Magnussen Sr and Jr to share a Ferrari in Gulf 12 Hours
Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen and sportscar racing star Jan Magnussen will share a car for only the second time in the Gulf 12 Hours this year.
The father-son duo will drive a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo entered by the MDK Motorsports team at the Yas Marina Circuit on December 9-11, just three weeks after the F1 finale at the same venue in Abu Dhabi.
They will be joined in the final round of the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge by team owner Mark Kvamme, who recently won the Porsche Carrera Cup North America AM title and made his Le Mans 24 Hours in a JMW Motorsport Ferrari earlier this June.
It will mark 30-year-old Kevin Magnussen’s first outing in a sportscar race since the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where he joined the Chip Ganassi crew in the #02 Cadillac DPi V.R.
Magnussen revealed a chance encounter with Kvamme in Miami in May set up talks that concluded in the trio teaming up for the 10th edition of the Gulf 12 Hours.
“Mark and I met at the Miami Grand Prix weekend and somehow the idea of racing together in Abu Dhabi turned up,” said the Haas F1 driver.
“We called my father – and the team was set. MDK Motorsports is driven by passionate and professional racers, and I enjoy working with these guys.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together. Of course, I’m also extremely grateful to be given another chance of driving together with my father – and hopefully even trying to win a race.”
Two-time IMSA champion Jan Magnussen, who scored four class victories with Corvette at the Circuit de la Sarthe, added: "I can’t imagine a better way to round off the season!
“Huge thanks to MDK Motorsports for setting up this program and putting Kevin and me in the same car again.
“I had the chance of driving the Ferrari 488 at Le Mans in 2020, and it’s a very proper race car. Combine that with an experienced team and three drivers that really want to race, and let’s see what we can do. I’m sure it’s going to be fun!”
The Magnussens had long harboured aspirations of racing a car together at the Le Mans 24 Hours and finally achieved that goal in 2021, when they drove a High Class Racing-entered Oreca 07 in the LMP2 class.
However, they were hit by a slew of misfortune and eventually finished down in 17th place in their division, several laps down on the race-winning WRT Oreca.
Kevin Magnussen was due to race for Peugeot in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship this season, ending any hopes of him sharing a car with his father at Le Mans, but withdrew from his place with the French manufacturer before the start of the year after being offered a chance to return to F1 with Haas.
The MDK Motorsport team the Magnussens will be driving for will receive technical support from long-time Ferrari partner AF Corse.
You can watch the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi on Motorsport.tv this weekend.
#49 High Class Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson LMP2, Anders Fjordbach, Jan Magnussen, Kevin Magnussen
Photo by: Paul Foster
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