One month on from a memorable Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship returns with the final leg of the European season at the Nürburgring, live in its entirety on Motors TV. All three of the major LMP1 manufacturers have their bases in Germany, but it will be Cologne-based Toyota that feel the pressure most keenly after falling agonisingly short of a first-ever win at La Sarthe. Home hero Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani were the grateful profiteers and now lead the championship by 39 points over Audi. Can they extend their margin this weekend?
Back on home turf, the International GT Open crosses the Channel for its annual visit to the Home of British Motorsport, Silverstone. Talented Briton Craig Dolby will be making his category debut alongside ex-F1 driver Tomas Enge in a brand-new Lamborghini Gallardo, but will face competition from Shaun Balfe’s brand-new McLaren 650S and the brand-new Ferrari 488 of Jamie Stanley and Paul McNeilly. Are you beginning to spot a theme here?
GT Open is joined on the bill at Silverstone by the EuroFormula Open championship, FIA F3’s low-budget cousin targeted at young drivers looking to get onto the single-seater ladder. Most impressive of those so far this season has been 18-year-old Leonardo Pulcini, already a three-time winner and with a 100% podium record. However, the emergence of Austria’s Ferdinand Habsburg, a breakthrough winner last time out at Paul Ricard, should give the Italian plenty of pause for thought. Running on the full Grand Prix circuit, expect thrills and spills aplenty…
Those of you of the two-wheeled inclination will be thrilled to hear that FIM MX GP resumes this weekend after a brief summer hiatus, with Loket in the Czech Republic the closest runaway championship leader Tim Gajser will come to a home round this season. Gajser is in stellar form coming into the weekend, with seven wins and a second from his last eight outings stretching back to Spain in May, and you wouldn’t bet against him extending that with an army of Slovenian fans cheering him on. Support as ever comes from the equally exciting MX2 series, as Jeffrey Herlings seeks to become the category’s most successful rider of all time.
We’ve got even more muddy antics for you to enjoy from the penultimate round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship from Italy. Christophe Nambotin, Eero Remes, Steve Holcombe and co. will face a tough two days of competition in Fabriano through varying obstacles, not least the baking hot Italian sun, with 2014 champion Nambotin desperate to claim a first win of a trying season.
But wait, that’s not all. A GT racing double bill from the GT Asia Series in Okayama and GT3 Le Mans Cup from the Red Bull Ring will be the perfect way to warm up for highlights of the European Le Mans Series’ visit to Austria. If former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde scrapping with former France international goalkeeper Fabian Barthez sounds like your cup of tea, then you won’t want to miss this!
Saturday 23rd July
09:00 – FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Rd 7, Italy10:35 – FIM Supermoto World Championship, Rd 4, Poland11:30 – Supercar Challenge, Rd 4, Zolder12:30 – Touring Car Endurance Series, Rd 2, 24H Slovakia14:05 – LIVE EuroFormula Open, Rd 4, Silverstone15:00 – LIVE International GT Open, Rd 4, Silverstone18:55 – GT Asia Series, Rd 5-6, Okayama20:00 – GT3 Le Mans Cup, Rd 3, Red Bull Ring20:45 – European Le Mans Series, Rd 3, Red Bull Ring
Sunday 24th July
11:30 – LIVE FIA World Endurance Championship, Rd 4, Nurburgring Six Hours18:10 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MX2, Rd 13, Locket (Czech Republic)19:05 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MXGP, Rd 13, Locket (Czech Republic)20:00 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MX2, Rd 13, Locket (Czech Republic)20:55 – Delayed-as-Live FIM MXGP, Rd 13, Locket (Czech Republic)22:45 – Delayed-as-Live EuroFormula Open, Rd 4, Silverstone23:30 – Delayed-as-Live International GT Open, Rd 4, Silverstone
