Rodrigo Baptista joins Romeo Ferraris entry

Romeo Ferraris has announced the signing of Rodrigo Baptista as its third driver for the 2021 PURE ETCR season.

The 24-year-old Brazilian will join Stefano Coletti and Luca Filippi in the all-electric series when it kicks off at Vallelunga next month, and will be at the wheel of one of the Alfa Romeo Giulia ETCRs built up by the team over the winter.

Baptista is a former winner of the Porsche GT3 Cup Brazil and has also stood on the LMGTE Am podium at the Le Mans 24 Hours after finishing second in 2019.

Having also raced previously in single-seaters, Baptista will now have the chance to sample touring cars in a new chapter in his career.

“I am very happy to open this new chapter in my career,” he said. “The prospect of being part of a series with such a great future, with all-electric cars and based on environmental sustainability, appeared immediately very attractive. This is why I warmly welcomed the opportunity to race with Romeo Ferraris in the PURE ETCR, and I am very happy to be able to participate in an ambitious project such as the Giulia ETCR.

“It will be exciting to race in prestigious tracks and fight against great names and brands. I want to thank FS Management, the company of Augusto Farfus and Mauricio Slaviero, who have chosen to support me in this journey. It will be an honour and a lot of fun to share the PURE ETCR field with Augusto.”

Michela Cerruti, Romeo Ferraris operations manager, said she was delighted to bring Baptista into the fold.

“We are delighted to welcome in our line-up a driver like Rodrigo, still young but who has already shown his skills in different high-level series for tin-top cars,” she said. “With him, Stefano and Luca, we have a very coherent line-up, in terms of experience and talent, and this will represent an asset for us in our first PURE ETCR season and the long-term development of our Giulia ETCR project. We are excited to be at Vallelunga for the 2021 season-opener.”