Ferrari is about to make its return to top-level endurance racing after half a century with the brand new 499P LMH race automotive, and on Tuesday the automaker named the six-man squad that can deal with driving duties.

Ferrari will enter two 499Ps within the premier Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship beginning within the upcoming 2023 season. The transfer additionally means a return to top-level racing on the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the corporate, because the French traditional is the spotlight of the World Endurance Championship calendar.

Drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and James Calado will pilot the 499P bearing racing no. 51, whereas drivers Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, and Miguel Molina will pilot the no. 50 automotive.

Guidi and Calado are each a number of World Endurance Championship title holders within the GTE Professional class, the highest class for production-based automobiles, whereas Giovinazzi was a driver on the Alfa Romeo Method 1 workforce from 2019-2021. In his new position at Ferrari, he may also function a reserve driver for the automaker’s F1 workforce.

The 499P they are going to pilot made its world debut final October. The automotive encompasses a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 derived from the one within the 296 GTB street automotive, which on this software is paired with an electrical motor driving the entrance axle. The V-6 engine drives the rear axle, thus giving the 499P all-wheel drive. The “499” within the title is a reference to the scale of every cylinder, as measured in cubic centimeters, whereas the “P” signifies the automotive as the newest within the line of Ferrari sports activities prototype racers.

In keeping with LMH laws, the 2 energy items of the 499P can ship a most of 670 hp at anybody time. The laws additionally mandate a minimal weight of two,270 kilos for the automotive.

The 499P can be eligible for the brand new GTP class launching this yr as the brand new premier class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, although Ferrari hasn’t stated whether or not it plans to enter the sequence. There’s nonetheless the likelihood the 499P may seem at choose SportsCar Championship rounds, nonetheless.

Ferrari isn’t operating its World Endurance Championship marketing campaign alone. The automaker’s Competizioni GT sports activities automotive racing division has partnered with AF Corse for the marketing campaign, forming the brand new workforce Ferrari – AF Corse. AF Corse is an impartial Italian racing workforce based by former racing driver Amato Ferrari (no relation to Enzo Ferrari or his son, Piero) in 1995. It’s labored carefully with Ferrari since 2006, and in recent times has represented Ferrari in GT competitors, most notably within the GTE class of the World Endurance Championship.

Following a Prologue occasion at Florida’s Sebring Worldwide Raceway on March 11-12, the primary spherical of the 2023 World Endurance Championship will kick off on March 17 with the 1000 Miles of Sebring.

HIGH-RES GALLERY: Driver lineup for Ferrari 499P LMH within the 2023 World Endurance Championship

This text was initially printed by Motor Authority, an editorial associate of ClassicCars.com.