outsourced support who contributed no emotional investment in Corsa, Team Principal Steve Pruitt, drawing on his experience as a successful entrepreneur and businessman, took up the challenge and reenergized his efforts to get the Corsa Ferrari back into the series which has resulted in Corsas transformation into a stand-alone team.

To solidify the teams structure, Corsa has secured the services of Jerry (JT) Tatum as Sporting Manager, Roberto Amorosi as Technical Manager and Shawn Tatum as Crew Chief. The Tatums, father and son, bring with them over 30 years of collective experience in motorsports and most recently were instrumental in the success of Synergy Racing having contributed their energy and work product to eight championships in their tenure with Synergy in its Grand Am Prototype, Grand Am GT and IMSA GT3 Cup programs. Amorosi, owner of Vittoria Competizione in Reggio Emilia, Italy, contributes a wealth of enthusiasm and Ferrari-specific technical knowledge and will manage all engineering and technical development of the F430 LMGT and coordinate the teams interface with Automobili Michelotto and Ferrari Corsa Cliente.

In a further commitment and investment, Corsa has acquired its first self-contained race transporter which will provide not only a first class enclosed mobile work and support system but will also provide an integrated covered hospitality area for its team partners and sponsors, the graphic design of which has been derived from the Ferraris F1 transporters in Europe. Corsa is also in negotiations for a new race shop facility where it will be able to better support the car while maintaining ready access to the Miller Motorsports Park where Corsa predominantly tests.

To facilitate its ability to compete, Corsa is finalizing negotiations with a major tire manufacturer that will enable Corsa to have a committed tire partner for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons. In advancing the tire relationship, Corsa recently conducted extensive successful tire tests aiming to make a public announcement of its relationship at the upcoming SEMA show in Las Vegas. At the same time Corsa has also been testing drivers for 2008 and hopes to be able to announce it driver team lineup for 2008 as well at the SEMA event."

 I now have one damn good reason to head out to SEMA.  GO TEAM UTAH!!!

Press Release from MMP: 

tah-Based Corsa Motorsports Enters Ferrari in Sunchaser 1000
 
(September 7, 2007) -- Corsa Motorsports, the Utah-based sports car racing team headquartered at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, has announced its return to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve with the entry of its No. 62 EquiWest F430 Ferrari Challenge GT in the upcoming Sunchaser 1000 event scheduled for the Miller track on September 15. Corsa made its debut in the Grand-Am Rolex Series at the inaugural Sunchaser event last year along with the first, and to date the only, entry of a Ferrari F430 Challenge in the series. Although plagued by fueling fires in its first two pit stops due to a faulty design of the car's aftermarket fueling mechanism installation which resulted in the loss of 11 laps in the pits, the maiden event for F430 CGT was otherwise a success as the car went on to finish the race.
 
Driving the No. 62 F430 CGT in addition to team principal Steve Pruitt will be Rui Aguas of Parma, Italy and Gunnar Jeanette of Salt Lake City. Aguas finished second in the 2006 FIA GT Championship driving the Ferrari F430 GT for AF Corse and has driven the Corsa F430 Ferrari F430 GT in the GT2 class in ALMS, most recently finishing fifth in the 2007 Utah Grand Prix. Jeanette, with vast experience at the Miller track, has been driving a Ford Mustang for Multimatic in the European FIA GT3 series as well as a Panoz LMGT in ALMS. Both drivers have numerous podium finishes in a variety of series and cars, and both bring car development experience to the team from which Corsa will continue the development of F430 CGT aiming towards participation in the 2008 Grand-Am season.
 
Quotes:
Steve Pruitt: "Although we have had our attention averted due to other pursuits which were thwarted by problems with support personnel and tire manufacturers, we are looking forward to returning to where we started last year at Miller with the Grand-Am series and our one-of-a-kind F430 CGT program. It is with a renewed sense of the capabilities of the machinery uniquely Ferrari that excites us and, when taken in context of the prospects for the 2008 season, with all cars to be shod on Pirelli tiress for which the F430 chassis was originally bred, the No. 62 Corsa Ferrari should be able to get up to competitive speed more quickly and run at the front, as is customary with a Ferrari. The addition of the experience of both Jerry (J.T.) Tatum and Shawn Tatum will certainly add to the synergistic development of the car."

From MMP: 

TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (August 22, 2007) – Miller Motorsports Park is very pleased to announce that it has reached a multi-year agreement to host the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP beginning in 2008.
 
It has been three years since the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP raced in America, and having the series at Miller Motorsports Park will represent the most significant racing event in the history of the State of Utah. The race will be part of the Honda Summit of Speed, scheduled for June 1, 2008.
 
“We are thrilled to bring the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP to Miller Motorsports Park,” said track owner Larry H. Miller. “This will be the biggest international sporting event in this state since the Olympic Winter Games in 2002. We look forward to welcoming the international motorcycle racing community to Utah, as well as thousands of new fans from across the United States and the world, who will be visiting Utah and our facility for the first time.”
 
“This announcement marks a significant achievement for Miller Motorsports Park,” said MMP General Manager and CEO Alan Wilson. “The FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is a very prestigious event, and I would like to thank Maurizio Flammini of FGSPORT for his help in crafting this agreement.”
 
Maurizio Flammini, President of the FGSPORT Group that has organized the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP since 1989, said that Miller Motorsports Park is the ideal venue for the series’ return to the North American market.
 
“We consider Miller Motorsports Park a very interesting circuit, with top facilities compared with the American standard,” he said. “I am sure that the riders, teams, sponsors and media representatives who currently participate in our events – a community exceeding 2,000 people – will very much enjoy this circuit and the State of Utah. I was particularly impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm of Governor Huntsman, and with the professionalism of Larry Miller and his staff. I am sure that the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP event that will take place in Utah next year will be one of the best-promoted and -organized ever.”
 
The FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® will share the Honda Summit of Speed weekend at Miller Motorsports Park with the AMA Superbike Championship and its support series. The weekend will be an action-packed celebration of two-wheeled competition for fans, with double-header races for both the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and the AMA Superbike Championship. The AMA Superbike Championship has been a fixture on the annual schedule at Miller Motorsports Park since its opening in 2006.
 
“We are very excited to once again share the stage with the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and look forward to bringing the American fans a Superbike weekend they will cherish forever,” said AMA Road Race Director Keith Kizer.
 
The tentative schedule has practice sessions for the AMA Superbike Championship on Thursday, May 29, with practice and qualifying sessions for both the FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and AMA Superbike Championship on Friday, May 30. The FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Superpole session plus the first of two AMA Superbike races and the AMA Superstock and Formula Xtreme races are scheduled for Saturday, May 31, and both FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP races plus the second AMA Superbike race and the AMA Supersport races will take place on Sunday, June 1.