Less than two weeks after the season-opener at the Hungaroring, the International GT Open is off to another very hot (not only metaphorically) weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The great track in the Var department is hosting Round 2, which will serve to confirm the trends.

At the Hungaroring, it was a weekend of maiden wins, as a brand new outfit, JP Motorsport took a stunning win in Race 1 with rookie Patryk Krupinski and former F.1 star Christian Klien at the wheel of the Mercedes AMG of the Polish squad, and Vincent Abril-Louis Prette achieved a similar feat in Race 2, driving the APM Monaco Ferrari 488 prepared by AF Corse.

Nonetheless, the ones arriving in France as standing leaders are two familiar faces, Miguel Ramos and Henrique Chaves. The Portuguese pair at the wheel of the Teo Martín Motorsport McLaren 720S, is 3 points ahead of the JP Motorsport Mercedes, and will seek its first win of the season at Ricard. It has been a very positive start of the season for the Spanish squad, as the other Teo Martín’s McLaren of Marcelo Hahn-Allam Khodair is leading in the Pro-Am class and third in the overall standings.

The Am class is no less exciting, with the GetSpeed Mercedes of Florian Scholze-Jens Liebhauser enjoying an excellent start of the season following their double win in Hungary.

At the Ricard, there will be some interesting novelties that we detail as we review the field.

The GT Open to Paul Ricard with Ramos-Chaves (TMM McLaren) as first Overall leaders of the season The Portuguese pair seeks first win after new-comers Krupinski-Klien (JP Motorsport) and Prette-Abril (AF Corse APM Monaco) took top honours in Hungary Marcelo Hahn (TMM McLaren) and Scholze-Liebhauser (GetSpeed Mercedes) determined to defend their respective lead in Pro-Am and Am Top new entries at Ricard: SPS Automotive is back and AKM Motorsport doubles its presence, as Stéphane Ortelli gets back to racing on a one-off Madrid / Le Castellet, 19 August 2020 Less than two weeks after the season-opener at the Hungaroring, the International GT Open is off to another very hot (not only metaphorically) weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The great track in the Var department is hosting Round 2, which will serve to confirm the trends. At the Hungaroring, it was a weekend of maiden wins, as a brand new outfit, JP Motorsport took a stunning win in Race 1 with rookie Patryk Krupinski and former F.1 star Christian Klien at the wheel of the Mercedes AMG of the Polish squad, and Vincent Abril-Louis Prette achieved a similar feat in Race 2, driving the APM Monaco Ferrari 488 prepared by AF Corse. Nonetheless, the ones arriving in France as standing leaders are two familiar faces, Miguel Ramos and Henrique Chaves. The Portuguese pair at the wheel of the Teo Martín Motorsport McLaren 720S, is 3 points ahead of the JP Motorsport Mercedes, and will seek its first win of the season at Ricard. It has been a very positive start of the season for the Spanish squad, as the other Teo Martín’s McLaren of Marcelo HahnAllam Khodair is leading in the Pro-Am class and third in the overall standings. The Am class is no less exciting, with the GetSpeed Mercedes of Florian Scholze-Jens Liebhauser enjoying an excellent start of the season following their double win in Hungary. At the Ricard, there will be some interesting novelties that we detail as we review the field. In the Pro class, the already mentioned Ramos-Chaves and Prette-Abril will not be alone in fighting for top honours, as the Team Lazarus Bentley of Fabrizio CrestaniYannick Mettler and Stefano Coletti-Petru Umbrarescu, which showed excellent potential in the first round, and the TF Sport Aston Martin of Salih Yoluç-Charlie Eastwood, who are fourth in the overall standings, are clear candidates to podium honours. GREAT NEW ENTRIES IN PRO-AM In Pro-Am, the TMM McLaren of Hahn and the JP Motorsport Mercedes of KrupinskiKlien, separated by only two points, will continue their duel. For the occasion, Marcelo Hahn will have a different team mate, as Allam Khodair is taken by Stock Car commitments at home in Brazil, and will race together with his son Christian Hahn, who debuted in the GT Open with a Pro-Am class win at Barcelona last year. McLaren is well represented in the class, thanks also to the two top entries of Optimum Motorsport, with Brendan Iribe-Ollie Millroy, who visited already the podium and have an excellent opportunity to climb to the top 3 in the class standings, while a change of driver is to be noted in the other line-up of the British squad, as Nick Moss will now be associated with expert GT racer Joe Osborne (31) for the rest of the season. The Brit seems delighted to join the series: “GT Open is new to me race-wise, but I know the guys in the series well, it’s a good professional and fun series to be a part of and I’m looking forward to it. It has superb circuits and the series really caters to their audience brilliantly.” AKM Motorsport is also entering the class, with a second Mercedes, entrusted to the team’s boss himself, Marco Antonelli, and Italian young gun Lorenzo Ferrari (19), who has debuted in GT this year, taking a straight Pro-Am win in the Italian GT season-opener at Mugello. “My main goal will be to build up confidence, as both the GT Open and the track are new to me”, stated Ferrari. Last but certainly not least, Stéphane Ortelli will be back to driving duties. The Monegasque GT and sportscar legend, who turned 50 this year, is a coach and consultant for AF Corse APM Monaco and will be subbing for Philippe Prette, who is taken by professional commitments, in the Ferrari shared with Angelo Negro. Ortelli, who has been highly appreciative for the series, “probably the best option for Pro-Am racing”, last raced in the GT Open in 2010, when he took three GTS wins in the Ferrari of Jean-Philippe Dayrault. SPS BACK (IN AM) There will be welcomed returns also in the Am class: SPS Automotive Performance, who has been a top Pro-Am contender in the GT Open until this year, is back for selected races, with one of its Mercedes, entrusted to former Pro-Am champion Valentin Pierburg and Christian Hook. SPS team principal Stephen Sohn seems delighted: “Unfortunately, we had to modify our programme, due to Covid-19 effects and a full season in the GT Open was no longer possible. However, I am delighted that we are able to compete on a single-event basis. I hope we can have a successful appearance with our new Mercedes-AMG GT3. Hopefully, we will be able to make one or two more over the course of the season.” The new-comers will face fierce competition: Florian Scholze-Jens Liebhauser have been dominant so far with their GetSpeed Performance Mercedes, while the PZ Oberer Zürichsee Porsche of Niki Leutwiler and the AKM Motorsport Mercedes of Russian pair Alexander Moiseev-Alexey Nesov have also already proven they can visit the podium on a regular basis. The race programme at Paul Ricard will be particularly reach as the Euroformula and sister International GT Open and GT Cup Open Europe are joined by the TCR Europe, the F.Regional European and the Spanish F.4 Championship. While the event at the Paul Ricard will take place with restricted access, all the action can be followed from fans at home thanks to live coverage by major broadcasters and online channels in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Moreover, races are also livestreamed on our website www.gtopen.net and on the International GT Open channel on Youtube, accessible from all over the world and from all devices. Commentary is in English, by Chris McCarthy and Elliot Wood. 2020 GT Open Round 2: Circuit Paul Ricard, France Timetable (All times local, CET) Thursday 20 August 2020 17:20-18:00 Free Practice 1 (Bronze drivers only) Friday 21 August 2020 11:08-12:08 Free Practice 2 14:55-15:45 Free Practice 3 Saturday 22 August 2020 10:15-10:45 Qualifying 1 (Driver 1) 16:40-17:50 Race 1 (70’ - Rolling Start) Sunday 23 August 2020 09:25-09:55 Qualifying 2 (Driver 2) 14:35-15:35 Race 2 (60’ - Rolling Start) STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2 OF 14 Overall: 1. Chaves-Ramos, 20 points; 2. Krupinski-Klien, 17 p.; 3. Hahn-Khodair, 16; 4. Prette-Abril, Yoluç-Eastwood, 15; 6. Schiller-‘Max’, 13; etc Pro-Am: 1. Hahn-Kodair, 16 points; 2. Krupinski-Klien, 14; 3. Schiller-‘Max’, 13; 4. Sattler-Bastian, 10; 5. Iribe-Millroy, 8; etc Am: 1. Scholze-Liebhauser, 20 points; 2. Leutwiler, 16; 3. Mikulasko-Konopka, Moiseev-Nesov, 10; 5. Negro-Ph.Prette, 6; etc Teams: 1. Teo Martín Motorsport, 21 points; 2. AF Corse APM Monco, JP Motorsport, 10; 4. GetSpeed Performance, 8; 5. Lazarus Racing, 4; etc