The GT4 European Series heads to Belgium this weekend for the fifth and penultimate round of 2020 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The first titles of the season could be decided at the legendary 7.004 km racing venue in the Ardennes.
All eyes will be on the #22 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR of Bastian Buus and Jan Kasperlik again. The Allied Racing drivers won six of the eight races in the Pro-Am category so far and scored consecutive outright victories in the last three races.
Kasperlik and Buus have a solid 38-point lead over Allied Racing Porsche teammates Nicolaj Møller-Madsen and Jörg Viebahn and could clinch the Pro-Am title at Spa-Francorchamps already.
Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW drivers Yagiz Gedik and Cem Bölükbasi are currently third in the title standings, just four points behind Viebahn and Møller-Madsen. The fourth placed Centri Porsche Ticino entry has been withdrawn after its accident at Zandvoort.
Despite the absence of the #718 Porsche, the Pro-Am category will see five entries at Spa-Francorchamps. Lestrup Racing Team from Sweden will enter a BMW M4 GT4 for Joakim Walde and Alfred Nilsson. The #66 CMR Toyota moves from Silver to Pro-Am, with Wilfried Cazalbon taking over from Timothé Buret.
In the Silver Cup, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Theo Nouet can take a big step towards winning the title. The #27 AGS Events Aston Martin pairing lead the way ahead of the Spa round with 132 points.
The current COVID-19 circumstances have forced RN Vision STS Racing Team to withdraw its two BMW M4 GT4s from the series, including the #111 entry of Gabriele Piana and Bas Schouten, currently second in the championship standings with 123 points.
As a result, the main opposition for the AGS Events crew will now come from the CMR Toyota duo of Stéphane Lémeret and Gael Castelli, who are currently on 115 points and the #17 V8 Racing Chevrolet of Jop Rappange and Thijmen Nabuurs. The Dutch drivers have collected a total of 103 points. NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG pairing Lluc Ibanez and Xavier Lloveras are next on 91 points.
Duncan Huisman and Jorge Cabezas are back again in the #99 V8 Racing Chevrolet Camaro, while Dutchman Willem Meijer will be joined by Belgian driver Esteban Muth in the #30 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes-AMG.
In the Am category the title fight between the #89 AGS Events Aston Martin of Nicolas Gomar and Gilles Vannelet and the #31 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes-AMG of Bob Herber will continue.
The French pairing have accumulated a total of 154 points in the first four rounds of the season, with Dutchman Herber 18 points behind, despite missing the opening round at Imola in July.
Maurizio Fondi returns to Autorlando Sport for his first GT4 European Series start since September 2018. Fondi joins Dario Cerati in the #75 Porsche, while Giuseppe Ghezzi will share the #76 Porsche with Andreas Mayrl. Fatih Ayhan is set to compete alongside Ibrahim Okyay in the #13 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW.
Track action at Spa-Francorchamps begins Thursday afternoon with two 60-minute practice sessions. Qualifying will take place the following day at 11.10. The first race of the Spa weekend starts at 15.25 on Friday, with race 2 scheduled to start at 9.20 on Saturday, just hours before the start of the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
The races will be streamed live on the GT4 European Series website and Facebook page, as well as SRO Motorsports Group’s GT World YouTube channel. English and French commentary feeds will be available for fans.
