MUNDIAL - GT OPEN EM SPA

Sábado, 08 Junho 2019 10:50 | Actualizado em Terça, 23 Abril 2024 17:28

GT Open contenders ready for the toughest exam: Spa!  

Belgium’s magic track to help defining the trends of the 2019 season, as Emil Frey Racing Lamborghinis hold initial advantage and Teo Martín’s McLarens have already reached winner status  

Mercedes, Ferrari and Lambo on top of closely-fought Pro-Am class

HTP Motorsport Mercedes still unbeaten in Am class

Imperiale Racing back for a one-off with Amstutz-Kujala, Barnicoat makes GT Open debut at Teo Martín, Meadows back at Antonelli    

Euroformula, TCR Europe, Alpine Europe Cup and Peugeot Racing Cup again together in a rich and varied race weekend    

For its third stop of the 2019 season, the International GT Open is heading to Spa-Francorchamps, one of the very few circuits in the world that make a difference and leave a mark. Year after year, it is difficult to escape the “clichés” when talking about the temple in the Ardennes, but new words are difficult to find to describe the exciting challenge that Spa always presents to drivers and teams.

This year too, the Belgian track will help defining the trends of a season that has started under the sign of the Lamborghini but has seen, at Hockenheim, the rise of the new McLaren 720S, already at the highest level of competitiveness. At the moment, the Bulls of Sant’Agata, thanks to triumphant return to the series of Emil Frey Racing has a slight advantage, with its pair composed of Albert Costa-Giacomo Altoè leading the Overall standings by 7 points on their team mates Norbert Siedler-Mikaël Grenier, who are though, the only pair having clinched two wins so far.

GT Open contenders ready for the toughest exam: Spa!  
Belgium’s magic track to help defining the trends of the 2019 season, as Emil Frey Racing Lamborghinis hold initial advantage and Teo Martín’s McLarens have already reached winner status  
Mercedes, Ferrari and Lambo on top of closely-fought Pro-Am class
HTP Motorsport Mercedes still unbeaten in Am class
Imperiale Racing back for a one-off with Amstutz-Kujala, Barnicoat makes GT Open debut at Teo Martín, Meadows back at Antonelli    
Euroformula, TCR Europe, Alpine Europe Cup and Peugeot Racing Cup again together in a rich and varied race weekend    
 

For its third stop of the 2019 season, the International GT Open is heading to SpaFrancorchamps, one of the very few circuits in the world that make a difference and leave a mark. Year after year, it is difficult to escape the “clichés” when talking about the temple in the Ardennes, but new words are difficult to find to describe the exciting challenge that Spa always presents to drivers and teams. 
This year too, the Belgian track will help defining the trends of a season that has started under the sign of the Lamborghini but has seen, at Hockenheim, the rise of the new McLaren 720S, already at the highest level of competitiveness. At the moment, the Bulls of Sant’Agata, thanks to triumphant return to the series of Emil Frey Racing has a slight advantage, with its pair composed of Albert Costa-Giacomo Altoè leading the Overall standings by 7 points on their team mates Norbert Siedler-Mikaël Grenier, who are though, the only pair having clinched two wins so far. 
Behind them are the first Teo Martín Motorsport pair of young guns, Martin KodrićHenrique Chaves, chasing for their maiden win, who are 5 points ahead of their team mates Fran Rueda-Andrés Saravia, fresh from their success in Race 2 in Germany. In between the two McLarens, the SPS Automotive Mercedes of Miguel Ramos-Fabrizio Crestani, a duo that is always among the front-runners.
 
 

 The Pro class has many other stars, with the Antonelli Motorsport Mercedes, where Michael Meadows (returning to the series) is replacing Alessio Rovera alongside Daniel Zampieri, always a stable candidate for victory. Complete the field four Lambos, with the two Lazarus Racing machines of Nicolas Pholer-Nicola De Marco and Fabio Onidi-Eliseo Martínez, the Ratón by Target car of Jiatong Liang-Raffaele Giammaria and the Ombra Racing raer of Federico Leo-Najiy Razak. 
In the Pro-Am class, reigning champions Valentin Pierburg-Tom Onslow-Cole, at the wheel of their SPS Automotive Mercedes, seem to be continuing their successful trail, but lead the class standings by only 2 points on the Spirit of Race Ferrari of Duncan Cameron-Matt Griffin, who are successfully back to a series they know inside-out. They are challenged by the Vincenzo Sospiri Racing young pair composed of Kang Ling and Frederik Schandorff, who see their Huracán machinery up-graded to the Evo version as from this round. News also in the Teo Martín camp, as Marcelo Hahn will race in Belgium with McLaren factory driver Ben Barnicoat, who subs for Allam Khodair. 
True Pro-Am pairs complete the field, with Chris Froggatt-Eddie Cheever driving the Tempesta Racing Ferrari, Kenny Habul-Thomas Jäger the sunEnergy 1 Mercedes and Christoph Lenz-Alberto Di Folco the other Ratón by Target Lambo. 
The novelty for Spa is a one-off return of Imperiale Racing, the squad that took the Teams’ title in the last two years and the 2017 overall crown with Giovanni Venturini, as a 2018-spec Huracán is entered for Adrian Amstutz and Patrick Kujala. The Swiss and the Finn have a solid curriculum as a pair, having won a Pro-Am title in the Super Trofeo and taken an Am class win at the Spa 24 Hours last year. 
In the Am class, Alex Hrachowina and Martin Konrad have taken no prisoners so far, the Austrian pair of HTP Motorsport having won all four races contested. They are opposed to a number of sister AMG cars, with Giuseppe Cipriani and Davide Roda driving alone the two machines of Antonelli Motorsport, former Am double champions António Coimbra-Luis Silva defending the Portuguese flag at Sports&You an Janine Hill-John Shoffner competing for the second time in the GetSpeed car after a podim finish debut in the series two weeks ago. 
With 23 cars on the grid, there will be plenty of action and battles to follow, as things start to become interesting in all standings. The Spa weekend will offer much more entertainment to fans, as the race programme includes also the second round ever of the recently-launched GT Cup Open Europe, a record entry in the Euroformula, along the always closely-fought TCR Europe and the excitement of the Alpine ELF Europa Cup and Peugeot Racing Cup.
 

 
All the action can be followed from fans at home thanks to live coverage by major national broadcasters in key countries such as UK (BT Sport), Italy (Auto Moto TV), Spain (Teledeporte RTVE), Portugal (Sport TV), Central Europe (Digisport), and Russia / CIS countries and Baltics (Poverkhnost Sport), among others. In addition, US and international coverage is ensured by Motors Trend (Discovery Channel) on demand. Races are also livestreamed in English and Italian with commentary by Ben Evans and Antonio Caruccio, respectively, on our website www.gtopen.net and on the GT Open channel on Youtube.
 GT Open Round 3: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 7-9 June 2019
 
Timetable (All times local, CET)
 
Friday 7th June 2019 11:00-11:55 Free Practice 1 14:55-15:50 Free Practice 2 17:20-18:00 Free Practice 3 (only Bronze drivers) Saturday 8th June 2019  11:20-11:50 Qualifying 1 (driver 1) 16:45-17:55 Race 1 (70’ - Rolling Start) Sunday 9th June 2019 10:35-11:05 Qualifying 2 (driver 2) 15:05-16:05 Race 2 (60’ - Rolling Start)
 
Standings after Round 4 of 14
Overall: 1. Costa-Altoè, 41 points; 2. Grenier-Siedler, 34; 3. Chaves-Kodrić, 30; 4. RamosCrestani, 28; 5. Rueda-Saravia, 25; 6. Wilkinson, 18; etc Pro-Am: 1. Onslow Cole-Pierburg, 22 p.; 2. Cameron-Griffin, 20; 3. Dontje-Ward, LiangGiammaria, Ling-Schandorff, 16; 6. Froggatt-Cheever, 13; etc Am: 1. Hrachowina-Konrad, 20 p.; 2. Cipriani, 12; 3. Silva-Coimbra, 11; 4. Roda; 6; 5. HillSchoffner, 5.   Teams: 1. Emil Frey Racing, 45 p.; 2. Teo Martín Motordsport, 31; 3. SPS Automotive Performance, 23; 4. Antonelli Motorsport, 10; 5. Optimum Motorsport, Spirit of Race, 8; etc.  
The 2019 Calendar
28 April: Circuit Paul Ricard (F) 26 May: Hockenheimring (D) 9 June: Spa-Francorchamps (B) 14 July:  Red Bull Ring (A)  08 Sept: Silverstone (GB) 22 Sept: Barcelona-Catalunya (E)  13 Oct: Monza (I)