There’s a distinctive theme to the High Speed Television Channel this weekend as we bring you four helpings of sportscar racing from around the world, with a healthy bonus of Australasian V8 muscle and single-seater mayhem mixed in. Are you sitting comfortably?
We start with live coverage of the Paul Ricard 24 Hours, the fifth round of Creventic’s ever-popular 24 Hour Series. 55 teams and 200 drivers will take on the ultimate endurance challenge, including the Herberth Motorsport Porsche, a winner of the 12 Hours of Zandvoort and the Optimum Motorsport Audi, which returns to the series for the first time since retiring from the lead at the Misano 12 Hours with the end in sight. Among the many famous names to be found throughout the entry are Le Mans 24 Hours winner Romain Dumas in a 997 Porsche Cup car and a HTP Mercedes featuring a certain Mr B. Schneider. No introductions needed there…
Continuing the theme of multi-class endurance racing, we’ll be bringing you delayed-as-live coverage of the European Le Mans Series from the Red Bull Ring. After a washout at the last round in Imola, the Austrian summer is sure to provide a baking hot welcome for the ELMS paddock as G-Drive and TDS resume their battle royale. In LMP3, United Autosports will look to continue their 100% winning start to the season, but GTE is less clear cut, with Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche all likely winners in arguably the most competitive class in the series.
You won’t have to wait long for another dose of the IMSA Sportscar Championship, as we head north of the border to the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the second of two weekends on the trot. After six hours of racing at Watkins Glen last weekend, defending champions João Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi returned to form with their first win of the season. Can they extend their championship lead in Canada, or will team-mates Eric Curran and Dane Cameron steal their thunder?
Our sportscar racing extravaganza concludes with the British GT Championship’s annual trip across the channel to Belgium and the magnificent Spa-Francorchamps circuit. With 29 cars from the European GT4 entrants due to share the track with the regular competitors from the British championship, traffic management will be crucial in determining which of the teams return to the UK with a healthy 37.5 points in their pockets and who comes home empty handed.
But that’s not all folks! We’ll also have highlights of the International Supercars Championship from the streets of Townsville, Queensland. After Michael Caruso delivered the Nissan Altima only a second-ever competition victory last time out at Hidden Valley, Red Bull Racing Australia will be hoping that there are no more surprises in store, as Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes seek to consolidate their advantage at the top of the points standings.
For good measure, we’ll also be showing delayed-as-live coverage of the FIA F3 European Championship from the dunes of Zandvoort, followed by highlights from the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone as some of the finest 911 drivers in the world vie for the honour of being crowned Porsche Supercup champion.
Saturday 16th July
09:00 – British Minibikes, Rd 5, Lydd12:00 – British GT Championship, Rd 6, Spa-Francorchamps13:00 – LIVE 24H Series, Rd 5, Paul Ricard 24 Hours18:30 – Delayed-as-Live FIA F3 European Championship, Rd 6, Zandvoort (Race 1)19:15 – Delayed-as-Live FIA F3 European Championship, Rd 6, Zandvoort (Race 2)20:00 – LIVE 24H Series, Rd 5, Paul Ricard 24 Hours
Sunday 17th July
06:00 – LIVE 24H Series, Rd 5, Paul Ricard 24 Hours14:00 – Delayed-as-Live European Le Mans Series, Rd 3, Red Bull Ring18:20 – Delayed-as-Live FIA F3 European Championship, Rd 6, Zandvoort (Race 3)19:25 – IMSA Sportscar Championship, Rd 7, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park20:30 – International Supercars Championship, Rd 7, Townsville22:35 – Porsche Supercup, Rd 3-4, Red Bull Ring-Silverstone
