Teo Martín McLaren of Ramos-Parente will try to fend-off home attack of the Ferraris, with Lathouras-Rugolo (AF Corse) leading the Prancing Horse troops Giammaria-Companc (AF Corse) and Benucci-Balzan (Villorba) as outsiders Aston Martin, Audi, Mercedes and Corvette well represented by top entrants not wanting to miss the Autodromo Nazionale event Close battle in GT-Am between AF’s Sdanewitsch and Barreiros
The International GT Open is heading to its penultimate round of the season, one of greatest tradition: Monza. The tempio della velocità in Lombardy is one of the favorite tracks in the world for teams, drivers and spectators and the general atmosphere in the region this year is even more sparkling than usual, as Milan hosts the Universal Expo. For the GT Open community, though, the attention will be focusing on the two races that are certainly going to play a role in the fight for the titles, before the last round in Barcelona.
After a successful weekend at Spa, two pairs have taken a light advantage in the standings. Álvaro Parente-Miguel Ramos, the Portuguese pair of the Teo Martín Motorsport McLaren 650S, have a 9-point advantage on the AF Corse Ferrari of Pasin Lathouras-Michele Rugolo. The Cavallino has another F458 in good position, as the other AF Corse pair of Ezequiel Pérez-Companc and Raffaele Giammaria is only 24 points behind. Also Alessandro Balzan-Nicola Benucci of Villorba Corse still have a word to say, and there is no doubt that on their home soil and on a track they know well, the Ferraris will give their utmost.
As usual, Monza attracts also a good number of contenders: Duncan Cameron-Matt Griffin are back with their AF Corse car, and so are Phil Keen-Shaun Balfe with the F458 by Balfe Motorsport which shone at Estoril and Silverstone. Series return also for a spectacular American racer, as Solaris Motorsport, the Italian team seen at Ricard, is back with its Chevrolet Corvette entrusted to Francesco Sini-Marcello Puglisi.
On its side, Aston Martin will be well represented by the TF Sport Vantage of Euan Hankey-Salih Yoluc, who made a successful debut at Spa and will be present for the remainder of the season, while the star of Mercedes will shine with the Sports&You car of GT Open regulars António Coimbra-Luis Silva in the GT-Am category.
Two interesting new entries enrich the grid: Drivex, the Spanish team that was an assiduous contender in recent years, is back, now with an Audi R8 LMS ultra in the hands of two local heroes very well-known in the series: former GTS champion Lorenzo Bontempelli and occasional TV commentator Mino Caccia. Italian squad MP1 Corse, on their side, will make its debut with a Ferrari F458 for Valentino Fornaroli and Gabriele Lancieri, another GTS star in previous seasons.
The GT-Am category also sees a close duel for top honours, as only 4 points separate the two main title bidders, Claudio Sdanwitsch and Filipe Barreiros. The two AF Corse drivers will be rejoined in Italy by their usual team-mates, Ilya Melnikov and Francisco Guedes, respectively. Also back, in the AF camp, will be the duo Howard Blank-Yannick Mallegol, while in the GT Cup, James Abbott will again attempt to impress with his Radical RXC V8.
Fans at Monza will have a complete treat, as the weekend programme includes also the Euroformula Open with an exciting field of Dallaras F312, the SEAT León Eurocup, the Radical European Masters Championship and the Formula Junior.
All the action can be followed from fans at home thanks to live coverage by major national broadcasters in key countries such as UK (BT Sport), Italy (Fox Sports 2), Spain (Teledeporte and Canal + Deportes), Portugal (Sport TV), Russia (Poverkhnost Sport) and Central Europe (Digisport), among others. In addition, pan-European coverage is ensured by Motors TV (43 countries). Races are also livestreamed with English commentary on our website www.gtopen.net.
GT Open Spa Francorchamps (Round 6) Timetable
(All times local, CET)
Friday 2nd October 2015
12:40-13:40 Free Practice 1
16:20-17:20 Free Practice 2
Saturday 3rd October 2015
11:05-11:35 Qualifying (Driver 1)
16:00- 17:10 Race 1 (70’ – rolling start)
Sunday 4th October 2015
09:40-10:10 Qualifying (Driver 2)
14:00-15:00 Race 2 (60’ – rolling start)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER RACE 10 OF 14
Overall: 1. Parente-Ramos, 152 points; 2. Rugolo-Lathouras, 143; 3. Giammaria-Companc, 128;
4. Balzan-Benucci, 102; 5. E. López, 55; etc
Pro-Am: 1. Ramos-Parente, 67; 2. Rugolo-Lathouras, 60; 3. Giammaria-Companc, 52; 4.
Benucci-Balzan, 41; 5.López, 22; etc
GT-Am: 1.Sdanewitsch, 37; 2. Barreiros, 33; 3. Melnikov, 30; 4. Rasmussen, 18; 5. Silva-Coimbra, 15; etc
Teams: 1. AF Corse, 117; 2. Teo Martín Motorsport, 70; 3. Villorba Corse, 41; 4. Baporo
Motorsport, 22; 5. Balfe Motorsport, 20; 6. Brussels Racing Aston Maretin, 18; etc
Cup Am: 1. Abbott, 15; 2. Unzurrunzaga, 14; 3. Hoy, 5
