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Mundial - Open GT

MUNDIAL - GT OPEN ESTE FIM DE SEMANA NO ESTORIL

Quarta, 11 Abril 2018 08:57 | Actualizado em Quinta, 28 Março 2024 14:34

A reshuffled set of cards for an exciting 2018 GT Open! 

Significant changes in the field that takes the start of the new season at Estoril, as the series confirms growing trend and 26 car-strong core entry, with great balance between Pro, Pro-Am and Am classes

Imperiale Racing and BMW Team Teo Martín, both with 3 cars, expand their title chase as well into Pro-Am and Am respectively

Luzich Racing, VSR, SR Racing, HTP Motorsport and ARC Bratislava
among the new entries

Lazarus Racing, Krypton, Ombra Racing  and Rinaldi Racing return full-time

A lot of ‘fresh blood’ among drivers, along stellar returns of
Montermini, Pier Guidi, Campbell-Walter and Rugolo  

A new season is ready to kick-off! Next weekend, the 13th edition of the International GT Open will officially start, again from the Circuito do Estoril, the historic track not far from the Atlantic shores. The series is enjoying renewed interest and success, having established itself over the years as one of the most attractive platforms for GT3 racing in Europe, and having succeeded in balancing one of the highest levels of performance and a specific format in-between sprint and endurance.

Known in the racing community for its friendly atmosphere, the series will continue to offer all the key features that characterize it, from stability of regulations to magnificent tracks (in an unchanged 7-event calendar) and excellent TV coverage.

Still, 2018 is going to bring fans a deeply-renewed show, as the entry list (with 23 cars at Estoril, 26 confirmed for the rest of the season) has undergone an important reshuffle, with many new entries and returns) and the new set of cards on the table offers a completely new game for the different title battles. The other striking element of the new season is the similar strength of the three classes (Pro, Pro-Am, Am), which promises great show and battles at all ‘floors’ of the field.

Interestingly, the two top teams of 2017, Imperiale Racing and BMW Team Teo Martín, are both expanding their presence to three full-time cars to seek glory also in classes (Pro-Am and Am, respectively) other than the Pro one.

In addition, new initiatives in the paddock by key partner Michelin in the areas of communications, animations and public relations are going to bring new life to the paddock, while the race programme of the events will be further enhanced by new partnering series that will be alongside GT Sport-promoted series.



A reshuffled set of cards for an exciting 2018 GT Open!  
Significant changes in the field that takes the start of the new season at Estoril, as the series confirms growing trend and 26 car-strong core entry, with  great balance between Pro, Pro-Am and Am classes
Imperiale Racing and BMW Team Teo Martín, both with 3 cars, expand their title chase as well into Pro-Am and Am respectively 
Luzich Racing, VSR, SR Racing, HTP Motorsport and ARC Bratislava  among the new entries
Lazarus Racing, Krypton, Ombra Racing  and Rinaldi Racing return full-time
A lot of ‘fresh blood’ among drivers, along stellar returns of  Montermini, Pier Guidi, Campbell-Walter and Rugolo   
 

 
A new season is ready to kick-off! Next weekend, the 13th edition of the International GT Open will officially start, again from the Circuito do Estoril, the historic track not far from the Atlantic shores. The series is enjoying renewed interest and success, having established itself over the years as one of the most attractive platforms for GT3 racing in Europe, and having succeeded in balancing one of the highest levels of performance and a specific format in-between sprint and endurance. 
Known in the racing community for its friendly atmosphere, the series will continue to offer all the key features that characterize it, from stability of regulations to magnificent tracks (in an unchanged 7-event calendar) and excellent TV coverage. 
Still, 2018 is going to bring fans a deeply-renewed show, as the entry list (with 23 cars at Estoril, 26 confirmed for the rest of the season) has undergone an important reshuffle, with many new entries and returns) and the new set of cards on the table offers a completely new game for the different title battles. The other striking element of the new season is the similar strength of the three classes (Pro, Pro-Am, Am), which promises great show and battles at all ‘floors’ of the field. 
 

 Interestingly, the two top teams of 2017, Imperiale Racing and BMW Team Teo Martín, are both expanding their presence to three full-time cars to seek glory also in classes (Pro-Am and Am, respectively) other than the Pro one. 
In addition, new initiatives in the paddock by key partner Michelin in the areas of communications, animations and public relations are going to bring new life to the paddock, while the race programme of the events will be further enhanced by new partnering series that will be alongside GT Sport-promoted series. 
Jesús Pareja, confident about the new trend
“We are delighted with the evolution of things”, reckons Jesús Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, “despite the times of uncertainty that motorsports are living. Every year, the GT Open is becoming more attractive for new contenders, as proven by the turn-over we see this year, and 2018 will further build up the new cycle initiated in 2017. We are happy of the perspectives ahead of us and will continue to work hard to offer all our stakeholders, teams, drivers, sponsors, partners, fans at the track and at home, the best and most enjoyable possible product.” 
For now, time to get ready for the 2018 season and to present the field!
Pro: Mercedes join the big Lambo – Ferrari – BMW battle
It’s going to be a stellar fight this year in the Pro category between the representatives of four of the most prestigious brands: Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW and Mercedes. The Bull of Sant’Agata is going to have the advantage of number of cars fielded and of having won the overall title the last two years. Imperiale Racing is defending its double 2017 title (Drivers’ and Teams’) but takes the bet to open its line-up to fresh bllod: reigninig champion Giovanni Venturini is associated with Jeroen Mul, while another Huracán is fielded for another Italian-Dutch pair, Riccardo Agostini-Rik Breukers. Ombra Racing is back to the series, entering Brazil’s endurance ace Fernando Rees alongside Damiano Fioravanti, a former Euroformula top contender. The Italian team still has to reveal its second pair. Debuting in the series is Vincenzo Sospiri Racing (VSR), who joins from successful campaigns in the Italian GT and the SuperTrofeo, and entrusts its Pro car to Brazil’s Nicolas Costa and China’s Kang Ling. 
The Ferrari camp has significantly strengthened the level of its representation, with two new outfits defending the colours of the Prancing Horse. Luzich Racing, created by the eponymous US racer and assisted technically by AF Corse, fields a 
 

 488 for Mikkel Mac and the reigning FIA WEC GTE World Champion, Alessandro Pier Guidi, who is back to a series where he was a runner-up in its inaugural edition back in 2006. Italy’s RS Racing is the other red new entry, fielding a 488 for double Ferrari Challenge Europe champion Daniele Di Amato and Andrea Montermini, another great returnee, as the Italian, with two titles (2008-13) and 19 race wins still is the most successful driver in GT Open history. 
After missing narrowly the Drivers’ and Teams’ title in 2017, BMW Team Teo Martín has a revenge to take. The Spanish squad and its M6 will again bidding for top honours, with a Pro line-up renewed by half: Spain’s young gun Fran Rueda will be associated this year to Guatemala’s Andrés Saravia, a former graduate from the Euroformula, while Portugal’s Lourenço Bierão will be paired with Argentine Juan Cruz Álvarez, who is back to the GT Open for a full-time campaign. 
The latest to join the Pro class is the Mercedes AMG of Spanish team squad Drivex, who brings a top duo formed by Ferdinand Habsburg, the Austrian single-seater star and former Euroformula runner-up, and Jamie Campbell-Walter, the former FIAGT1 champion, who is back to racing. 
Pro-Am: The class where anything can happen
The Pro-Am class has become in recent years one of the most attractive features of the GT Open, as proven by the high level of the entries, who can all aspire also to overall wins and honours. Mercedes, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Audi are the brands represented. The Bull’s colours will be defended by the third car entered by Imperiale Racing and entrusted to China’s Jiatong Liang and long-time GT Open contender Raffaele Giammaria, and by the two cars fielded by Daiko Lazarus Racing. The Italian squad, winner of the overall title in 2016, enters a duo of former GT Open champions of the caliber of Miguel Ramos and Fabrizio Crestani, and on its other car, young Briton Toby Sewery and a popular figure on the racing scene such as Giuseppe Cipriani, also known as the “Barone Rampante”. 
Mercedes will have two fierce competitors in the class: SPS Automotive Performance is back with Valentin Pierburg and Tom Onslow-Cole (with the most visible change being a new silver livery for the AMG, owing to the team’s new sponsor Richard Mille), while Spain’s Drivex also confirmed its fast Brazilian pair composed of Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair.  
The Ferrari chances will be well defended by the second car entered by Luzich Racing, entrusted to Alexander West, seen with McLarens the last two years, and Michele Rugolo, another familiar figure in the GT Open throughout the years. 
 

 Finally, an Audi R8 LMS is part of the Pro-Am class title bidders: UK outfit Optimum Motorport, after a successful debut last year in Barcelona, is off for a full campaign with its duo Oliver Wilkinson-Brad Ellis. 
Am: The realm of Mercedes?
The Am class is also confirming the trend seen last year, with competition and interest levels rising significantly. The stake, this season, will be to see whether Mercedes will keep its supremacy. The AMG will in any case form the majority of contenders, starting from the Sports&You car of Portuguese pair Luis Silva-António Coimbra, who will try to conquer a third consecutive title. Martin Konrad and Alex Hrachowina, who made a stunning debut last year, will again be serious rivals, with their car (in BTW’s pink livery) now ran by HTP Motorsport / MS Racing, as the stalwart German squad has become a technical partner of the Austrian outfit. 
Another AMG is fielded by Krypton Motorsport, as the Italian squad returns to the GT Open with a well-known duo of gentlemen drivers, Mario Cordoni and Marco Zanuttini. 
To challenge the position of the Star come the BMW M6 of Brazilians Márcio BassoThiago Marques, on the third car of BMW Team Teo Martín, and two Lamborghinis. 
One is enterd by VSR, alongside their Pro car, for Brazil’s Giulio Borlenghi and Poland’s Andrzej Lewandowski, who took the Am crown in the SuperTrofeo Europe last year, while the other marks the debut in the series of stalwart Slovak squad ARC Bratislava, with patriarch Miro Konôpka and young Latvian Konstantins Calko at the wheel. 
(To be completely accurate, it has to be reminded that three of the full-season cars will not be at Estoril, for different reasons, and will start their campaign in Round 2. This is the case of Rinaldi Racing, who returns full-time to the series with one Ferrari each in the Pro-Am and Am classes, and of the Mercedes entered by Spain’s Porteiro Motorsport.)
Sharing the race programme with the GT Open at Estoril will be, as usual, the Euroformula Open which is off to another season as one of the top F.3 car series in Europe, as well as the European Radical Masters, bringing again the excitement of true sportscars. They will be joined by two Portuguese series, the CPV Legends and the CPV Clásicos.  
 
 

 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 (Rai Sport), 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 1: Circuito do Estoril, Portugal
 
Timetable  (All times local, CET -1)
 
Thursday 12th April 2018 13:00-13:55 Private Test 1  15:00:15:55 Private Test 2 17:00-17:55 Private Test 3
 
Friday 13th April 2018 11:20-12:20 Free Practice 1 15:20-16:20 Free Practice 2 17:00-17:40 Free Practice 3 (only Bronze drivers)
 
Saturday 14th April 2018  09:40-10:10 Qualifying 1 (driver 1) 15:15-116:15 Race 1 (70’ - Rolling Start)
 
Sunday 15th April 2018 09:25-09:55 Qualifying 2 (driver 2) 13:15-14:15 Race 2 (60’ - Rolling Start)
 
The 2018 Calendar
15 April: Estoril (P) 06 May: Circuit Paul Ricard (F) 10 June: Spa-Francorchamps (B) 08 July:  Hungaroring (H) 02 Sept: Silverstone (GB) 23 Sept: Monza (I) 21 Oct:  Barcelona-Catalunya


LISTA DE INSCRITOS - ESTORIL


3 RACE / BMW Team Teo Martín ESP Juan Cruz Álvarez ARG Silver BMW M6 GT3 GT3 PRO Nicolas Costa BRA Silver 6 Vincenzo Sospiri Racing ITA Kang Ling CHN Silver Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PRO Márcio  Basso BRA Bronze 7 RACE / BMW Team Teo Martín ESP Thiago Marques BRA Bronze BMW M6 GT3 GT3 AM Miro Konôpka SVK Bronze 9 ARC Bratislava by VSR SVK Konstantīns Calko LVA Bronze (*) Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 AM Daniele Di Amato ITA Silver 11 RS Racing ITA Andrea Montermini ITA Gold Ferrari 488 GT3 GT3 PRO Fernando Rees BRA Gold 12 Ombra Racing ITA Damiano Fioravanti ITA Silver Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PRO TBC 14 Ombra Racing ITA TBC Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 Marcelo Hahn BRA Bronze 16 Drivex School ESP Allam Khodair BRA Gold Mercedes AMG GT3 GT3 PROAM Jiatong Liang CHN Bronze (*) 19 Imperiale Racing ITA Raffaele Giammaria ITA Gold Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PROAM Valentin Pierburg DEU Bronze (*) 20 SPS Automotive Performance DEU Tom Onslow-Cole GBR Gold Mercedes AMG GT3 GT3 PROAM Mario Cordoni ITA Bronze 24 Krypton Motorsport ITA Marco Zanuttini ITA Bronze Mercedes AMG GT3 GT3 AM Riccardo Agostini ITA Gold 25 Imperiale Racing ITA Rik Breukers DEU Silver Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PRO 25 Imperiale Racing ITA Rik Breukers DEU Silver Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PRO Fabrizio Crestani ITA Silver 27 Daiko Lazarus Racing ITA Miguel Ramos PTR Bronze Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PROAM Toby Sowery GBR Silver 28 Daiko Lazarus Racing ITA Giuseppe Cipriani ITA Bronze Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PROAM Fran Rueda ESP Silver 47 RACE / BMW Team Teo Martín ESP Andrés Saravia GTM Silver BMW M6 GT3 GT3 PRO Alessandro Pier Guidi ITA Gold 51 Luzich Racing CHE Mikkel Mac DNK Gold Ferrari 488 GT3 GT3 PRO Jamie Campbell-Walter GBR Platinum 62 Drivex School ESP Ferdinand Habsburg AUT Silver Mercedes AMG GT3 GT3 PRO Giovanni Venturini ITA Gold 63 Imperiale Racing ITA Jeroen Mul NLD Silver Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 PRO Giulio Borlenghi BRA Bronze (*) 66 Vincenzo Sospiri Racing ITA Andrzej Lewandowski POL Bronze Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT3 AM Alexander West SWE Bronze 71 Luzich Racing CHE Michele Rugolo ITA Gold Ferrari 488 GT3 GT3 PROAM Alexander Hrachowina AUT Bronze 74 HTP Motorsport / MS Racing AUT Martin Konrad AUT Bronze Mercedes AMG GT3 GT3 AM Bradley Ellis GBR Silver 96 Optimum Motorsport GBR Oliver Wilkinson GBR Bronze (*) Audi R8 LMS GT3 PROAM António Coimbra PRT Bronze 99 Sports and You PRT Luis Silva PRT Bronze Mercedes AMG GT3 GT3


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