Over 20 cars in France for the first taste of 2012
It is still very early into the season, but it is time to start the engines for a number of International GT Open teams and drivers, as anxiety to take the track after the long winter recess grows. They will have the opportunity to do so on Friday and Saturday next at the first 2013 Winter Series event, which will take place at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Southern France.
At the Castellet last year, GT Sport inaugurated the Winter Series format for its International GT Open and European F3 Open series. Following the success of that first experience, three events have been scheduled this year, with Jerez (1-2 March) and Barcelona (14-15 March) completing the trilogy. The first two stops will also include two 50- minute non-championship races. While Friday will be devoted to private testing, with four 55-minute sessions, the two races will take place on Saturday after a fifth testing session and a qualifying session of 20 minutes per driver.
The formula seems to be to the liking of teams and drivers, as over 20 cars are expected at the Ricard.
Kessel Racing, the reigning GTS champion, will be present with six Ferrari 458 GT3, while AF Corse, the reigning overall champion, is to bring at least four cars (including the AT Racingentered Ferrari GT2), and to be represented in both categories, SuperGT and GTS. Another458 GT2 is entered by Mtech for Cameron-Griffin. Other Ferrari teams that have confirmed their presence are Black Bull, Vita4One Italy, Team Ukraine and the Baporo-prepared Ferraris. The opposition will be led by the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini LP600+ of Kox-Pronk and the Lechner Racing Mercedes SLS AMG among others. Everything is thus ready for an exciting first taste of a 2013 season that promises to be extremely exciting!
GT Open Winter Series Paul Ricard Timetable / Horario GT Open Winter Series Paul Ricard(All times local, CET / Hora local, CET)
Thursday 15 February 2013 / Jueves 15 Febrero 201310:00-10:55 Private Test12:00-12:55 Private Test15:00-15:55 Private Test17:00-17:55 Private Test
Friday 16 February 2013 / Viernes 16 Febrero 201310:10-11:10 Private Testing12:00-12:20 Qualifying Driver 112:25-12:45 Qualifying Driver 213:45-14:35 Race 1 (50 Rolling Start / Salida lanzada)16:00-16:50 Race 2 (50 Rolling Start / Salida lanzada)
