International GT Open 2013 – Round 1 – Paul Ricard

Race 1: 

Race 2: 

GT Open – Ferrari on top at Paul Ricard

Posted: 28.04.2013
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 28 April –Ferrari was a dominant force on the first weekend of this season’s GT Open International championship with one outright victory and a class win. Taking the top spot was the Scuderia Villorba 458 GT2, which won this afternoon’s Race 2, after yesterday coming third overall and first in the Super GT category.Contested at first on a wet track thanks to the rain, before it gradually dried towards the end, Luca Filippi and Andrea Montermini secured the lead in the closing stages of an incredible race, profiting from a spin for Aleksander Talkanitsa Senior, who seemed to have the victory in his pocket, with really just a few minutes to go. The Talkanitsa duo in their AT Racing 458 GT then also lost second place to the Aston Martin of Soulet-Ide, who after losing the lead at the compulsory pit stop, staged a great climb back up the order thanks mainly to the slick tyres fitted at the stop. Indeed, this crew had already proved to be very competitive, having won Saturday’s Race 1 in far from spring-like weather with rain and fog, ahead of the all-Danish crew of Laursen-Magnussen in the Kessel Racing 458 GT3 and the aforementioned Italian pairing of Montermini-Filippi.Among the other noteworthy class results obtained by the Maranello marque, was a second place in Race 1 for Cameron-Griffin (M-Tech) in Super GT and a third for Beretta-Lyons (AF Corse) while in Race 2 Bontempelli-De Marco (Kessel Racing) made it to the third step of the podium.After the Paul Ricard round, Ferrari heads both Constructors’ classifications: 36 points in Super GT ahead of Chevrolet (12) and Porsche (6) and 24 in GTS four more than Aston Martin, with Mercedes third on 8.

Filippi-Montermini (Villorba Ferrari) take SuperGT revenge

Posted: 28.04.2013
Source: International GT Open

Italian duo puts perfect rain in another wet day
The GPR Aston of Ide-Soulet again on top of GTS (and 2nd overall)
TheTalkanitsas (AT Racing), 3rd and close to victory
GTS podium also for Seyffarth Mercedes and Kessel Ferrari

Paul Ricard, 28 April 2013 – Luca Filippi and Andrea Montermini won Race 2 at Paul Ricard at the wheel of their Scuderia Villorba Ferrari F458, in a day still wet but with better visibility than yesterday. The Italian duo restablished the Super GT cars’ supremacy, beating yesterday’s winner, the GPR Aston Martin of Enzo Ide-Maxime Soulet, who repeated victory in GTS, and the AT Racing Ferrari 458 GT2 of the Talkanitsa father and son, who led until a couple of laps from the end. In GTS, the Seyffarth Mercedes of Renger van der Zande – Miguel Toril came second ahead of the Kessel Ferrari of Lorenzo Bontempelli-Nicola De Marco.

At the start, poleman Soulet is passed by Tutumlu, while Costantini takes third ahead of Razia, Gattuso, Filippi, Rugolo and Talkanitsa. The battle is fierce and beautiful in this group, while rain starts to fall harder. After a few laps of great duel, while Soulet is firmly at the helm, GT2 cars stick out with Filippi second preceding Talkanitsa and Griffin, then Tutumlu, Razia, Gattuso (the last two have a contact in lap 7) and Schirò (who will also fight closely with Gattuso), while Laursen spins after being touched by the Corvette of Pastorelli.

After the pit-stop, it is Talkanitsa leading with 11 seconds over Montermini, then Ide (the only front-runner on slick tires), Cameron, van der Zande (who seems to have a splitter problem), Sijthoff, Hamilton, De Marco and Zanuttini, while the McLaren of van der Drift leaves the pits after a long stop to fix some body parts. In the lead, Talkanitsa sr seems in control of everything but in lap 18 he can’t avoid a spin on a wet portion and has to leave the lead to Montermini. The Belarussian will be passed by Ide also but salvages third and the win in the Gentlemen’s Trophy.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER RACE 2 OF 16
Overall: 1. Ide-Soulet, 42 p.; 2. Montermini-Filippi, 40; 3. Talkanitsa sr & jr, 23; 4. Magnussen-Laursen, 22; 5. Longin-Sijthoff, 21
Drivers SuperGT: 1. Montermini-Filippi, 20; 2. Talkanitsa sr & jr, Longin-Sijthoff, Griffin-Cameron, 12; 5. Schirò-Hamilton, 6
GTS: 1. Ide-Soulet, 20; 2. Magnussen-Laursen, 11; 3. Toril-v.d. Zande, 8; 4. De Marco-Bontempelli, Beretta-Lyons, 6;
Teams SuperGT: 1. Villorba Corse, 20; 2. AT Racing, Mtech, V8 Racing, 12; 5. Drivex, 6
Teams GTS: 1. GPR Racing, Kessel Racing, 20; 3. Seyffarth, 8; 4. AF Corse, 6; 4. Ombra Racing, Russian Bears, 4
Constructors Super GT: 1. Ferrari, 36; 2. Chevrolet, 12; 3. Porsche, 6
Constructors GTS: 1. Ferrari, 24; 2. Aston Martin, 20; 3. Mercedes, 8
Gentlemen’s Trophy: 1. Talkanitsa Sr, 18; 2. Laursen, 16; 3. Maleev, 8; 4. Cordoni, 8; 5.Zanuttini, 6

The GPR Aston of Ide-Soulet wins in rainy and foggy day

Posted: 27.04.2013
Source: International GT Open

Belgian squad dominated a race where rain and fog put GTS cars ahead
Magnussen-Laursen (Kessel Ferrari) second
Montermini-Filippi (Villorba Ferrari) 3rd and best SuperGT car after Sijthoff-Longin
(V8 Racing Corvette) received penalty

Paul Ricard, 27 April 2013 – The Vantage GT3 of GPR Racing paid the best tribute to Aston Martin’s centennial by taking a resounding win in the inaugural 2013 GT Open race. Enzo Ide and Maxime Soulet conducted an impeccable race at the wheel of the car of the Belgian team of Pino Sperlinga. Heavy rain and fog dominated the day at the Paul Ricard, where the entire timetable had to be reshuffled.
This put 12 GTS cars on top of the grid and the race confirmed their competitiveness on a wet track. The Kessel Ferrari of Danes Jan Magnussen-Johnny Laursen took second overall, with the first Super GT car, the V8 Racing Corvette of Bert Longin and Diederik Sijthoff completed the podium before a post-race penalty of 30” for not respecting track limits, which dropped them to 7th leaving third spot to Montermini-Filippi (Villorba Ferrari).

At the start, poleman van der Zande on the Seyffarth Mercedes is passed by Ladyigin, Pantano, Magnussen and van der Drift who takes provisionally the lead at the chicane after cutting a chicane. He gives back the position to Ladygin, who leads in first lap, ahead of the New-Zealander, Pantano, Magnussen, Ide van der Zande, Deverikos and De Marco. First SuperGT car, the Corvette is Sijthoff, is 12th with Nathan 13th, Ramos 14th and Montermini 18th. On top, an Enzo Ide in great form, climbs to third and takes second after contact with van der Drift who spins, loses many positions and has to stop in the pits in lap 5. Shortly after, Ide takes the lead from Ladygin, who is passed at the chicane by Magnussen one lap later, while there is a big battle for fourth between van der Zande and Deverikos. De Marco retires after being hitting the barriers.

After the pit stop, with still a lot of rain, Laursen leads briefly before having to let Soulet go. Toril is third ahead of Tutumlu, Maleev, Filippi (first in SuperGT), Lyons, Tsyplakov and Longin. While Toril spins, Tutumlu gets stopped by a gearbox problem and Suzuki hits the wall on the McLaren, Longin and Filippi climb positions to take third and fourth behind the winning Aston and Laursen, who also wins the very first Gentlemen’s trophy.

After the race, a 30” second penalty was also inflicted to Sijthoof-Longin for cutting several times the chicane. They dropped to 7th leaving first spot in SuperGT to Montermini-Filippi (inthe Villorba Ferrari).

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER RACE 1 OF 16
Overall: 1. Ide-Soulet, 22 p.; 2. Magnussen-Laursen, 18; 3. Montermini-Filippi, 18; 4. Cameron-Griffin, 13; Beretta-Lyons, 12
Drivers SuperGT: 1. Montermini-Filippo, 10; 2. Griffin-Cameron, 8; 3. Sijthoff-Longin, 6; 4.Talkanitsa sr & jr, 4; 5. Schirò-Hamilton, 3
GTS: 1. Ide-Soulet, 10; 2. Magnussen-Laursen, 18; 3. Beretta-Lyons, 6; 4. Costantini-Clarke, 4; 5. Zanuttini-Gattuso, 3
Teams SuperGT: 1. Villorba Corse, 10; 2. Mtech, 8; 3. V8 Racing, 6; 4. AT Racing, 4; 5. Drivex, 3
Teams GTS: 1. Kessel Racing, 11; 2. GPR, 10; 3. AF Corse, 6; 4. Ombra Racing, 4
Constructors Super GT: 1. Ferrari, 18; 2. Chevrolet, 6; 3. Porsche, 3
Constructors GTS: 1. Ferrari, 14; 2. Aston Martin, 10
Gentlemen’s Trophy: 1. Laursen, 10; 2. Talkanitsa Sr, 8; 3. Zanuttini, 6; 4. Maleev, 5; 5. Cordoni, 4

The GT Open International series starts at Ricard

Posted: 26.04.2013
Source: Ferrari

The 2013 GT Open kicks-off in style at the Paul Ricard

Posted: 23.04.2013
Source: International GT Open

The series bound to reconfirm itself as key choice for GT2/GT3 pro-am racers
28 cars expected in Paul Ricard
Corvette joins Ferrari – Porsche duel in Super GT
GTS category steps up, as strong title bids by McLaren, Mercedes and Aston teams join traditional Ferrari and Porsche contenders

Madrid / Le Castellet, 23 April 2013 – Time to restart the engines for the International GT Open! The kick-off of the 2013 season, which marks the 8th edition of the successful GT series launched by GT Sport, will take place for the first time at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Everything including springtime!) is ready in the landmark track in Southern France to welcome the teams and drivers of the GT Open for a new exciting season.

The series has not changed its format: it features GT2 and GT3 cars, included respectively in the SuperGT and GTS categories, offers 8 events in top level tracks around Europe (each one featuring a Saturday race of 70 minutes and a Sunday race of 50), and relies on stable regulations, controlled costs and a quality TV coverage. The only novelty introduced this year is a Gentlemen’s Trophy, open to amateur drivers over 45 years old who have never won a title in a FIA-sanctioned series.

On the sporting side, the 2013 International GT Open looks as promising as ever, with Corvette joining the traditional Ferrari-Porsche in the Super GT category and the GTS category getting richer in numbers, quality and variety thanks to presence of a number of top teams. While some key contenders will only appear as from round 2, the battle between Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Porsche and Mosler will already be on show at the Ricard, where 28 cars are expected.

In the Super GT category, the traditional Ferrari-Porsche duel is getting expanded to three players thanks to a strong Corvette delegation. There will be no less than four Vettes, all prepapered and entered by Dutch squad V8 Racing. Nicky Pastorelli and Miguel Ramos will share the wheel of the C6R version, while Bert Longin-Diederik Sijthoff, Nick Abresch-Wolf Nathan and Danny Werkman (with a team mate still to be designated) will drive the others.

The Ferrari camp will count on the 458s of Scuderia Villorba, with a top pair at the wheel composed of Andrea Montermini-Luca Filippi, Mtech (Matt Griffin-Duncan Cameron), Kessel Racing (with Broniszewski-Peter leading a two-car entry) and AT Racing, with the Talkanitsa family, very successful in the Winter Series. On its side, Porsche is represented by Spanish team Drivex, which enters a 2012 RSR for young guns Niccolò Schirò and Archie Hamilton, and a 2011 car.

In GTS, the Ferrari representation is the most numerous. Reigning champion Kessel Racing enters four cars, with Lorenzo Bontempelli-Nicola De Marco and Stefano Gattuso-Marco Zanuttini clearly bidding for the title, while GT and sportscar legend Jan Magnussen will partner with fellow Dane Johnny Laurssen, and Stephen Earle-Freddy Kremer share another of the 458s. AF Corse will be present with Matteo Beretta-Michael Lyons and Michele Rugolo-Claudio Sdanewitsch, while Ombra Racing doubles its presence, entering a second car, with Stefano Costantini as first confirmed driver, alongside the one of Mario Cordoni and double GT Open Champion Joel Camathias. Also defending the colors of the Prancing Horse will be SMP Racing Russian Bears with two cars for Rosell-Mavlanov and Ladygin-Maleev and Ukraine Racing with one machine for Kruglyk-Tsyplakov.

The main novelty in the category will be the debut of Bhai Tech Racing, the team based in Italy that comes in with a very strong McLaren entry. The two MP4-12C are entrusted to a poker of formulae aces, composed of Rafael Suzuki-Giorgio Pantano and Chris Van Der Drift-Luiz Razia. Other top contenders will come from Belgium and Germany: on one side, the GPR Pino Racing Aston Martin Vantage will be in the safe hands of Maxime Soulet and Enzo Ide, on the other Seyffarth Motorsport has recruited Miguel Toril to drive one of its Mercedes SLS AMG. Porsche will be again represented by one of the stalwart GT Open teams, Italy’s Autorlando Sport, with a driver line-up still not disclosed. Finally, the Mosler GT3 of Rafael Unzurrunzaga will once again be faithful to the series.

As usual, the European F3 Open will partner with the GT Open throughout the season and offers this year a very strong grid, while the Radical European Masters and the Maserati MC Trofeo will contribute to an exciting racing programme at the Ricard.

TV coverage for the GT Open has further been strengthened, and will count again on pan-European live coverage by Motors TV, with major national broadcasters also offering races live in key markets such as Italy (Raisport), Germany (Sport1+), Spain (Teledeporte and Canal + Deportes, and Portugal (Teledeporte).

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

Friday, 26th April 2013 / Viernes 26 Abril 2013
10:35-11:35 Free Practice 1 / Libres 1
14:10-15:10 Free Practice 2 / Libres 2

Saturday 27th April 2013 / Sábado 27 Abril 2013
09:45-10:00 Qualifying / Clasficación1 GTS
10:00-10:05 Qualifying / Clasficación1 SGT + GTS
10:05-10:20 Qualifying / Clasficación1 SGT
11:40-11:55 Qualifying / Clasficación 2 GTS
11:55-12:00 Qualifying / Clasficación 2 SGT + GTS
12:00-12:15 Qualifying / Clasficación 2 SGT
16:00-17:10 Race 1 / Carrera 1 (70’ – Rolling Start / Salida lanzada)

Sunday 28th April 2013 / Domingo 28 Abril 2013
12:20-13:10 Race 2 / Carrera 2 (50’ – Rolling start / Salida lanzada)