Potolicchio gunning for GTE-Am win in Silverstone's WEC curtain-raiser

The accomplished Venezuelan racer notched up historic victories in the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours, 12 Hours of Sebring and 6 Hours of Sao Paolo en route to winning the 2012 FIA WEC title in LMP2 machinery.

Potolicchio combined his business acumen with his life-long passion for motorsport to rapidly establish 8Star Motorsports as a force in American motorsport's most renowned prototype and GT racing contests.

Sunday’s 6 Hours of Silverstone will mark the first race of the eight-round FIA WEC championship, which takes in some of the world’s best-loved motor racing venues in Europe, Asia and North and South America.

The eight-race calendar encompasses some of the world’s most legendary and state-of-the-art race circuits, including Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans, Interlagos, Circuit of the Americas and Fuji, with large and impressive grids of prototype and GT cars in the hands of both professional and gentlemen drivers going head-to-head for the World titles.

FIA WEC is a consequence of the inexorably soaring popularity of endurance racing and is currently regarded as one the most prestigious sportscar racing series in the world, while its commitment to environmentally friendly innovations makes it one of the most modern technological showcases in motor racing and creates more direct and identifiable links to the automotive industry and spectators alike.

8Star’s Potolicchio will be looking to repeat his World Championship success, this time in the GTE-Am class with an AF Corse-prepared Ferrari 458 Italia racer.

“We are definitely feeling positive heading into this weekend,” Potolicchio said. “It’s an exciting time for 8Star and we’ve been very happy with this latest partnership with AF Corse for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The engineers are highly-skilled and I think we can only target the win.

“For me, I’m now used to racing in GTE-Am, although it still takes a great deal of concentration to look out for the LMP1 and LMP2 cars in your rear-view mirrors. Fortunately, I’m very familiar with all of the tracks from the previous two seasons and the Ferrari 458 Italia is a car I enjoy racing. If we have clean races, there’s no reason why we can’t win. Once again, it’s an exciting road to the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is our main focus.”

8Star Motorsports