Conquest Racing with Ferrari is delighted to compete in the highly anticipated 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge season with American Ferrari Challenge driver Manny Franco and Italian professional driver Alessandro Balzan. The pairing will be commandeering the #21 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296 GT3 in the Pro class.
“I am looking forward to continuing our GT3 program in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America with Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan aboard our new 296 GT3 Ferrari,” said Eric Bachelart, Team Owner. “We had very little track time with this car to prepare for our first race event in Sonoma but I am convinced we will make quick progress and find good speed with the car. We had great success with the 488 GT3 in the final two races of the 2022 season and this new 296 Ferrari should even be better in the longer run.”
Balzan and Franco will co-drive the Ferrari 296 GT3 this weekend as the GT World Challenge season kicks off at Sonoma Raceway in California. The 12-turn, 2.52 mile course is the perfect host for the first round of what is shaping up to be a thrilling season. The competition is fierce and the Fanatec GT World Challenge is destined to serve up excitement and unpredictability, and the Conquest Racing with Ferrari duo will certainly be the ones to watch.
“I’m extremely proud and excited to be a part of the Conquest Racing and Corsa Horizon team for the upcoming 2023 SRO season,” stated Alessandro Balzan. “To be sharing the new Ferrari 296 GT3 with Manny is an incredible opportunity. Our debut last year at Sebring with the 488 GT3 was very successful and Manny showed remarkable speed. We want to be competitive and hit the ground running in Sonoma with the new car. The team has been working really hard to be ready for the event, I can’t wait to start this new challenge!”
In their first GT World Challenge race together last year at Sebring, Franco and Balzan combined to win a pair of poles, lead race laps and score fourth place and second place finishes in the weekend’s pair of 90-minute Fanatec GT World Challenge races. The impressive performance came in Franco’s first-ever race weekend in GT3 competition.
The season will kick off Saturday, April 1st, at 3:05 PM PST, while Race 2 will take place Sunday, April 2, at 2:15 PM PST. Both races will be broadcast live on GT World’s YouTube channel.