After triumph at Estoril for the new Lexus RC-F, Lamborghini, BMW, McLaren and Ferrari rivals prepare revenge on one of the world’s greatest tracks
26 confirmed entries, as SF Racing Ferrari, and Kaspersky Ferrari, Wessex and Antonelli Lambos, and Brussels Aston join the party
Nelson Piquet Jr and Jules Szymkowiak as one-off stars
After a thrilling start of the season at Estoril, the International GT Openis ready to face its second event of the year and one of its most traditional and awaited rendez-vous: Spa-Francorchamps.
The magnificent track in the Belgian Ardennes will see exciting action and an even larger grid, with 26 entries already confirmed.
The 2017 season-opener at Estoril has written history, with the stunning double win of the new Lexus RC-F cars on their international GT3 racing debut and the Japanese cars with Albert Costa-Philipp Frommenwiler (Emil Frey Racing) and Dominik and Mario Farnbacher (Farnbacher Motorsport) are there to bid for the top honours. Yoshiaki Kinoshita, who oversees Lexus’ racing programme, commented to Endurance-Info: “The successes in Portugal were beyond our expectations but prove that we are working well. Lexus isputting in place a customer racing service from scratch. It’s a completely new project that is starting with 6 cars and three different programmes in Europe, Asia and America”.
No doubt the competition will seek to react at Spa. Starting with the reigning car brand, Lamborghini, whose Huracáns will find Spa a much more favorable track.
Reigning co-champion Thomas Biagi and Giovanni Venturini, who took a podium finish at Estoril, are ready to fight back. So also is the BMW M6 of Teo Martín, and the best Pro-Am cars, such as the McLarens (with Rob Bell-Shaun Balfe on the Balfe Motorsport car and the Garage 59 cars of Michael Benham-Duncan Tappy and Alexander West-Côme Ledogar) and the Ferrari 488 cars of Marco Cioci-Piergiuseppe Perazzini (AF Corse) and Miguel RamosMikkel Mac (Spirit of Race).
In the Am category, the Mercedes AMG will again be the favourites, with Estoril winners Marcio Basso-Nonô Figueiredo (Sports&You) and Martin Konrad-Alex Hrachowina (MS Racing) hoping to repeat their successes and reigning champions Luis Silva-António Coimbra (Sports&You) certainly eager to be at the top. An Antonelli Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán entry is also being announced.
This second round will also bring a few changes. Among all-season entrants, the only difference with respect to Estoril will be the absence of the third BMW M6 entered by BMW Team Teo Martín, while SF Racing will make its official season debut. Fu Songyang had to miss the Portuguese round for other commitments but joins the series as from now with the SF Racing Ferrari 488 shared with Andrea Caldarelli, who is living a very successful start of the season both in Europe and Japan.
Leading car ofrom BMW Team Teo Martín will have a varying driver line-up, with Portugal’s Lourenço Beirão da Veiga associated with a different stellar name at each round. After António Félix Da Costa at Estoril, it will be turn of Nelson Piquet Jr at Spa. A top contender in the WEC and in F.E (of which he was the first champion in 2015), the 31-year-old former F.1 will not be debuting in the GT Open, as he already contested the Barcelona finale in 2010, taking one win on a Aurora RT Ferrari 430 shared with Álvaro Parente.
Among other regular contenders, it is to be noted that Tom Onslow-Cole will not be able to be present at Spa on the SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes AMG. Subbing for the Brit alongside Valentin Pierburg will be one of the rising young stars in GT Racing, Dutchman Jules Szymkowiak.
Spa will also have a good share of new entries. As it did last year, Russian outfit Kaspersky Motorsport will contest in selected events and has already confirmed its presence at Spa and Ricard. In Bel gium Alex Moiseev will be paired with Asian GT racing specialist Davide
Rizzo.
Last year at Silverstone, a small new team from the UK stunned everybody by imposing its Lamborghini Gallardo REX in one of the races. The ‘yellow submarine’ of Nigel Mustill is back and ready for repeat performance with its unchanged top pair, Tomáš Enge-Craig Dolby.
A similar story from Aston Brussels Racing, a sporadic but racewinning contender in the GT Open. The enthusiastic Brussels squad will play its local hero role to the fullest with its Aston Martin Vantage, again in the hands of Belgian stars, this time Tim Verbergt and Sam Dejonghe, who is back to GT Sport events after shining in the European F.3 Open some years.
At Spa, the International GT Open will be sharing the race programme, as customary, with the Euroformula Open and will christen the TC Open, the new GT Sport-promoted series for touring cars . Other exciting partnering series will be the Radical Challenge and the FCD Racing Series.
GT Open Round 2: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium Timetable (All times local, CET)
Friday 26 May 2017
11:58-12:58 Free Practice 1
15:28-16:28 Free Practice 2
17:15-17:55 Free Practice 3 (Bronze drivers only)
Saturday 27 May 2017
11:3’-12:04 Qualifying 1 (driver 1)
16:45-17:55 Race 1 (70’ - Rolling Start)
Sunday 28 May 2017
09:38-10:08 Qualifying 2 (driver 2)
14:15-15:15 Race 2 (60’ - Rolling Start)
