The International GT Open Championship resumes this weekend (11-12 September) at the glorious Red Bull Ring in Austria for round five of the series and with the Brendan Iribe and Ollie Millroy pairing enjoying a 14-point advantage and looking very strong in the Pro-Am Championship standings

 
Following the post-Le Mans summer break, inception racing are back on track in Austria, featuring the familiar double line-up of Brendan/Ollie, Nick Moss and Joe Osborne in the two McLaren 720S GT3s.

Having taken three class victories and secured podium positions in all but one round so far this year, Brendan and Ollie should be especially strong around the tight and twisty 4.3km Red Bull Ring, especially after using tactics last time out at Imola to ensure that they shed most of their success penalties on the #7 McLaren.

 
They carry just five seconds into the first race in Austria, and with good inherent pace historically around the circuit, this bodes well for Saturday afternoon as they look to continue their impressive podium streak.

 
Nick and Joe may not be in championship contention having been forced to miss several rounds due to injury for the former, but they remain very much in contention for class and overall wins in the remaining rounds in Austria, Monza and Barcelona.

 
Last year saw some great battles between the two Optimum Motorsport run McLarens with Joe and Brendan trading positions before finally finishing third and fourth in class.

 
“I’m really looking forward to the Red Bull Ring,” Joe said. “Nick was super-strong there last year so it will be good to see a year on how we have progressed as a pairing. The championship race is not really an option for us after missing a couple of rounds, so as ever, it’s eyes forward for us and we’ll take each race as it comes.”

 
Friday is given over to three practice sessions and the familiar format qualifying each morning with races at 15:30 and 12:50 BST on Saturday and Sunday respectively.