(within 2 points) for Playteam and Autorlando
• Montermini-Maceratesi and Lietz-Roda fight for title near their teams’ bases• 35 cars entered in the 20th event of the series• Peter Dumbreck to make his debut in the series with Trottet Racing• Mik Corse to enter 4 Lamborghinis in GTS, while Giudici switches to Viper• Playteam to promote new social campaign,“Romania, nice to meet you”
Thirty-five cars have been entered to the Monza GT Open, the 7th round of the season, certainly an emotional one as the Dunlop-backed series celebrates its 2Oth GT Open event, in the very circuit where it held its maiden race, back in 2006.
The duel between Ferrari and Porsche at the summit of the overall standings (with Montermini-Maceratesi and Lietz-Roda separated by a mere 2-pints) will be the thing to watch, as the two races in the legendary Autodromo Nazionale may reveal themselves decisive for the title. The two teams involved, Scuderia Playteam and Autorlando Sport, will have additional reasons to shine, and additional support from their respective fans, as both are based a few km from Monza.
The entry list, released today by GT Sport, contains all the regular participants to this year’s International GT Open, and no surprise, a good number of additional entries from Italy, a country that is one of the pillars of GT2 and GT3 pro-am racing.
In the GTA category, GPC Sport will enter two Ferrari F430, with Gabrio and Giorgio Rosa, father and son, making their return in their home track, alongside Petrobelli-Bobbi. Racing Team Edil Cris, also based in Lombardy, is entering a third F430, which will be driven by Gianmaria Gabbiani, the son of former F.1 driver Beppe, and GT expert Ettore Bonaldi.Among those coming back for some exciting action are the RCA-prepared F430 of Brazilians Francisco Longo and Daniel Serra (another “F.1 second generation” skilled boy), seen in Valencia in July, and Spain’s V-Line Ferrari of Josep Mayola and Marc Carol, seen in Valencia in May.
Main driver change concerns the Trottet Racing: with both Fässler and Moser taken by other commitments, the successful Swiss outfit has called again French star Xavier Pompidou to drive its Ferrari F430. Alongside the Frenchman, Peter Dumbreck will make his debut in the series. The 35-year Scot, a winner in F3, sportscars, and in the DTM, is currently one of the leading figures of GT racing in Japan.
In the GTS category, the most striking novelty is Mik Corse’s offensive for this race. The Padua-based team is entering no less than four Lamborghini Gallardos, with Italian GT3 champion Giacomo Piccini leading the squad.
Also to be noted is that Scuderia Giudici is switching from the Ferrari F430 to the Dodge Viper GT3, of which a second unit is entered for Ardigò-Perlini. An additional Ferrari F430 GT3 is entered by and for Aldo Cerruti and Mario Ferraris.On a non-sports ground, Scuderia Playteam, which continues its commitment to social causes, will sport for the occasion the logo of “Romania, piacere di conoscerti” (‘Romania, nice to meet you’), a campaign promoted by the Romanian government with the aim of fostering better integration of Romanian communities living in European countries and local citizens. The testimonial of the campaign, actress Ramona Badescu, will be attending the Monza GT Open.
The Pro-Am and GT Open races, which will both run on a 50-minutes format, will be broadcasted live by Eurosport 2 (59 countries), Nuvolari (Italy), Canal + and Popular TV Spain) and Portugal (Sport TV), with the usual additional delayed coverage in other countries, including France (Motors TV), Belgium (Be Tv) and Austria (ÖRF).
