GT Open title contenders prepare for Monza battle

Ramos-Pastorelli (V8 Corvette) on the attack as Montermini (Villorba Ferrari) could take crown on home soilFive different brands bid for the GTS title, with Bontempelli (Kessel Ferrari)currently leading over Toril (Seyffarth Mercedes)Great entry in Italy (33 cars), with Drivex Porsche and Kessel GT2 car back inSuperGT and Onidi-Salaquarda (AF Corse) leading top additions

The 2013 International GT Open enters its final stretch, with only two rounds left; these arethe two most traditional in the calendar, Monza and Barcelona, the only two circuits visitedeach year by the series since its inception. The first of these two stops is the iconicAutodromo Nazionale di Monza, where it all started, for the GT Open, back in April 2006…Tradition has been respected, and Monza has attracted an excellent entry, with 33 cars in theofficial list published today, but the main focus will be on the title battles, which starts toheat up. On the overall standings, the V8 Racing Corvette of Miguel Ramos-Nicky Pastorelliwill have to do its outmost to take advantage of a power track that suits it well and of alower handicap to close the gap on the Villorba Ferrari of Andrea Montermini. The Italianformer F.1 driver is actually in a position to secure the title already on home soil, as hecurrently has an advantage of 47 points on the V8 Racing pair. Like in Spa, Montermini, whoalready won the GT Open title in 2008, will be partnered with Davide Rigon.

In GTS, a great battle until the very end of the championship is anticipated, as gaps areextremely close. Lorenzo Bontempelli (now permanently partnered by Marco Frezza) isarriving to his home race as a new leader. The Kessel Racing driver has only a 3-pointadvantage over Spain’s Miguel Toril (Seyffarth Mercedes), with the BhaiTech McLaren ofGiorgio Pantano-Rafael Suzuki only 4 points behind. The AF Corse pair composed of MatteoBeretta-Michael Lyons is five points from the top, while Belgians Enzo Ide-Maxime Soulet onthe GPR Aston Martin and Issac Tutumlu-Dimitris Deverikos are at -8 and -12 respectively.That makes five different brands in the top 6 and in contention for the crown!

Monza, as always, will see a stepped-up entry, with the Italian teams making additionalefforts. In SuperGT, Porsche is back thanks to the 911 RSR of Drivex, repaired after theSilverstone fire and now entrusted to Carlos Vieira an a driver to be designated.

AF Corse is adding a F458 GT2, for India’s Vimal Mehta and Marco Cioci, who returns to aseries where he has collected many successes, while Kessel Racing, based in Switzerland butonly a few km from Monza, is entering its F458 GT2 for the first time this year, with MichalBroniszewski racing alone.

In GTS, AF Corse enters a third car for a top pair composed of Italy’s Fabio Onidi and Czechdriver Filip Salaquarda, who will be making their debut in the GT Open. At Kessel, Brazil’sCésar Ramos will this time join Johnny Laursen (Magnussen being taken by ALMScommitments) while the car of Thomas Flohr-Francesco Castellacci is making a further outingin the series. Among other confirmations, Estamotorsports is back with a F458 GT3 forAlessandro Pier Guidi and Aleksandr Skryabin, while Stefano Gattuso joins Stefano Costantiniat Ombra Racing. The two Rhino’s Lambos and one of the Sports&You Mercedes are alsopresent.

The meeting on the legendary track will also see in action the European F3 Open, the RadicalEuropean Masters,the Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance, the F.2000 Light and the IbizaCupra Cup.

All the action can be followed at a distance thanks to the GT Open’s excellent live TVcoverage, which includes: Motors TV (pan-European), RaiSport2 (Italy), Sport1+ (Germany),Teledeporte and Canal+ Deportes (Spain), Sport TV (Portugal), without forgetting the livewebstreaming on www.gtopen.net.

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

Friday, 4 October 2013 / Viernes 4 Octubre 201310:35-11:35 Free Practice 1 / Libres 115:05-16:05 Free Practice 2 / Libres 2

Saturday 5 October 2013 / Sábado 7 Octubre 201309:00-09:15 Qualifying / Clasficación1 GTS09:15-09:20 Qualifying / Clasficación1 SGT + GTS09:20-09:35 Qualifying / Clasficación1 SGT11:10-11:25 Qualifying / Clasficación 2 GTS11:25-11:30 Qualifying / Clasficación 2 SGT + GTS11:30-11:45 Qualifying / Clasficación 2 SGT16:15-17:25 Race 1 / Carrera 1 (70’ - Rolling Start / Salida lanzada)

Sunday 6 October 2013 / Domingo 6 Octubre 201312:15-13:15 Race 2 / Carrera 2 (50’ – Rolling start / Salida lanzada)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER RACE 12 OF 16

Overall: 1. Montermini, 204; 2. Filippi, 168; 3. Pastorelli-Ramos, 157; 4. Cameron-Griffin, 121; 5. Sijthoff, 97; etc.Drivers SuperGT: 1. Montermini, 94; 2. Filippi, 76; 3. Pastorelli-Ramos, 74; 4. Cameron-Griffin, 64; 5.Talkanitsa sr &jr, 62; etcGTS: 1. Bontempelli, 42; 2. Toril, 39; 3. Suzuki-Pantano, 38; 4. Lyons-Beretta, 37; 5. Ide-Soulet, 26; etcTeams SuperGT: 1. V8 Racing, 142; 2. Villorba Corse, 94; 3. AT Racing, 52; 4. AF Corse, 50; 5. Drivex, 19; etcTeams GTS: 1. Kessel Racing, 65; 2. Bhaitech Racing, 63; 3. Autorlando Sport, 48; 4. Seyffarth Motorsport, 39; 5.AF Corse, 37; etcConstructors Super GT: 1. Ferrari, 185; 2. Chevrolet, 130; 3. Porsche, 19Constructors GTS: 1. Ferrari, 138; 2. McLaren, 63; 3. Porsche, 48; 4. Mercedes, 39; 5. Aston Martin, 34, etcGentlemen’s Trophy: 1. Talkanitsa Sr, 94; 2. Laursen, 63; 3. Maleev, 56; 4. Earle-Kermer, 33; 5. Werkman, 27; etc


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