The 2016 motorsport calendar is now well and truly underway, and the High Speed Television Channel has another healthy hoard of high-octane entertainment in store for you this weekend.
Not content with a 39-car field at Misano in the Sprint Cup, 57 rather shouty GT3 cars will take the start of the opening Blancpain Endurance Series round at Monza, which will be shown live for your viewing delectation. Since SRO’s flagship championship commenced in 2011, no manufacturer has ever managed to win at the Italian cathedral of speed more than once, with Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini each sharing the spoils. Will that enviable trend continue this weekend? Make sure you tune in to find out.Even more sportscar action will be coming your way from the streets of Long Beach, as we bring you highlights from round three of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. After the classic enduros at Daytona and Sebring got the season underway, the hundred-minute encounter at Long Beach poses a very different challenge, with concrete walls lining the circuit and little time to make up for any early stumbles. Can Corvette Racing continue their perfect start to the season in the GTLM class? Will the new Ford GT flourish in a sprint environment? And with the all-conquering ESM team competing in the 6 Hours of Silverstone, who will step up to win outright? This isn’t one to miss…
The rough and tumble of the V8 Supercars series will also be back on your screens with action from Phillip Island. When the pride of Australian motorsport last visited in November, Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom was cruising to his first title, but ‘Frosty’ hasn’t had it all his own way so far in 2016 and could do with a strong performance at the Victoria venue to stamp his authority on the championship. Turn up the volume and get ready to rumble!
Our feast of live coverage continues with the TCR International Series, with blow-by-blow action from Estoril. Pepe Oriola won both races at the season-opener in Sakhir, but after a troubled debut for the Leopard Racing VW Golf, reigning champion Stefano Comini will be hot on his heels.
If it’s good enough for motorcycle racing hero Guy Martin, then it should be good enough for you too – we’ll be bringing you highlights of the British Rallycross Championship curtain raiser from Croft in Yorkshire. Defending champion Julian Godfrey is back in his trusty Ford Fiesta, but will have 13 other Supercars for company, not to mention the usual mix of Super 1600s, Supernationals and Hot Hatches. If you’ve never seen Rallycross before, then you’ll be in for a treat.
As if that’s not enough, we’ll also be bringing you live coverage of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship from the Hungaroring, as well as all the action from the EuroFormula Open and International GT Open championships from Estoril. And if you can’t get enough of GT racing, you can tune in to the opening rounds of the British GT and ADAC GT Masters series from Brands Hatch and Oschersleben respectively. If you’re not an expert on the Balance of Performance after all that, then it’s unlikely you ever will be.
Saturday 23rd April
10:05 – LIVE FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Rd 2, Hungaroring (Race 1)12:45 – British Rallycross, Rd 1, Croft14:05 – LIVE EuroFormula Open, Rd 1, Estoril (Race 1)15:00 – LIVE International GT Open, Rd 1, Estoril (Race 1)16:45 – LIVE FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Rd 2, Hungaroring (Race 2)18:25 – British GT, Rd 1, Brands Hatch20:00 – IMSA SportsCar Championship, Rd 3, Long Beach21:35 – V8 Supercars, Rd 3, Phillip Island
Sunday 24th April
10:05 – LIVE FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Rd 2, Hungaroring (Race 3)11:15 – LIVE TCR International Series, Rd 2, Estoril (Race 1)13:30 – LIVE Blancpain Endurance Series, Rd 1, Monza17:35 – Delayed-as-live TCR International Series, Rd 2, Estoril (Race 2)18:25 – Delayed-as-live EuroFormula Open, Rd 1, Estoril (Race 2)19:20 – Delayed-as-live International GT Open, Rd 1, Estoril (Race 2)21:35 – ADAC GT Masters, Rd 1, Oschersleben
