Risi Competizione has announced that Pierre Kaffer will partner Giancarlo Fisichella in the team’s #62 Ferrari 458 Italia in the GTLM category for this weekend’s third round of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The move brings Kaffer back to a team that he last drove for back in 2010, (though his last appearance ended badly (at Mosport) after some strong runs during the season in a second Ferrari 430GT).

Fisichella, a former F1 driver with 229 Grand Prix starts and World Championship GTE titles to his name, was paired with Dane Cameron at the previous round in Long Beach, California as the GTD class was not competing.

However, this coming weekend all four categories are racing – split into two separate events (PC/GTD in the morning, and P/GTLM in the afternoon) – with combined practice sessions and warm up on Saturday and Sunday morning. Cameron’s prior commitments with his GTD team therefore prevent him from being available to Risi Competizione.

It seems meanwhile that the initial full season drive for Matteo Malucelli with the team has now evaporated with the damage done to the Risi Ferrari after Malucelli’s clumsy rejoining of the track after a Sebring shunt the apparent last straw.