Title battle starts to heat up, with Bruni-Leo and Holzer-Tandy separated by only one point and four different constructors represented in the top 5Ferrari-Porsche duel dominates the GTS classTraditional Italian event to attract excellent entryBernoldi (AF Ferrari) and Nannini (Lotus), two former F.1 drivers at the startBallabio brings to debut the LPG-fueled Montecarlo BRC

The International GT Open enters the final fouth of the season, composed of its two most traditional (and generally, best-attended) events: Monza and Barcelona. The legendary Autodromo Nazionale is celebrating this year its 90th anniversary and the GT Open could definitely not miss visiting it in such an occasion!

As always, andrenalin levels are growing when heading to Lombardy, as things start to become serious for the title battles. This is partciularly true this year, with gaps tremendously close at the top of the standings following the Budapest round and the rejection of the Ricards appeals by the FFSA Court of Appeal. In the overall standings, Gimmi Bruni- Federico Leo on the AF Corse Ferrari 458 are leading, by only one point (149 to 148), over the Manthey Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Marco Holzer-Nick Tandy. Worth of noting is that Gimmi Bruni will continue to be at the wheel of the AF Ferrari #4 bidding for the title, despite his initial WEC commitment.

Behind the two leaders, the outsiders are still in perfect contention as the Villois Racing Aston Martin of Matteo Malucelli-Alvaro Barba (130), the aabar Villorba Ferrari of Andrea Montermini-Cochito Lpez (113) and the V8 Racing Corvette of Raffaele Giammaria-Miguel Ramos (101) have still plenty of cards to play. Four different constructors in the top five prove the level of competition reached this year.

The situation is pretty open also in the GTS category, where Daniel Zampieri-Michael Dalle Stelle (Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 GT3) lead by only 3 points over of Stefano Bizzarri (AF Corse Ferrari) and by 8 over the Autorlando Sport Porsche 911 R of Marco Mapelli-Archie Hamilton.Monza is always synonimous of a good entry and interesting additions, and so it will be this year too. The official entry list (which should reach the 30 units) will be released on Monday, but it is already confirmed that AF Corse will bring an additional 458 in the SuperGT category, entrusted to Indias Vimal Mehta and Brazils former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi, who will make his debut in the series. Another former Grand Prix star is also back: Alessandro Nannini returns to the series, together with his friend Gianni Giudici, at the wheel of the Lotus Evora seen at the beginning of the season.

In the GTS category, as expected the Lapidus Racing McLaren MP4 12C of Klaas Hummel-AdamChristodoulou, a fresh winner of the Barcelona 24 Hours, rejoins the GT Open for thereminder of the season, while Kessel Racing confirms the additional car of Gattuso-Zanuttiniseen in Hungary. There will also be at least another Mercedes SLS, alongside GDL Racingsone, entered by Austrias Lechner Racing Team for Walter Lechner and Mario Plachutta, whilethe Swiss Team Maserati Granturismo MC3 of Gabriele Gardel-Alessandro Pier Guidi will makeits second outing of the season. Other additions will be confirmed on Monday.

From a tecnical point of view, the most interesting novelty will undoubtedly be theMontecarlo BRC w 12, the first-ever car using alternative fuels taking part to the GT Open.The man behind the project is Fulvio Maria Ballabio (57), who in parallel to his career as adriver, which brought him in F.1, Sportscar and Indycar, has worked as an engineer andconstructor since 1983, when he founded Montecarlo Automobiles, which soon after producedits first supercar, the Centenaire, the first GT car entirely built in carbon. The car that willcompete in Monza, developed together with eco-friendly engine specialst BRC, fits anatmospheric w 12 engine of Audi origin, and is exclusively powered with LPG gas (liquifiedpetroleum gas). Ballabio, who will share the wheel with Monacos Frdric Lajoux, also knowas the organizer of Ever, the Eco-friendly Motorshow in Monaco, is planning to campaign thecar in the GT Open in 2013, after switching to an hybrid version.

As usual, the European F3 Open and the FIA Formula 2 will complete the exciting racingprogramme, which also includes the F.Abarth Euroseries, the F.2000 Light and the ItalianPrototype Championship. The GT Open will enjoy the usual exhaustive TV coverage, live orslightly deferred, offered notably by Motors TV at pan-European level and key nationalbroadcasters such as Raisportdue (Italy), Sport1+ (Germany), Teledeporte and Canal +Deportes (Spain), Sport TV (Portugal) and Orange Sport TV (Poland), to name just a few.

GT Open Monza Timetable / Horario GT Open Monza - (All times local, CET / Hora local, CET)

Friday, 28 September 2012 / Viernes 28 Septiembre 201210:20-11:20 Free Practice 1 / Libres 113:45-14:45 Free Practice 2 / Libres 2

Saturday 29 September 2012 / Sbado 29 Septiembre 201209:00-09:15 Qualifying / Clasficacin1 GTS09:15-09:20 Qualifying / Clasficacin1 SGT + GTS09:20-09:35 Qualifying / Clasficacin1 SGT12:00-12:15 Qualifying / Clasficacin 2 GTS12:15-12:20 Qualifying / Clasficacin 2 SGT + GTS12:20-12:35 Qualifying / Clasficacin 2 SGT15:35-16:45 Race 1 / Carrera 1 (70 - Rolling Start / Salida lanzada)

Sunday 30 September 2012 / Domingo 30 Septiembre 201213:35-14:25 Race 2 / Carrera 2 (50Rolling start / Salida lanzada)

Championship Standings after Race 12 of 16Scratch: 1. Bruni-Leo, 149, 150; 2. Holzer-Tandy, 148; 3. Malucelli-Barba, 130; 4. Montermini-Lopez, 113; 5. Giammaria-Ramos, 101; 6. Pilet-Narac, 98; 7. Broniszewski-Peter, 96

GTS: 1. Zampieri-Dalle Stelle, 66; 2. Bizzarri, 63; 3. Hamilton-Mapelli, 58; 4. Rizzoli, 45; 5. Puglisi-Beretta, 29

Teams SGT: 1. AF Corse, 66; 2. Manthey Racing, 65; 3. Villois Racing, 56; 4. Aabar Villorba Corse, 48; 5. V8 Racing, 45; 6.IMSA Performance, 41

Team GTS: 1. Kessel Racing, 90; 2. Autorlando Sport, 87; 3. AF Corse, 73; 4. Ombra Racing, 25; 5. Lapidus Racing, 24Manufacturers SGT: 1. Ferrari, 149; 2. Porsche, 103; 3. Aston Martin, 56; 4. Chevrolet, 45Manufacturers GTS: 1. Ferrari, 160; 2. Porsche, 100; 3. McLaren, 24; 4. Mercedes, 23; 5. Lamborghini, 18; 6. BMW, 6.