• Champion Montermini joins Edil Cris in Ferrari camp• IMSA Performance strengthens Porsche camp• Ferrari, Lamborghini, Viper and Aston Martin to fight for win in GTS• Kessel, Easyrace, FR and Vittoria, other key new entries• Camathias, Peter, Guerrero, Romagnoli and Perazzini back to the series• Pilet, Belloc, Zacchia and many young rookies to make their debut
GT Sport Organización today released the entry list for the Imola GT Open, the first round of the 2009 International GT Open to be celebrated next week-end in the ‘Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari’. Thirty-two cars will be competing in the season-opener, a number which compares well with last year’s first event (29 actual entries).The two race-event is expected to see another chapter in the Ferrari-Porsche duel at the top of the Super GT category, while Ferrari, Lamborghini, Viper and Aston Martin all opt for victory in GTS. A review of the entries shows a number of changes in the field, with very interesting new entries and come-backs.
In the Super GT category, the Porsche camp has reinforced itself, in quantity and quality. Autorlando Sport will continue to be a front-runner with two 997 RSR for Richard Lietz – Gianluca Roda, who missed the title last year by a very narrow margin, while the second car will be for the excellent Portuguese pair of Manuel Gião-Pedro Couceiro, who join from Playteam. Alongside the Italian squad, a second semi-works team is making its debut in the GT Open: France’s IMSA Performance Matmut, which has starred in many series in recent years. Three 997 RSR will be entered by the Normandy-based team, for all-French and expert line-ups: Raymond Narac-Patrick Pilet, Jean-Philippe Belloc-Yannick David and Richard Balandras-Michel Lecourt. Completes the Porsche field the car of Spanish team Drivex with Miguel Ángel De Castro as main driver.
The Ferraris F430 will again be present in high numbers. Among top teams, Edil Cris can pride itself of entering the current champion, Andrea Montermini, who has joined from Playteam. He will share the F430 with a new-comer, 21-year old Mattia Pavoni. Edil Cris enters another heavy-weight team, composed of GT experts Alessandro Bonetti-Raffaele Gianmaria. Advanced Engineering is preparing no less than four cars: the leading team is the one formed by GT Open regular Michele Rugolo and GP2 driver Giacomo Ricci, while Peter Bamford-Matt Griffin are again at the start of the series and Alessandro Garofano-Marco Mapelli will drive the third car.
The fourth, officially entered by Megadrive, is for two men who have collected three GTS crowns in the series, Marco Cioci-Piergiuseppe Perazzini.
Switzerland’s Trottet Racing is entering a single F430, but this will certainly be one of the top contenders for the title: at the wheel Marcel Fässler and Joël Camathias, who is back to the series after winning the Championship in 2007 with the Autorlando Porsche. Other single Ferrari entries include new entrant Vittoria Competizioni, with Bulgaria’s best driver Plamen Kralev at the wheel, and Easyrace, back to the series with a car for young Fabrizio Del Monte and GT-expert Steve Zacchia.
Complete the Super GT list the two Judd-powered SunRed SR 21, with Matteo Cressoni joining the Spanish team alongside Óscar Fernández, while gentlemen-drivers Víctor Fernández and Lluis Llobell will continue to be at the wheel of the second car.In the GTS category, many makes will be represented, all ambitioning victory. Ferrari has a slight numeric advantage, thanks in part to the arrival of Kessel Racing. The Swiss squad is sporting its new F430 Scuderia and three units will be available, for Stefano Livio-Lorenzo Bontempelli, two known faces in the series, Stephen Earle-Vladimir Kuzminykh (an unusual US-Russian duo) and Mikal Boroniszewski-Philipp Peter, the Austrian being back to a series where he shone in 2007. Another Kessel car is entered by Polish team Star Moto with Max Stanco as the main driver. Spain’s Roger Racing remains faithful to the GT Open, with Portugal’s Duarte Félix Da Costa teaming with Miquel Julià. Other Ferrari entries include a car from Vittoria Competizioni for American John Horejsi, one from Aeffem for Ferraris-Baronio and one from Rossocorsa.
Four Vipers will be in the starting blocks: along the two entered by the legendary Gianni Giudici, are back the yellow cars of the FR Motorsport (formerly known as Scuderia La Torre, which won the GTS title in 2007). Team owner Riccardo Romagnoli will share the drive with Giuseppe De Pasquale, the other car being in the hands of Filippo Zadotti-Gabriele Sabatini.
Villois Racing will continue to defend the colors of Aston Martin, its two DBRS9 being driven by last year’s runner-up Max Wiser and Italian GT Champion Gabriele Lancieri and Marco Petrini with Spain’s Lucas Guerrero, remembered for his wins with the Mosler in 2006.
Finally, Lamborghini, who won 7 races last year, will sport its fast Gallardos, mainly through Mik Corse, a specialist of the Raging Bull’s cars, with driver line-ups including team’s regulars Ferdinando Geri and Beniamino Caccia.Eurosport will give highlights of the Imola GT Open in its ‘Motorsport Weekend’ program while all the action will be visible across Europe on Eurosport 2 (on Monday 20th April at 18:30 CET) and on Motors TV on Saturday 26th April. Live coverage will be available for fans in Italy (Nuvolari), Spain (Canal +) and Portugal (Sport TV).
