MUNDIAL - OPEN GT EM MONZA NO ENCERRAMENTO DO CAMPEONATO

Domingo, 13 Outubro 2019 03:52 | Actualizado em Terça, 22 Abril 2025 15:54

Four driver pairs to fight for GT Open title at Monza’s finale!

Emil Frey Racing and Teo Martín Motorsport both engaged in the decisive battle with two pairs in exciting Lamborghini-McLaren duel

Albert-Costa arrive in Italy as leaders by 11 points on Chaves-Kodrić, but Siedler-Grenier and Rueda-Saravia have serious chances too

Pierburg-Onslow Cole (SPS Mercedes) and Schandorff (VSR Lambo) separated by only 3 points ahead of final Pro-Am duel

Cipriani (Antonelli Mercedes) aims at keeping Am class lead at home ahead of Konrad-Hrachowina (HTP Mercedes)

Frikadelli Racing to debut in the GT Open with a Porsche and Spirit of Race doubles its Ferrari 488 entry

The big ‘finale’ is here and once again the closing round of the International GT Open will have to decide the overall title and also all the other ones: Pro-Am, Am and Teams! In the 14 editions of the completion, this has happened 13 times. There is no exception this year, despite the fact that for the first time in the series’ history, the final round is not held at Barcelona.

No doubt though that Monza is perfectly suited to have that honour this year. The legendary Italian track, together with Barcelona, is the only one that has been always part of the GT Open calendar and holds forever the privilege of having hosted the very first GT Open event in 2006. Although its official name has turned from Autodromo Nazionale di Monza into a less romantic Monza Eni Circuit, the circuit in Lombardy remains one of the very top names in the list of world’s ‘Temples of Speed’.

The battle for the 2019 GT Open overall title could not be more exciting this year: no less than four pairs are in contention, covered only by 16 points (with 30 still to be awarded) and the fight is made even more interesting by the fact that those four pairs represent two teams, Emil Frey Racing and Teo Martín Motorsport, in a Lamborghini-McLaren duel. This will certainly add more complexity to the strategy work of both squads.

Four driver pairs to fight for GT Open title at Monza’s finale!
 
Emil Frey Racing and Teo Martín Motorsport both engaged in the decisive battle with two pairs in exciting Lamborghini-McLaren duel
Albert-Costa arrive in Italy as leaders by 11 points on Chaves-Kodrić, but SiedlerGrenier and Rueda-Saravia have serious chances too
Pierburg-Onslow Cole (SPS Mercedes) and Schandorff (VSR Lambo) separated by only 3 points ahead of final Pro-Am duel
Cipriani (Antonelli Mercedes) aims at keeping Am class lead at home ahead of Konrad-Hrachowina (HTP Mercedes)
Frikadelli Racing to debut in the GT Open with a Porsche and Spirit of Race doubles its Ferrari 488 entry

The big ‘finale’ is here and once again the closing round of the International GT Open will have to decide the overall title and also all the other ones: Pro-Am, Am and Teams! In the 14 editions of the completion, this has happened 13 times. There is no exception this year, despite the fact that for the first time in the series’ history, the final round is not held at Barcelona. 
No doubt though that Monza is perfectly suited to have that honour this year. The legendary Italian track, together with Barcelona, is the only one that has been always part of the GT Open calendar and holds forever the privilege of having hosted the very first GT Open event in 2006. Although its official name has turned from Autodromo Nazionale di Monza into a less romantic Monza Eni Circuit, the circuit in Lombardy remains one of the very top names in the list of world’s ‘Temples of Speed’.
The battle for the 2019 GT Open overall title could not be more exciting this year: no less than four pairs are in contention, covered only by 16 points (with 30 still to be awarded) and the fight is made even more interesting by the fact that those four pairs represent two teams, Emil Frey Racing and Teo Martín Motorsport, in a LamborghiniMcLaren duel. This will certainly add more complexity to the strategy work of both squads. 
 

 
OVERALL TITLE: A 2+2 EQUATION… 
Leading the standings are Albert Costa and Giacomo Altoè, strong of fours wins so far with the Huracan of EFR. Both are extremely motivated, as the Spaniard aims at conquering a title that narrowly eluded him in 2017 and the Italian aspires at becoming the youngest champion of the series ever. With 112 points, they have a 11point advantage on the TMM McLaren of Henrique Chaves and Martin Kodrić. It has been an excellent first racing season for the new 720 S and the young PortugueseCroatian pair has impressed by his consistency, scoring points (and 5 podiums but no wins) at every race. They are, by the way, the only pair who could have to drop one result (their worst so far is 4 points) in case of also scoring at both Monza races. 
The third contending pair is the EFR one composed of Norbert Siedler and Mikaël Grenier. The Austrian and the Canadian are expert GT stars and, like their team mates, have also taken four wins. They lie 12 points from the top. Complete the quartet of title bidders Fran Rueda and Andrés Saravia, the other pair of TMM, 16 points behind the leaders. The Spaniard and the Guatemalan, winners of 3 races, certainly haven’t said their last word, especially the Spaniard, who was a runner-up in the last two seasons. 
At the eve of the decisive round, it seems interesting to hear what every title contender has to say. 
 Albert Costa (EFR Lambo #63) – 112 p "Monza is the absolute high-speed track. At the same time, it´s the home race for my team-mate and the home of Lamborghini. I am very motivated and excited to come as the leader of the championship to the final race of the year. We have many possibilities, we have to continue working well and calmly as we have done so far, and I am confident that we can succeed.”
 
Giacomo Altoè (EFR Lambo #63) – 112 p "Monza is my home race and already the last of the season. I am very excited. In my opinion, some of our competitors will work better with the track in Monza than we with our Lamborghinis, so it will be crucial to work well on the set-up of the car since the private test on Thursday. We have prepared thoroughly, doing a lot of simulator work and testing at Vallelunga. The focus is on winning the title, although with four contenders, it is going to be a very tough battle.”
 

 
 
Henrique Chaves (TMM McLaren #59) – 101 p  “We are ready for this weekend at Monza. We know what we have to do and pressure wise, we feel pretty comfortable. The team has made a fantastic job throughout the season. The reliability of the McLaren 720s has also been amazing and those factors helped us being on top all the time. This year,  when to attack and when to defend, and how hard we do it, has been key, and we’ll see how things go at Monza.” 
Martin Kodrić (TMM McLaren #59) – 101 p “I believe our 720s is the one of the best GT3 cars and to run at the top in pretty much every track in its first year of running proves the point. There is a saying that consistency wins you the championship, we have been proving that but I still miss that first race win. We ultimately want to get the championship and that is our goal.” I believe our 720s is the one of the best GT3 cars and to run at the top in pretty much every championship we entered with the car in its first year of running proves the point!”
Norbert Siedler (EFR Lambo #14) – 100 p "Monza will not be easy for us. The track features many straights and we will have to see if we can keep up with the McLaren. But we will do all necessary optimizations to ensure we will be the great team on Sunday evening.”   Mikael Grenier (EFR Lambo #14) – 100 p "It´s hard to believe that Monza is already the final race of the season. It will be a difficult weekend for us, as we are not as strong with the top-speed as the McLarens, but we will give our best and push. Our goal is to win the championship for Emil Frey Racing and Lamborghini. So, we will pull out all the stops to make it happen.”
Fran Rueda (TMM McLaren #17) – 96 p “It’s the third consecutive year that we get to the final round fighting for the title. I hope that we will hve a trouble-less weekend and to see what the other contenders do. Unfortunately, given the points gap, we do not depend only on what we do ourselves. It has been a season with some up and downs, we haven’t scored in three races, and consistency is essential. The good thing is that whenever things were ok, we have been battling for podium finishes. That has penalized us, but in Monza anything can happen.” 
 
 

 
Andrés Saravia (TMM McLaren #17) – 96 p “I go to Monza with optimism and eager of a great result, regardless of what can happen in the championship. The secret to fight for a title is consistency, and we lacked a Little bit of that this year, because of external factors. On the other hand, we won three races and took many pódium finishes, and this keeps us in the fight for the final battle in Monza.” 
BATTLES IN ALL CLASSES
In the Pro-Am class, the title battle is between two. On one side, the pair formed by Tom Onslow-Cole and Valentin Pierburg, the reigning champions, aims at retaining its crown, but the SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes is of only 4 points. On the other hand, there is a challenger as serious as Frederik Schandorff. The young Dane has impressed in his maiden full season at the wheel of the VSR Lamborghini Huracan  ahead in the standings. The direct rival is young Dane and has won as many races (3) as his rivals since he is paired with Tuomas Tujula. 
In the Am class, the fight has been completely reopend since Martin Konrad and Alex Hrachowina had to miss the last two rounds, because of the indisposition of the latter. The Austrian duo of the HTP Mercedes, who had won six races in the first part of the season, now is second in the standings, 3 points behind Giuseppe Cipriani. The Italian driver, at the wheel of the Antonelli Motorsport Mercedes, has been very consistent through the season and take a very timely double win at Barcelona, and could now be crowned on home soil. 
PORSCHE IS BACK, SPIRIT OF RACE DOUBLES PRESENCE 
Among the new entries at Monza, two are worth mentioning: Spirit of Race will enter a second Ferrari 488, for Brazil’s GT star Oswaldo Negri and Ferrari Challenge specialist Francesco Piovanetti from Puerto Rico. Frikadelli Racing, a very popular team in Germany, will make its debut in the series and enters a Porsche 911 GT3 for the team’s boss, Klaus Abbelen, and Austrian young gun Thomas Preining. 
The Monza final round will be a true feast for racing fans, as the International GT Open will be accompanied by its two sister series promoted by GT Sport, the Euroformula Open and the GT Cup Open Europe, and joined by the TCR Europe and the Caterham and KIA Platinum Cups. 
 
 

 
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 Scott Woodwiss and Antonio Caruccio, respectively, on our website www.gtopen.net and on the GT Open channel on Youtube.
 
GT Open Round 7: Monza, Italy   Timetable (All times local, CET)
 
Thursday 10 October 2019 14:15-15:15 Private test 1 17:00-18:00 Private test 2 Friday 11 October 2019 11:16-12:16 Free Practice 1 15:13-16:13 Free Practice 2 17:19-18:47 Bronze test Saturday 12 October 2019  10:05-10:35 Qualifying 1 (Driver 1) 15:15-16:25 Race 1 (70’ - Rolling Start) Sunday 13 October 2019 09:00-09:20 Qualifying 2 (Driver 2) 14:55-15:55 Race 2 (60’ - Rolling Start)
 
 
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 12 OF 14 Overall: 1. Costa-Altoè, 112; 2. Chaves-Kodrić, 101 points; 3. Siedler-Grenier, 100; 4. Rueda-Saravia, 96; 5.  Ramos-Crestani, 73; 6. Wilkinson, 48; etc Pro-Am: 1. Onslow Cole-Pierburg, 69 p.; 2. Schandorff, 65; 3. Tujula, Liang-Giammaria, 39; 5. Hahn, 38; 6. Khodair, 36; etc Am: 1. Cipriani, 37 points; 2. Hrachowina-Konrad, 34; 3. Coimbra-Silva, 24; 4. Roda, 23;  5. HillSchoffner, 18, etc   Teams: 1. Emil Frey Racing, 128 points; 2. Teo Martín Motorsport, 114; 3. SPS Automotive Performance, 54; 4. Optimum Motorsport, 23; 5. Antonelli Motorsport, 20; 6. Senkyr Motorsporrt, 12; etc