FFF Racing Team
 | |
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2023 |
| Base | Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy |
| Team principal(s) | Fu Songyang Andrea Caldarelli |
| Former series | Lamborghini Super Trofeo GT World Challenge Europe GT World Challenge Asia International GT Open GT Asia Series Michelin Le Mans Cup |
| Teams' Championships | 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia – GT3 2019 Blancpain GT Series – Pro 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup – Pro 2019 FIA Motorsport Games GT Cup |
FFF Racing Team by ACM (known as Rexal FFF Racing Team and previously Orange1 FFF Racing Team for sponsorship reasons) was a Chinese sports car racing team that competed in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, GT World Challenge Europe, and GT World Challenge Asia, among other series.
The team was crowned GT World Challenge Asia champions in 2018, as well as team champions in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and overall championship in 2019.
History
[edit]Founding
[edit]Founded in 2014, the team came about as a result of a partnership between Chinese businessman Fu Songyang and Italian racing driver Andrea Caldarelli, branded as FFF Racing Team by ACM.[1] The team began competition the following season, taking delivery of three McLaren 650S GT3 models ahead of the 2015 GT Asia Series season.[2][3] The team claimed their inaugural victory at Okayama that season, as full-time driver Hiroshi Hamaguchi finished 10th in the driver's championship.
Lamborghini transition
[edit]For the 2016 GT Asia Series season, FFF Racing shifted to competing with the recently introduced Lamborghini Huracán GT3, with Lamborghini's factory junior driver pairing of Edoardo Liberati and Andrea Amici joining the team's effort.[4] The team would take two overall victories and seven podiums that season, with Liberati and Amici claiming the driver's title.[5] 2016 also marked the team's first foray into European competition, fielding two entries in the GT3 Le Mans Cup and another at the Paul Ricard round of the International GT Open.[6]
The following season, the team entered the inaugural season of the Blancpain GT Series Asia with support from Squadra Corse.[7] The #1 car featured the season-long duo of Alberto di Folco and Aidan Read, while the #2 featured a slew of drivers across the Pro-Am and Am classes. The 2018 season proved successful for the team, claiming the overall team's championship alongside multiple driver's titles. Martin Kodrić and Dennis Lind claimed the overall and Silver Class championships, while Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Marco Mapelli took the Pro-Am Cup championship.[8]
Full factory support
[edit]For 2019, the team launched a renewed three car effort with full factory support for the 2019 Blancpain GT Series.[9] Success followed the team into 2019, as drivers Marco Mapelli and Andrea Caldarelli made series history by becoming the first set of drivers to win the Sprint, Endurance, and Overall championships in the Pro category. Furthermore, the team claimed the Pro class Overall and Endurance team's championship titles, while Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Phil Keen helped the team to the Pro-Am class team's and driver's titles in the Sprint series.[10] In 2021, the team announced their intentions to compete at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the first time in team history.[11] Following the 2021 season, the team paused their GT3 program, electing to focus on their Lamborghini Super Trofeo efforts.[12] In January 2023, the team announced that it had ended its racing activities.[13] The team was reportedly affected heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to the team folding.[14] Caldarelli stated that the decision to close the team came from a multitude of factors, which included a lack of factory-supported opportunities with Lamborghini in the near future.[15]
Japanese team B-Max Engineering entered the 2023 GT World Challenge Asia under the Spirit of FFF Racing moniker, paying homage to the defunct team with which driver Hiroshi Hamaguchi formerly competed.[16]
eSports
[edit]In April 2020, the team announced the creation of their eSports arm, dubbed FFF eSports, to compete in the 2020 SRO E-sport GT Series.[17] For their inaugural season, the team competed in the Silver Class designed for sim racers, signing drivers Jaroslav Honzik and Kamil Franczak.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "About us – FFF Racing Team by ACM". fffracingteam.com. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF Racing Team by ACM to Run McLaren 650S GT3s in Asia". sportscar365.com. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF Racing Team by ACM breaks cover". Asian Festival of Speed. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF Racing Team by ACM to Campaign New Huracán in GT Asia". sportscarracingnews.com. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "The 2016 GT Asia Series, by the numbers". motorsport.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF Racing Lambo To Make GT Open Debut At Paul Ricard". dailysportscar.com. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF Team Announces Blancpain GT Asia Entries". sportscar365.com. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "Blancpain GT Series Asia's champions crowned in London". automobilsport.com. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "FFF Confirms Factory-Backed Lamborghini Program". sportscar365.com. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "Champions of 2019 crowned at spectacular SRO Motorsports Group awards ceremony in Las Vegas". gt-world-challenge-europe.com. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF Names Lamborghini Factory Quartet for Maiden N24 Bid". sportscar365.com. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (11 February 2022). "FFF Takes Sabbatical from GT3; Lamborghini Ties Intact". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (17 January 2023). "FFF Racing Team Ceases Operations". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham (16 January 2023). "FFF Racing Group Closes Doors For Good". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (18 January 2023). "Caldarelli: FFF Team Closure a "Multiple-Factor Decision"". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "K-Tunes, Comet, Spirit of FFF and AMAC join strong Am Cup class". gt-world-challenge-europe.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ "FFF Racing launches digital team to contest SRO E-Sport GT Series". gt-world-challenge-europe.com. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "FFF eSports in SRO E-Sport GT Series with Honzik and Franczak". fff-racingteam.com. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
External links
[edit]- Official Website Archived 2020-11-03 at the Wayback Machine