GT Open prepares for exciting duels in Magny-Cours
• Four different winners in the four first events of the season• 41 entries so far for the third meeting of the season• Aicart-Guerrero (GTA Mosler) top overall standings in front of four Ferrari 430• Anthony Beltoise and Jérôme Policand to lead strong French presenceMagny-Cours, 5 July 2007
After a seven-week break, the International GT Open is back and returns to Magny-Cours, one of the tracks already visited last year, on the very week-end (14-15 July) when France celebrates its national day. This will be the third out of the seven events of the 2007 season and promises to be an exciting one, as competition is closer than ever. The first four races of the championship have seen four different winners.
The entry list (to be published on Monday 9 July) so far includes 41 cars, with all the main regular contenders of the series present and a strong French representation (11 entries). The Magny-Cours GT Open, which will broadcasted live throughout Europe on the Eurosport network, will share the event programme with the Spanish F.3 Championship, the F.3000 Euroseries and the new Mitjet series, offering fans the excitment of both GT cars and single-seaters.
The overall standings of the International GT Open see four teams in eight points. Spaniards José Manuel López Aicart and Lucas Guerrero, at the wheel of their Mosler MT900R of GTA Motor are in the lead (54 points) ahead of the two Playteam Sarafree Ferraris 430 of Andrea-Montermini-Michele Maceratesi (48 points) and Max Busnelli-Mauro Massironi (47 points), with Philipp Peter-Alessandro Bonetti fourth on the Ferrari of GPC Sport (46 points). These four teams have each claimed one win so far.
Opposition in the GTA class will be led by other Ferrari teams, such as RSV, Advanced Engineering, as well as by the Mosler of Motor Competición, Sun Red’s SR21s, and the increasingly competitive Porsche 997 RSR Autorlando of Lietz-Camathias.
The strong GTS category will see again a battle between the Vipers Coupé GT3 of Racing Box and Scuderia Latorre. The latter has won all events so far and its pair Riccardo Romagnoli – Andrea Larini leads the championship. Mik Corse’s Lamborghinis Gallardo and the Villois Racing Aston Martin Dbrs9 complete the varied GTS field. The Magny-Cours race will also see the debut of two Lamborghinis Gallardo GT3, entered respectively by Racing Box and MC Motorsport.
In GTB, leaders Alessandro Nannini – Gianni Giudici, at the wheel of their Ferrari 360 Challenge, will face the usual opposition of the Porsches 997 Cup and the Marcos of Cor Euser.
Not surprisingly, the Magny-Cours GT Open will see a strong presence of French teams and drivers. In the GTA class, Jérôme Policand and Mike Savary will drive the Ferrari Modena 360 of Sofrev ASP, while Patrick and Christophe Caternet will share the Porsche 997 RSR of Noël Del Bello Racing, and another Porsche is entered by the Franco-Portuguese team of the Monteiro brothers.
Team Sofrev ASP is also entering three Porsches 997 GT3 Cup in the GTB class, with Anthony Beltoise joining Maurice Ricci in one of them and Balthazard-Beaubelique and Tonelli-Ghislain sharing the two others. GT Open regulars Daniel and Catherine Desbruères will sport Exagon Engineering’s Ferrari 430 and the occasion will not be missed by two teams regularly seen in the GT Open last year: Ruffier Racing is entering three Viper Coupés and Jacques Médard is back with his Porsche 997
The definitive entry list for the Magny-Cours GT Open will be released next Monday 9 July 2007.
MAGNY-COURS GT OPEN – TIMINGFriday 13 July 200711:20 – 12:20 Free Practice 114:40 – 15:40 Free Practice 2Saturday 14 July 200710:15 – 10:35 Qualifying 1 (GTB + GTS)10:35 – 10:40 Qualifying 1 (GTB + GTS + GTA)10:40 – 11:00 Qualifying 1 (GTA)12:45 – 13:05 Qualifying 2 (GTB + GTS)13:05 – 13:10 Qualifying 2 (GTB + GTS + GTA)13:10 – 13:30 Qualifying 2 (GTA)17:00 – 18:05 Magny-Cours Pro-Am Race (38 laps – 65’ max)Sunday 15 July 200709:15 – 09:30 Warm-up13:10 – 13:55 Magny-Cours GT Open Race (26 laps – 45’ max)
