Molina replaces Bird in AF Corse's WEC line-up

AF Corse has confirmed that Miguel Molina will replace Sam Bird in the #71 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Bird has raced alongside Davide Rigon for Ferrari's factory team since 2016 in the GTE-Pro class, but was left facing a dilemma after a number of clashes emerged with Formula E for the 2019/20 season. Bird races for Envision Racing in the all-electric single-seater championship.

AF Corse confirmed on Tuesday that factory driver Molina, who has acted as the third driver to Bird and Rigon at the 24 Hours of Le Mans each of the past three years, would be replacing Bird for the full '19/20 campaign which starts on September 1 at Silverstone.

"Car number 71 will have a new team, made up of Davide Rigon and Miguel Molina, who already drive the AF Corse 488 GTE in long distance races as third driver," a statement from AF Corse reads.

"The Spaniard takes the place of Sam Bird, who has been the official Competizioni GT driver since 2016 and whose racing programs will be announced in due course.

"Miguel Molina has been racing with the Prancing Horse colours since 2017. He is currently engaged in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America, paired with Toni Vilander in R. Ferri Motorsport's 488 GT3, and in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, where he competes with the SMP Racing colours alongside Mikhail Aleshin and Davide Rigon."

The #51 AF Corse entry featuring James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi will remain unchanged for the upcoming season.